Orlando Marin, a contemporary of such greats as Tito Puente, Machito, and Tito Rodriguez, is the only orchestra leader from New Yorks golden era of mambo who still performs regularly. Orlando formed his first band, Eddie Palmieri and his Orchestra and, since then, has played with several different bands and has performed in the famous Palladium Ballroom. In 1997, Latin music historiographer Max Salazar presented Orlando a plaque in recognition of nearly five decades of uninterrupted contribution to Latin music.
