Angelo Prieto, was born on the southwest side of Chicago in 1964 to parents Dennis V. Prieto and Velia Camacho. Angelo was raised in the Little Village neighborhood back when it was predominantly Eastern European and due to the influx of Mexican imigrants, the Little Village had become predominatly Mexican.
During his freshman year of High School, at just 14 years old, Angelo found himself beginning to DJ, mostly vinyl récords which consisted of dance music, for both house and neighborhood parties. It was not until later during that summer, he was offered a job as a DJ for Malo’s Nightclub; a 21 and over venue playing a variety of classic dance and house music every weekend as the resedent DJ for almost 6 years.
Aside from working at the Nightclub, Angelo soon started one of both the biggest and earliest break dance groups within Chicago which he called the Floor Masters. Through this dance group, he was able to bring together adolescents and young adults from all areas throughout the city such as the North, West and Southside of Chicago. The group managed to at its peak consist of 125 members, even making special appearances on the Phil Donahue Show and Eye on Chicago as well as various other talk shows within Chicago and even made appearances in commercials and movies. The group performed weekly at the Park West and the Saber Room, Angelo would remain an active member of the Floor Masters until he turned 21 years old.
Throughout the course of his early DJ-ing and Dancing career, Angelo’s appreciation for Latin rhythms and sounds within Latin Music grew, and although he grew up in a non-speaking Spanish household, he began to collect Salsa and Merengue music for his personal collection.
As he matured, Angelo went to college to pursue an Electronic Engineer degree and even worked for Xerox Corporation for a short period of time. He soon left that company and found himself working in various Mens Clothing business for full time work but despite that, he always managed to stay DJing throughout various clubs, such as Quinn St, Prime & Tender, and Richie's on the south side of Chicago.
Around 1992, one of his fellow friends and DJs (Alex Perez) showed him a new piece of DJ technology called the “Pioneer 500 CD” . It consisted of having the same features of a regular turntable with one extra feature, which was a Cd player with a pitch control and loop button to create intros and breaks. to quote Alex, he said, “It was like I saw a person with a light bulb go off on top if his head” and upon saying it, Angelo said “I know what I have to do” - Angelo immediately went out the next day and bought 2 of those Pioneer 500 CD players, hooked it up to his mixer and brought out his collection of Salsa/Merengue music. It was at that moment that he began to create his first mixtape on cassette and it was also the moment that began Angelo’s career as a Latin DJ in Chicago.
In the summer of 1993, Angelo officially worked under the moniker “DJ El Prieto” and created the first Latin Mix Tape & Cd which he called “Ritmo Caliente”. The mix tape/CD industry in Chicago became the catalyst for reaching the Chicago Latin music market. Angelo also bridged different other Latino culture together to showcase their love for all style of Latin music (Salsa, Merengue, Bachata, Cumbia, Reggaeton, ChaChaCha). For the next 5 years, he created 4 more series of Latin mixes: Merengue Caliente, Mas Caliente, Fiesta Caliente & Siempre Caliente.
During the course producing his own mix tapes and CDs, Angelo DJed a variety of Salsa, Merengue & Bachata music at such establishments such as Excalibur, Tropicana D'Cache, Saleso’s, Zafire, Andromedas & Infinity and during the time of Angelo DJing at Tropicana D’Cache, he produced a Chicago phenomena event called TUESDAY NIGHT BOXING @ TROPICANA D'CACHE. This went on for 6-years and was very huge and successful.
The CD/mix tape industry had eventually changed & during that course of change, Angelo recognized that there were a lot of people in Chicago that liked all varieties of Latin music (Spanish Rock, Banda, Cumbia, including Disco & Dance). it was then that he created a DJ Team called LOS 4 FANTASTICO DJs. who found themselves DJing and nightclubs such as Palladium, Club PM, Circuit Nightclub, Rancho Luna, Volkan, Los Globos & Club 720.
In 1995, Angelo noticed new music coming out of Puerto Rico called “Reggaeton” and decided to make the first Reggaeton concert in Chicago called "Megeton-Reggaeton" at the Aragon ballroom. He featured now famous artists like Ivy Queen & Baby Rasta and Gringo, Checa, 90 Millas & many more. Angelo also produced the first Reggaeton/Reggae concert with Kevin Little, as well as Wisin & Yandel in Chicago. Angelo also was the first promoter to bring out Pitbull to Chicago in 2004, showcasing his ability and knack to note and spot upcoming latin talent within the music industry.
After the tragic September 11, 2001 attack in New York, the nightclub industry changed dramatically. Many nightclubs were closing and people’s mindset for nightclubs had changed. He also recognized that people were getting older and were seeking much more mature venues and settings within the industry, he also noticed that the scene was getting very diverse with many people of different backgrounds who showed an interest and love of Latin music. He decided to change the name of “Los 4 Fantasticos Promotion” to 4 FANTASTIC EVENT Promotion. Angelo also went on to showcase his love of his Salsa/Merengue music and created the first Salsa Tuesday @ Green Dolphin in year 2002. Putting together groups and dancer teams with teachers such as Andy Cruz, Adrian Tenorio and other people who love dancing Salsa & Merengue. Salsa Tuesday at Green Dolphin had lasted a remarkable 7 years within the nightlife industry.
In 2008, he obtained the opportunity to do Latin music at the beautiful Alhambra Palace in Chicago and decided to bring it to another level and created what we affectionately call “World Famous Salsa Tuesday” with over 700 people weekly, live bands on stage, 4 Dance classes in one night & 3 Rooms of music.
For the past 40 years, Angelo has always had a passion for music, and latin music and early on always seemed to recognize the ever changing and fickle music scene as it was evolving. Angelo brought great talent to Chicago such as Tito Jr, Nino Segarra, Ray Sepulveda, Tony Vega, Mochy & Alejandra and many more. He has been an innovator in Chicago bringing new talent such as Los Hacheros, Williamsburg Salsa Orchestra & he plans to make an even bigger impact with more concerts, weekly events & even plans to open his own Cuban/Spanish restaurant in the near future.
