Cuba y Puerto Rico son… is a two-part concert of Puerto Rican jazz featuring trumpeter Humberto Ramírez‘ 40th Anniversary concert with singer Michelle “La Brava,” backed by Tito Puente’s legacy Mambo Legends Orchestra and the Bronx Arts Ensemble strings. The second half is a tribute to Cuban bolero, guaracha, and Latin soul legend La Lupe, adding Cuban singer Lena Burke to the other artists. Joe Conzo Sr., Tito Puente’s old friend from El Barrio, hosts the evening at Hostos Center in Mott Haven, The Bronx; on Saturday, November 9, 2024 at 7:30pm. From $45. Students/Children $5. 🇨🇺 🇵🇷
- Humberto Ramírez has a 40-year history in music, working with many stars. His mature style is Antillean jazz that feels like a night in Luquillo. @humbertotrumpetman
- Michelle “La Brava” is a singer and actress who is also an in-demand vocal coach (Objetivo Fama, Idol Puerto Rico, La Voz Kids, Pequeños Gigantes USA…). She performs on Broadway productions in Puerto Rico, and often channels the stars of yesteryear. @michellebrava
- Lena Burke is from the musical family of Malena Burke and Elena Burke. She is best known for 2005 single “Tu Corazón” with Alejandro Sanz, and her La Lupe tribute “La Mala” (2009). It’s always a pleasure to hear her sing. @lenaburkemusic
- Mambo Legends Orchestra was formed by long-time members of Tito Puente’s band, John “Dandy” Rodríguez (2004 RIP), Mitch Frohman, and José Madera. This group is as close as we can get to “The King of Latin Music” live. @mambolegends
- Bronx Arts Ensemble plays all kinds of music and develops the stars of tomorrow from native Bronx talent. @bronxartsensemble
- Joe Conzo Sr. was Tito Puente’s old friend from El Barrio, his publicist and archivist. Conzo’s book “Mambo Diablo: My Journey with Tito Puente” is a revealing first person history. @conzosr
La Lupe
This is going to be a special concert with the music of Tito Puente and La Lupe. She was special artist who built herself up from nothing, once in Cuba, and again in New York. She reached the top of the top and then faded when musical tastes changed. But there will never be another artist like her. She was one of the original bad girls, but it was a show because she was smart and gave her audiences what they wanted. In life, she was a regular person and a loving mom. On stage, she was wild and people loved her for that. La Lupe was one-of-a-kind and will always have a special place in the hearts of the Latin peoples. When the lights go down and the string orchestra opens one of her boleros, you hold your dance partner closer to the bottom of your heart which you only share with someone you love. That’s the magic of La Lupe.
¡Ay-ay-ay!
Cuba y Puerto Rico son…
This is a Caribbean concert, so of course the title is a pun on Son Cubano and Son Puertorriqueño, the Cuban and Puerto Rican sounds. The concert title refers to the Lola Rodríguez de Tió poem “A Cuba” (1893). That was a time when both Cuba and Puerto Rico were finally getting close to independence. Then the Americans came. The poet, journalist, and independence activist wrote, “Cuba y Puerto Rico son de un pájaro las dos alas…” (Cuba and Puerto Rico are as two wings of the same bird).
Cuba y Puerto Rico son
Lola Rodríguez de Tió, “A Cuba” (1893)
de un pájaro las dos alas…
Puerto Ricans seem to be born with a natural poetic sense, so the expression has multiple meanings:
- Puerto Ricans are vocal about our Indigenous Taíno heritage, but the island of Ayití / Quisqueya / Hispaniola was the body of the Taíno heartland. Eastern Cuba was one wing, and Puerto Rico was the other wing. There are still Taíno communities on all three islands. Baracoa, Cuba is one. The güiro and maracas used in Latin music are Indigenous Taíno instruments.
- Cuban culture generally rises in Eastern Cuba (where there is Taíno influence) around the cities of Santiago de Cuba and Guantanamo, and then spreads west towards the capital Havana, where it goes worldwide.
- Puerto Ricans in New York City took son Cubano, added their own bomba and plena flavors, some American soul, and created what we now call salsa. Tito Puente was the bird. Tite Curet Alonso, the Puerto Rican salsa poet was one wing. Dominican FANIA All-Stars bandleader Johnny Pacheco was another.
- Tito Puente was New York Puerto Rican, but his sound was famously Cuban. The Mambo Legends Orchestra is Puente’s legacy band. So they are the bird that unites the musical wings of Cuba and Puerto Rico in this concert.
- Even the two flags mirror each other’s color. If you stare at one for a minute and look at a white wall, you can see the other. 🇨🇺 🇵🇷
Lola may also have been inspired by the Taíno folk tale of Alida and Taroo, two natives of different tribes who fell in love, but were separated by an angry father, until the Gods heard Alida’s cry for help and turned her into a beautiful red flower, and Taroo into a colibri (hummingbird). That is why hummingbirds love flowers. Taroo goes from one to the next, always looking for his love Alida, and especially loves red flowers. Cuba and Puerto Rico have been separated by many things, but always love each another.
De un pajaro las dos alas
“De un pajaro las dos alas” is also a song by Cuban nueva trova legend Pablo Milanés (RIP). Si eres Puertorriqueño esta canción te traerá una lluvia de lágrimas.
Kíko Keith ~ The last part of Lola’s verse is “reciben flores o balas sobre el mismo corazón.” Rejecting violence, I was a little reluctant with those words at first, but now I understand. She means we share the same joys and the same suffering. You can read the entire poem at ciudadseva.com
Cuba y Puerto Rico son
Lola Rodríguez de Tió, “A Cuba” (1893)
de un pájaro las dos alas.
Reciben flores o balas
sobre el mismo corazón…
I’m going to be buried en la República Dominicana like Hostos (in the dirt, not en el panteón de la patria). He is buried in Santo Domingo because he refused to return to Puerto Rico until it is free. Americano soy, Jíbaro soy, Dominicano soy, pero tengo lágrimas negra tambien. One of my mentors, a retired sicario, an elder of Residencial Llorens Torres and La Perla, once responded to my comment about nationality by saying, “I’m just a human being. I don’t know about these other people.” I cried when I visited Hostos’ tomb, and more and more, I understand why. I live in La República and New York is my city, but Puerto Rico will always be my country. ¡Puerto Rico Libre!
Yo te invito a mi vuelo y buscamos juntos el mismo cielo”
Pablo Milanés “De un pajaro las dos alas” (1978)
Get Tickets
No te pierdas. They sell out.
More info at hostos.cuny.edu