Grupo Folklorico in Hostos Center for the Arts

HOSTOS CENTER FOR THE ARTS & CULTURE presents
GRUPO FOLKLORICO y EXPERIMENTAL NUEVAYORQUINO
PERFORMING THE MUSIC OF THE LEGENDARY ARSENIO RODRIGUEZ


Hostos Center for the Arts & Culture will present, by popular demand, the return
of one of Latin music’s most important alliances, the groundbreaking GRUPO
FOLKLORICO y EXPERIMENTAL NUEVAYORQUINO, on Saturday, March 20, 2010 at 7:30pm in
a gala concert paying homage to a true musical genius, the legendary ARSENIO
RODRIGUEZ, considered by many musicologists to be the greatest composer/musician ...

read more

HOSTOS CENTER FOR THE ARTS & CULTURE presents
GRUPO FOLKLORICO y EXPERIMENTAL NUEVAYORQUINO
PERFORMING THE MUSIC OF THE LEGENDARY ARSENIO RODRIGUEZ


Hostos Center for the Arts & Culture will present, by popular demand, the return
of one of Latin music’s most important alliances, the groundbreaking GRUPO
FOLKLORICO y EXPERIMENTAL NUEVAYORQUINO, on Saturday, March 20, 2010 at 7:30pm in
a gala concert paying homage to a true musical genius, the legendary ARSENIO
RODRIGUEZ, considered by many musicologists to be the greatest composer/musician
of Afro-Cuban music of the 20th century. With Grupo Folklorico’s two seminal
recordings from the mid-70s, produced by Rene Lopez and Andy Kaufman, Concepts in
Unity and Lo Dice Todo (We Say It All), this legendary Bronx orchestra introduced
the world to a new way of playing Latin music - New York style. Grounded in
community and folklore, it encompassed various musical genres from both the Cuban
and Puerto Rican diasporas. This concert is dedicated to Arsenio Rodriguez’s
memory and will feature compositions not heard in many years.

The members of GRUPO FOLKLORICO y EXPERIMENTAL NUEVAYORQUINO are: Andy Gonzalez
(bass/leader);Charlie Santiago (timbales, bongos, percussion); Jerry Gonzalez
(trumpet, percussion); Oscar Hernandez (piano); Nelson Gonzalez (tres guitar);
Gene Golden (congas, bata drums, percussion); Reynaldo Jorge (trombone); Eddy
Zervigon (flute); Jorge Luis Maldonado (vocals); Pedro “Pedrito” Martinez (vocals,
bata drums, percussion) ;Eddie Venegas (trombone, violin); Abraham Rodriguez
(vocals, bata drums, percussion); Tony Rosa (congas, batadrums, percussion); Guido
Gonzalez (trumpet); and Rene Lopez, Jr. (percussion). The concert will feature
four special invited guest artists who performed with Arsenio -- Alfredo
“Chocolate” Armenteros (trumpet); Sergio “Armandito” Armenteros (trumpet); Alfredo
Valdes, Jr. (piano) and Israel Berrios (vocals, guitar).

A free seminar “La Gente del Bronx: Arsenio Rodriguez, a “People’s Musicia”” will
take place on Thursday, March 18, 2010 at 5:30pm at the Hostos Art Gallery. The
seminar takes its name from one of Rodriguez’s most beloved tunes, an ode to the
South Bronx, and will focus on the tà pico and Afro-centric nature of his music.
Participants will include David R. Garcia, author of “Arsenio Rodriguez and the
Transnational Flows of Latin Popular Music,” and musicologist Rene Lopez.

Grupo Folklorico y Experimental Nuevayorquino was an idea created at the
Gildersleeve Avenue home of Andy and Jerry Gonzalez in the Bronx in the early
‘70s. Originally named El Conjunto Anabacoa, the group became the fifteen-piece
ensemble known as Grupo Folklorico and performed several East Coast and New York
area concerts. The original band included Manny Oquendo, Heny Alvarez,
“Chocolate” Armenteros, Virgilio Marti, Gonzalo Fernandez, Willie Garcia, Frankie
Rodriguez, Jose Rodrigues and Milton Cardona. Grupo’s sound captured the cultural
melting pot of New York like no other orchestra of the day. A favorite at
university campuses, festivals and arts centers, they performed at the Smithsonian
Institute, Lincoln Center and President Carter’s Inaugural Ball. The group became
a major cult band as a result of their performances and two recordings. More
recently, Grupo Folklorico performed in 2007 in Berlin and in 2008 at Hostos and
in Washington, D.C. at the American Folklife Festival honoring Rene Lopez's
meritorious service for his affiliation of many years with the Smithsonian.

Arsenio Rodriguez (1911-1970), one of Cuban music’s most important figures, was a
prolific composer, master of thetres (Cuban guitar), percussionist and band
leader. Considered a central figure in the creation of modern day Salsa, he is
credited with over 1000 compositions performed and recorded by a veritable “who's
who” of Latin music world-wide. Blinded at age seven by a horse’s kick to his
head, he began playing a variety of instruments. He began composing in his teens,
and the first recordings of his compositions emerged in 1937. In a career
spanning the mid-30s through 1970, he recorded prolifically. In 1953 he relocated
to New York and performed mainly in New York, Puerto Rico and Los Angeles until
his death in Los Angeles in 1970.

Hostos Center for the Arts & Culture is located on the campus of Hostos Community
College/CUNY at 450 Grand Concourse at 149th Street, Bronx, NY. Tickets for GRUPO
FOLKORICO y EXPERIMENTAL NUEVAYORQUINO onSaturday, March 20, 2010 at 7:30pm are
$35 & $25 (group rates available) and can be purchased online at
www.hostos.cuny.edu/culturearts or by calling the Hostos box office at
718.518.4455 (Mon. through Fri., 12:30 - 6:30PM, and two hours before show time on
weekends). Hostos Community College is off the Major Deegan Expressway and
accessible by IRT 2, 4, 5, BX1 and BX19 to Grand Concourse and 149th Street.

show less