Hot Music for a Summer Night
Tito Puente series brings Latin music to South End
Conjunto Barrio, which earned three award mentions at the 2014 Latin Grammys, has played shows around the world. Photo courtesy of Conjunto Barrio
Looking to spice up your evening with a distinctly Latin flare? Head over to the South End’s O’Day Park for a free concert tonight by Conjunto Barrio, a nine-man band known for its versatile mix of Latin styles, including charanga, guajira, mambo, bolero, and merengue, as well as original material. The performance is part of the six-concert Tito Puente Latin Music Series, which has been bringing free live Latin music during the summer to various Boston parks for more than a decade. The series is coproduced by the Berklee College of Music, the Boston Parks and Recreation Department, and the nonprofit Inquilinos Boricuas en Acción.
Led by Jesus Pagan, Conjunto Barrio has played at leading international Latin and jazz festivals for nearly a decade. The group released its debut album, Ya Llego Conjunto Barrio, in 2014. Tonight’s performance features both Latin classics and original compositions.
The series is named for five-time Grammy-winning American musician Tito Puente, who is credited with helping bring Afro-Cuban and Caribbean music to mainstream audiences. Puente died in 2000.
This year’s series concludes next Thursday, August 10, with a performance by the Puerto Rican– and Cuban-influenced band Los Hacheros at LoPresti Park, 33 Sumner St., East Boston.
The Tito Puente Latin Music Series featuring Conjunto Barrio is tonight, Thursday, August 3, at 7 p.m., at O’Day Park, 85 W. Newton St., Boston. Admission is free. Take any MBTA Green Line trolley to Copley, walk up Dartmouth Street to the South End, turn right on Tremont Street and left on Aquadilla Street; the playground is on the right.
Connor Lenahan can be reached at lenahan@bu.edu.
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