Stage Garden Rumba 2021

Date & Time: Saturday, June 19, starting 3PM
Location: Pregones Theater & Garden, 575 Walton Avenue

Hosted by Caridad De La Luz

Available online starting September 27, 2021.

Stage Garden Rumba kicks off in respectful remembrance of Juneteenth, commemorating freedom from slavery in the United States, with activities centering ancient and living musical traditions of the African diaspora.

Performance: A musical gathering of three different groups of Plena and Bomba practitioners from New York featuring:

3:00 pm – Los Pleneros de la 21 – LP21 is the premier music group of Afro-Puerto Rican Bomba & Plena music in the U.S., giving arts learning programs in NY & touring worldwide since 1983. Founded by National Heritage Fellow, Juan Gutiérrez.

3:40 pm – Bámbula Project –  Alex “Apolo” Ayala’s Bámbula Project is a vibrant and dynamic fusion of Afro-Puerto Rican “Bomba” rhythms with Jazz. A unique musical celebration of Afro-Boricua heritage and culture.

4:15 pm – Pafincar Afro Boricua Jam – Practitioners, lovers, and followers of Boricua music and culture convene to partake in this new group. Homegrown in the Island, seasoned in the Diaspora, with hints of urban delight, serving bomba Pafincar! With Victor Pablo Gaetán, Clara Díaz, Fernando García and Gabe Globus.

ALL DAY – Exhibition: S(OBRAS) capturing the unseen  – A new art exhibit by Bronx artist David Hernaíz Concepción, created in collaboration with performer Julia Gutiérrez-Rivera, exploring the fleeting and nuanced expressions of a dancer’s performance of Afro-Puerto Rican Bomba music. Free admission.  CLICK HERE to read more about S(OBRAS).

Date & Time: Saturday, June 26, starting 3PM
Location: Willis Avenue Garden, 401 E 143rd Street in The Bronx

Hosted by Caridad De La Luz

Available Online starting October 11, 2021

3:00 pm – Poets Caridad de La Luz and Advocate of Wordz, DJ José Torres. Featured musical group: Bámbula Project –  Alex “Apolo” Ayala’s Bámbula Project is a vibrant and dynamic fusion of Afro-Puerto Rican “Bomba” rhythms with Jazz.

4:00 pm – Poets Paul La Torre and Caridad de La Luz. Featured dance company: Mazarte Dance Company – Inspired by traditional Mexican dances, Mazarte Dance Company brings folklore back to life by combining dance, research and indigenous art.

5:00 pm – poet Brandon Wright, DJ José Torres. Featured musical group: Jorge Vazquez Bomba y Plena – a crowd favorite, mixing popular Bomba and Plena rhythms with poetry, great singing and lots of sabor.

Date & Time: Saturday, July 10, 2021, starting 3PM
Location: Bronx Sunshine Garden, 174th Street and Bryant Avenue, in The Bronx

Hosted by Caridad De La Luz

Available Online starting October 18, 2021

3:00 pm – Poets Caridad de La Luz and Mariposa Fernández, DJ José Torres. Environmental activist Melissa Barber. Featured musical group: Grupo Bámbula –  New York-based Afro-Puerto Rican group is dedicated to the preservation of Puerto Rico’s oldest musical traditions – Bomba and Plena. Founded in 2004 by percussionist, singer, songwriter and dancer Norka Hernández Nadal.

4:00 pm – Poet Rosalynn Díaz. Featured musical group: Los Pleneros de la 21 – LP21 is the premier music group of Afro-Puerto Rican Bomba & Plena music in the U.S., giving arts learning programs in NY & touring worldwide since 1983. Founded by National Heritage Fellow, Juan Gutiérrez.

5:00 pm – Poets Ray Jane and Caridad de La Luz. Featured dance company: Mazarte Dance Company – Inspired by traditional Mexican dances, Mazarte Dance Company brings folklore back to life by combining dance, research and indigenous art.

Date & Time: Saturday, July 17, 2021, starting 3PM
Location: La Finca del Sur, 138th Street and Grand Concourse, in The Bronx

Hosted by Caridad De La Luz

Available Online starting on November 1, 2021

3:00 pm – Poets Caridad de La Luz and Freida Grace Jones. DJ José Torres. Activist Emanuel Padilla. Featured musical group: Palo En Cuero – Founded by master Dominican percussionist Jonathan “JBlak” Troncoso, this New York based group celebrates Afro-Cuban and Afro-Dominican traditional rhythms, and the sacred music of Dominican Palo.

4:00 pm – Poet Jane Grenier. Featured dance group: Bombazo Dance Company – Founded by dancer and choreographer Milteri Tucker Concepción, Bombazo is Bronx drum and dance company that celebrates traditional Afro Puerto Rican Bomba and Afro Caribbean folklores, fused with classical, contemporary and social styles of dance.

5:00 pm – Poets Bonafide Rojas and Caridad de La Luz. Activist Nieves Ayress. Featured music group: Jorge Vázquez Ensemble – a Stage Garden Rumba crowd favorite, this Bronx based music ensemble mixes popular Bomba and Plena rhythms with poetry, great singing and lots of sabor.

Date & Time: Saturday, July 24, 2021, starting 3PM
Location: Brook Park, Brook Avenue and E 141 Street, in The Bronx

Hosted by Caridad De La Luz

See it online starting November 8, 2021 @ 7:30PM on:

Pregones/PRTT
—Facebook Live: www.facebook.com/pregonesprtt
—Vimeo: www.vimeo.com/pregonesprtt
—YouTube: www.youtube.com/pregonesprtt

BronxNET TV
—Cable: 69 Optimum
—Cable: 2135 FIOS
—Web: www.bronxnet.org/watch/Ch4

3:00 pm – Poets Caridad de La Luz and Amanda “La Tormenta” Villanueva. Social and environmental justice activist Esperanza Martell. Featured performer: Legendary Palladium-era dancer Carlos “Charlie Mambo” Arroyo, aka Cha-Cha Taps, who dedicated twenty years of his life to professional dance, traveled the world, and collaborated with some of the best Latin and North American musicians of the ’50’s and ’60’s.

4:00 pm – Featured music group: Pafincar Afro Boricua Jam – Practitioners, lovers, and followers of Boricua music and culture convene to partake in this new group. Homegrown in the Island, seasoned in the Diaspora, with hints of urban delight, serving bomba Pafincar! With Víctor Pablo Gaetán, Clara Díaz, Fernando García and Gabe Globus. Tenants’ rights activist and CASA leader Fitzroy Christian.

5:00 pm – Featured music group: Jainardo Batista y Cuarteto Guataca – Powerful and elegant singer and percussiont Jainardo Batista in a set of Puerto Rican-Cuban-Nuyorican melodies. Poet Luis “Brother North” Cañada. 

Theater highlight: Scenes from Pregones/PRTT’s forthcoming new musical TORCHED! about the South Bronx fires. Written and directed by Rosalba Rolón. Music by Desmar Guevara. Ensemble: Caridad De La Luz, Christin Eve Cato, José Joaquín García, Omar Pérez, Nyselis Vega, Álvaro Benavides, Anthony Carrillo, and Desmar Guevara.

Date & Time: Saturday, August 14, 2021, starting 3PM
Location: Yolanda García Park, E 160 Street, between Elton & Melrose Aves, in The Bronx

Hosted by Caridad De La Luz

See it online starting November 15, 2021 @ 7:30PM on:

Pregones/PRTT
—Facebook Live: www.facebook.com/pregonesprtt
—Vimeo: www.vimeo.com/pregonesprtt
—YouTube: www.youtube.com/pregonesprtt

BronxNET TV
—Cable: 69 Optimum
—Cable: 2135 FIOS
—Web: www.bronxnet.org/watch/Ch4

3:00 pm – DJ KS360. Poets Caridad de La Luz and Espada de La Luz. Food and immigrant rights activist Yajaira Saavedra. Featured performer: Full Circle Souljahs and Rokafella. Inspired by the street and brought into theaters, Full Circle Souljahs is a hip-hop collective that celebrates a wide spectrum of approachable and straight-from-the-heart Hip-Hop Culture. The group is helmed by celebrated hip-hop dance artists Ana “Rokafella” Garcia and Gabriel “Kwikstep” Dionisio.

4:00 pm – Poet: Dawn Díaz. South Bronx housing activist: Harry DeRienzo. Featured multidisciplinary performing artists from Dancing La Botánica and Pepatián’s Bronx Arts ColLABorative: Leenda Bonilla, REDi Dance Co, and Curet Performance Project. Dancing La Botánica: La Tierra Vive! is a collective of Latinx/a/o dance and visual artists that has been co-led since its 2019 launch by dance artists and educators, Beatrice Capote and Alicia Díaz as a platform for Latinx choreographers, dance makers and visual artists to support the development of new work.

5:00 pm – Poet: Frantz Jerome. Featured music group: New York Peace Officers American Warpipes – a Celtic bagpipe band that celebrates the spirit of first respondents, honoring those who have laid down their lives in protection of life and property of the city and state of New York. The multicultural band is comprised of law enforcement officers from different departments and agencies who volunteer their time and efforts for band practice and events.

Theater highlight: Scenes from Pregones/PRTT’s forthcoming new musical TORCHED! about the South Bronx fires. Written and directed by Rosalba Rolón. Music by Desmar Guevara. Ensemble: Caridad De La Luz, Christin Eve Cato, José Joaquín García, Omar Pérez, Nyselis Vega, Álvaro Benavides, Anthony Carrillo, and Desmar Guevara.

Date & Time: Saturday, August 21, 2021, starting 3PM
Location: Bruckner Mott Haven Garden, Corner of E 136 Street and Bruckner Blvd, in The Bronx

Hosted by Caridad De La Luz

See it online starting November 22, 2021 @ 7:30PM on:

Pregones/PRTT
—Facebook Live: www.facebook.com/pregonesprtt
—Vimeo: www.vimeo.com/pregonesprtt
—YouTube: www.youtube.com/pregonesprtt

BronxNET TV
—Cable: 69 Optimum
—Cable: 2135 FIOS
—Web: www.bronxnet.org/watch/Ch4

3:00 pm – DJ DeLaCeiba. Poets Caridad de La Luz and Jesús Papoleto Meléndez. Activist Fernando Ponce Laspina. Featured performer: Bámbula Project. An exciting new project by bass player, Alex “Apolo” Ayala, bringing a beautifully nuanced and contemporary fusion of Afro-Puerto Rican Bomba with Jazz. The quartet offers a celebration of heritage and culture through intense yet adventurous sonic storytelling, creating a journey for audiences that show how Jazz and Bomba unite to create a musical marriage of lyrical melodies and improvisational freedom.

4:00 pm – Poet: María Aponte. South Bronx activist: Francely Flores. Featured musical group: Jarana Beat. Jarana Beat is an award winning contemporary Mexican folk band that incorporates both music and dance of Mexican folk and Afro-Amerindian traditions into its vibrant performances. Led by Sinuhé Padilla-Isunza, this 10 piece ensemble brings in artists from all over the world to create unique sounds that balance styles from Son Jarocho, to Salsa, Cumbia, Samba and Rumba.

5:00 pm – Poet: Luis “Brother North” Cañada. Featured music group: The Mona Passage – based in The Bronx, this Latinx rock group is a reinvention of self, a love letter to The Puerto Rican Diaspora, a protest for independence. Their music is described as a reflective anthem, an epic poem, a rock & soul, new wave space folk, electric dream of patria y libertad. Their recent international tour included Konvent Zero (Spain), Fabrica Chocolate (Spain), & Buchhändlerkeller (Germany).

Theater highlight: Scenes from Pregones/PRTT’s forthcoming new musical TORCHED! about the South Bronx fires. Written and directed by Rosalba Rolón. Music by Desmar Guevara. Ensemble: Caridad De La Luz, Christin Eve Cato, José Joaquín García, Omar Pérez, Nyselis Vega, Álvaro Benavides, Anthony Carrillo, and Desmar Guevara.

Date & Time: Saturday, August 28, 2021, starting 3PM
Location: Rincón Criollo/La Casita de Chema, 749 Brook Avenue, Bronx, NY (off 157th Street)

Hosted by Caridad De La Luz

Pregones/PRTT, We Stay/Nos Quedamos, BomPlenazo, and Hostos Center for the Arts & Culture join hands in remembrance of and special tribute to the late Puerto Rican traditional music and community pillar DON BENNY AYALA.

Don Bienvenido “Benny” Ayala was one of the most prolific and active of the pleneros and bomberos in The Bronx. The late José Manuel “Chema” Soto, founder of Rincón Criollo, acknowledged him as the most accomplished traditional composer of his time.

In November 2020, Don Benny passed away in his home, surrounded by family. Even at the height of Covid-19, dozens of people arrived at the funeral services to pay their respects. The legacy of Maestro Ayala impacts bomba and plena communities in Puerto Rico and in Puerto Rican communities across the U.S. Musicians from younger generations praise him as one of the enduring icons of these traditions.

Join us as we celebrate a life well lived at one of our favorite community gathering spaces – La Casita de Chema. Event co-curated by Julia Gutiérrez-Rivera and Don Benny’s grandson, Nelson Matthew “Mateo” González. Mateo, along with his family members and loved ones, will share their stories to uplift the memory of Don Benny. After the performances, join the open Batey to continue the singing, dancing and jamming in true “Vente-Tú / La Casita” style!

See it online starting October 4, 2021 @ 7:30PM

3:00 pm – Ahora Es Tiempo – contemporary bomba and plena practitioners, including Jorge Vázquez, Juan Gerena, Carlos Espada, Jenny Morales, and more, pay tribute to Don Benny. Under the direction of Nelson Matthew González (Benny’s grandson), the group will play songs from the upcoming album Matthew has been producing – Ahora Es Tiempo – the first album exclusively featuring the late maestro Don Benny Ayala’s original inspirations and compositions. The album is expected to be released in 2022. Guest speaker: Fernando Ponce Laspina

4:00 pm – Don Benny’s Legacy – this second collective of musicians will bring together voices and drumming of pleneros who were inspired by Don Benny and played alongside him, often sharing songs and memories at La Casita. The group is also directed by Nelson González and will feature practitioners Mildred Cruz, Jay Rivera and more. Their repertoire will be songs written about or inspired by Don Benny. Guest Speaker: Princeton University scholar César Colón Montijo.

5:00 pm – Vente-Tú – The third and final collective will be led by José “Joseito” Rivera, another preeminent NYC plenero, and long-time member of El Rincón Criollo. As a long time member of La Casita, Joseito and Don Benny shared many days and songs together throughout the years. In spirit of the kinship, and true to Bomplenazo format, Joseito brings together various Casita pleneros to play, sing and drum in Casita style, as he does every Festival year, to warm up the stage and help kick off the Vente-Tú.

MORE ABOUT DON BENNY
(adapted from text courtesy of Elena Martínez of the BMHC).
The late Don Bienvenido “Benny” Ayala was one of the most prolific Bronx plenero and bombero. The late maestro José Manuel “Chema” Soto, the founder of Casita Rincón Criollo, acknowledged him as “the most accomplished plena composer living today.”

Maestro Ayala was part of the Bronx plena community since the early 1990s, though he was a plenero before becoming part of the musical scene at the casita. He was born in Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico and raised in La Playa de Ponce where he was introduced to the music of bomba and plena by neighbors.

He arrived in New York City in 1959 and in the subsequent decades would hear plena in places like Central Park and other New York City musical gatherings. Benny began to compose plenas at the same time he was beginning to play the panderetas. He defined himself as a plenero, although he also composed, sang and played bomba as well.

Benny’s repertoire narrates in verses the daily life at the casita, and his personal experiences as a Puerto Rican in New York City. His plena compositions include political songs about Don Pedro Albizu Campos and the Grito de Lares, songs with cultural themes, for example praising musicians like Rafael Cortijo and Ismael Rivera, or farewell songs for recently passed fellow pleneros. He also wrote romantic and religious plenas, including comic and ironic descriptions of daily events and characters in the community and plenas jíbaras written in the décima and aguinaldo forms.

Benny was among the casita members who helped to move the casita and its accompanying environs from its original site to its new (and current location) at Brook Avenue and 157th St. In addition to being a versed lyricist in both plena and bomba, Don Benny was also an artesano (artisan), an instrument maker and teacher., making maracas, panderetas, bomba barrils, vejigante masks and more.

He has taught plena to generations of musicians at the casita, and mentored many of today’s next generation of bomberos and pleneros, including his grandson, Nelson Matthew González, who is recognized today as one of New York City’s top bomberos and pleneros.

The legacy of our maestro Benny Ayala has also impacted bomba and plena communities in Puerto Rico and in Puerto Rican communities across the U.S. among musicians from younger generations who praise him as one of the living icons of these traditions.

In November of 2020, Don Benny passed away in his home, next to his family. Even at the height of COVID, dozens of people arrived at the funeral services to pay this maestro homage. Today we gather in the Bronx, as part of Stage Garden Rumba, Bomplenazo and in La Casita – one of his homes – to pay him the fitting tribute he deserves.

ABOUT BOMPLENAZO: Bomplenazo is a biennial Festival, established in 2000, that presents and celebrates the practices and the communities of Puerto Rican Bomba and Plena, from both the island and diaspora communities. Produced by the Hostos Center for Arts & Culture and guided by an Advisory Committee of musical practitioners and community members, the Bomplenazo is made possible by funding support from: National Endowment for the Arts, the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, the New York STate Council on the Arts, The Howard Gilman Foundation, the offices of City Council member Rafael Salamance, JR and New York State Assembly Jose Rivera. The 2020 installment of Bomplenazo was the first ever digital version of this preeminent Bomba and Plena festival, offering a series of online and streamed events for five consecutive days in October 2020. To continue in the spirit of physical gathering, the Advisory Committee has continued to produce events in 2021, including both virtual and public/live events. These additional events are what we call, Bomplenazo 2020, Continuamos!

Date & Time: Saturday, September 11, 2021, starting 3PM
Location: Crotona Park Amphiteater, 901 Claremont Parkway, The Bronx, NY 10457

Hosted by Caridad De La Luz

Theater highlight: Scenes from Pregones/PRTT’s forthcoming new musical TORCHED! about the South Bronx fires. Written and directed by Rosalba Rolón. Music by Desmar Guevara. Ensemble: Caridad De La Luz, Christin Eve Cato, José Joaquín García, Omar Pérez, Nyselis Vega, Álvaro Benavides, Anthony Carrillo, and Desmar Guevara.

See it online starting November 29, 2021 @ 7:30PM on:

Pregones/PRTT
—Facebook Live: www.facebook.com/pregonesprtt
—Vimeo: www.vimeo.com/pregonesprtt
—YouTube: www.youtube.com/pregonesprtt

BronxNET TV
—Cable: 69 Optimum
—Cable: 2135 FIOS
—Web: www.bronxnet.org/watch/Ch4

3:00 pm – DJ DeLaCeiba. Poets Caridad de La Luz and Joeski Sea. Activist: Marilyn Reyes. Featured performer: Jainardo Batista & Cuarteto Guataca. Singer and percussionist Jainardo Batista brings in the commanding elegance of his Cuarteto Guataca in a set of Puerto Rican, Cuban, and Nuyorican classic melodies popular around the times of The Bronx fires in the 1970’s and 80’s.

4:00 pm – Poet: I AM (Iris A. Morales). Featured dance performance: Alethea Pace’s Here Goes The Neighborhood. Bronx-based choreographer, performer, and BRIO award winner Alethea Pace returns with an excerpt from her latest work, Here goes the neighborhood. Performed with Richard Rivera and Holiday, the work is informed by a practice of walking, moving, collecting stories and reimagining spaces with Bronxites including Arthur Aviles, Rodrick Bell, Malcolm Betts,Trevon Blondet, Joan Bradford, Alexander Diaz, Alicia Grullon, Mychal Johnson, Nic Kay, Urayoán Noel, Richard Rivera, Carmen Vega-Rivera, Yosara Trujillo, Charlie Vazquez and Karen Washington. Photo Kathryn Butler.

5:00 pm – Poet: Dyverse the First. Featured music group: Circa’95 – Hailing from New York City, Circa ’95 is an Afro-Latino rap group comprised of Patty Dukes and Reph. Puerto Rican & Dominican by way of The Bronx and Washington Heights, they rhyme seamlessly through English and Spanish. They’ve performed at Carnegie Hall, SXSW, International Festival of Arts & Ideas and the Smithsonian Museum in Washington D.C. Their latest music project “Problems & Bills,” features a collection of songs reflecting the struggles many face coming of age uptown.

Date & Time: Saturday, September 25, 2021, starting 3PM
Location: María Solá Green Space, East 134th St & Lincoln Avenue, The Bronx, NY

Hosted by Caridad De La Luz

Theme: Youth, Truth and All Things Uniquely The Bronx.

See it online starting December 6, 2021 @ 7:30PM on:

Pregones/PRTT
—Facebook Live: www.facebook.com/pregonesprtt
—Vimeo: www.vimeo.com/pregonesprtt
—YouTube: www.youtube.com/pregonesprtt

BronxNET TV
—Cable: 69 Optimum
—Cable: 2135 FIOS
—Web: www.bronxnet.org/watch/Ch4

3:00 pm – DJ DeLaCeiba. Poets Caridad de La Luz and Zayda Rivera. Activist: Lillian Jiménez. Featured performer: UpBeat NYC String Ensemble – Established in 2009, UpBeat NYC provides free musical training for South Bronx children and youth who have limited access to high quality arts education. Their multigenerational String Ensemble includes their top string students ranging in age from 11-17. Music will include works by Bach, Ponce, Mozart, Hernandez, and Piazzola .

4:00 pm – Poet: Anthony Morales. Activist: David Galarza. Featured performers: UpBeat NYC Afro Latin Jazz Ensemble – This ensemble was created to explore and represent NYC’s great cultural heritage of Jazz and Afro-Latin music, and often features works by composers such as Duke Ellington, Tito Puente, and Ray Santos. UpBeat’s Jazz Band has been invited to perform at venues around NYC including Carnegie Hall, City Hall, Loisaida Festival, as well as multiple local community events in the South Bronx.

5:00 pm – Poets: K-Hyph and Espada de la Luz. Featured music group: Bámbula Project – Bámbula Project is an exciting new group by bass player, Alex “Apolo” Ayala, bringing a beautifully nuanced and contemporary fusion of Afro-Puerto Rican Bomba with Jazz. The quartet offers a celebration of heritage and culture through intense yet adventurous sonic storytelling, creating a journey for audiences that show how Jazz and Bomba unite to create a musical marriage of lyrical melodies and improvisational freedom.