June 20, 2007

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	Francisco Mela
	Photo by Phil Farnsworth
	Perú Mestizo Dancers
	Photo by Oscar Stagnaro

Berklee, La Casa de La Cultura/Inquilinos Boricuas en Accion (IBA), and ParkARTS are pleased to present the third-annual Tito Puente Music Series. This year's program combines the Latin rhythms of Cuba, Peru, Venezuela, Costa Rica, and Ecuador with beats from the urban landscapes of Boston, New York, and D.C. to create spicy licks that would make "El Maestro" Puente proud. All concerts are free.

The four outdoor concert performances will take place Thursday evenings July 12, 19, 26 and August 2, in honor of the Latin music giant Tito Puente at O'Day Park (next door to the Jorge Hernandez Cultural Center), 85 West Newton Street, in Boston's South End. Concerts start at 7:00 p.m. For more information call 617 927-1707, email info@claboston.org. This venue is wheelchair accessible.

Please read directions to the venue at the bottom of this page.

Tito Puente Latin Music Series 2007 Schedule:

Thursday, July 12, Francisco Mela - Melao at 7:00 p.m.

Cuban-born drummer, composer, and Berklee faculty member Francisco Mela was touted as "a bandleader on the rise" by the New York Times in a recent review of a performance at the Jazz Standard. Melao, the Spanish word for sugar cane syrup and, in this case, the favorable mix of Mela's influences from Cuba, Africa, and New York, was hailed as the best debut album of the year by All About Jazz. Mela has recorded and performed with Chucho Valdes, Paquito D'Rivera, Danilo Perez, David Sanchez, Don Byron, and more. With his sweet amalgam of Cuban music infused with sounds from other global landscapes, jazz listeners, Latin music lovers, and urbanites are sure to enjoy the performance.

Thursday, July 19, Perú Mestizo led by Bernardo Hernandez at 7:00 p.m.

Venezuelan composer/arranger/performer and Berklee faculty member Bernardo Hernández—who has performed with luminaries such as Pete "El Conde" Rodríguez, Antonio Lauro, Soledad Bravo, Nancy Wilson, and Giovanni Hidalgo—leads Perú Mestizo. This Boston-based group represents Peruvian culture through music and dance. Each of the group's performances offer exciting Afro-Peruvian rhythms and enchanting sounds from the diverse regions of Peru. They perform Festejo, Lando, Tondero, Marinera, Huayno, Peruvian waltzes, and Polcas, among other rhythms.

Thursday, July 26, Gonzalo Grau y Su Clave Secreta (formerly La Timba Loca) at 7:00 p.m.

An ensemble formed on the foundation of Cuban timba, but woven with threads from the homelands of its members hailing from Greece, Holland, Israel, France, Brazil, Costa Rica, Ecuador, and beyond, Gonzalo Grau y Su Clave Secreta are a tapestry of cultures with a message for serious listeners and a beat for people ready to jump to their feet. This group, originally from D.C., has performed in the Global Village Festival in Sydney, Australia, and the Benny Moré Festival in Cuba. They have also gathered a following in Boston and played sold-out shows in Philadelphia and D.C.

The members of Gonzalo Grau y Su Clave Secreta. Photo provided by the artists.

	Nu Guajiro
	Photo provided by the artist.

Thursday, August 2, Nu Guajiro at 7:00 p.m.

Nu Guajiro is a group influenced by Cuban folkloric music and flavored by the funk and harmonies of New York. They gathered their members from subways, Central Park, and while playing for dance classes. Nu Guajiro has played traditional Cuban son at Half Note Jazz Club in Athens, Greece, several venues in Puerto Rico, and SOB's in New York. The band has shared the stage with Buena Vista Social Club, and opened for the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra. Now Boston can hear their New York–based groove.

The series marks Berklee's third-annual concert collaboration with La Casa de la Cultura and ParkARTS. James McCoy, Berklee's director for community and governmental affairs, states, "It is a fantastic opportunity for the college to engage with the community of Villa Victoria, right down the street from us." This series has an even greater significance for the center. According to Alex Alvear, performing arts director at La Casa de La Cultura, "O'Day Park was renovated through support from the Boston Parks and Recreation Department to become one of the few parks in Boston with a performance space, which was essential to fulfilling the founder's dream of creating a place for Latinos to share their culture. The collaboration with Berklee has opened up the pool of resources necessary to make that vision possible."

La Casa de la Cultura and Berklee have joined forces for several projects to bring music education programming to local youth, produce fundraising concerts for La Casa de la Cultura, and secure equipment and computers for music programs.

Now in its eleventh year, ParkARTS began as Mayor Thomas M. Menino's initiative to present a yearlong program of arts- and culture-related programs and events in Boston's park system. ParkARTS, the Boston Parks and Recreation Department's multifaceted arts program, incorporates the visual, performing, and participatory arts. The 2007 ParkARTS performing arts program, sponsored by Bank of America, presents concerts at Boston neighborhood parks that will range from jazz to symphonic music. Over 80 participatory arts programs will be offered, including arts and crafts workshops and landscape watercolor painting classes.

A program of the dynamic community building agency Inquilinos Boricuas en Accion (IBA), La Casa de la Cultura/Center for Latino Arts (CLA) is the only multifunctional arts complex in New England fully dedicated to the mission of promoting and preserving Latino arts. The CLA conveys the vitality of contemporary and traditional Latino cultural expressions through performances, exhibits and classes in a variety of art forms, including Latin jazz, folk dance and music, poetry, theater, and the visual arts. We fulfill our mission by providing high quality and affordable arts education, particularly for at-risk youth in Villa Victoria; advocacy, coordination, support, and incubation for Latino artists and arts organizations; exhibition, work, rehearsal, performance, and rental space; and opportunities for cross-cultural collaboration between Latinos and the rest of the city's diverse populations. The CLA has a vision of the arts as life-affirming, community-centered, and individually transformative—celebrating local traditions while promoting the broad diversity of Latin American cultural expression. For more information, visit claboston.org.

DIRECTIONS

Via MBTA Orange Line: Exit at the Massachusetts Avenue stop. Walk two blocks down Massachusetts Avenue and take a left onto Tremont St. Walk six blocks and take a right onto West Newton St.

Via Green Line: Exit at Copley Square stop. As you exit the station, take a right onto Boylston Street. Proceed to the corner, take a right onto Dartmouth Street. Continue five blocks, take a right onto Tremont Street. Proceed four blocks, take a left onto West Newton Street. (This is a 15-20 minute walk.)

Via Silver Line: Exit at Newton Street stop on Washington Street. Cross over to West Netwon Street and folllow approx 2 blocks (This is about three-minute walk.)

Via #1 BUS: The #1 Bus out of Dudley Square stops at the corner of Massachusetts Avenue and Tremont Street, within walking distance of the JHCC. Walk down Tremont Street and take a right onto West Netwon Street.

For driving directions, please go to Google Maps.

For editorial information or digital photos, the media may contact:

Mitzi A. Dorbu
Office of Public Information
617 747-2750
mdorbu@berklee.edu