Hostos Center For The Arts And Culture to Present Ángel 'Papote' Alvarado EL Grupo Escencia

After their great success in Chicago and New Orleans, Ángel "Papote" Alvarado y el Grupo Esencia arrive in New York City to perform live on Saturday, September 30, 2023 at 7:30 p.m. at the Hostos Center for the Arts & Culture in Hostos Community College.

In their Hostos Center debut, Ángel "Papote" Alvarado y el Grupo Esencia will celebrate 25 years of performing and recording their dynamic style of hard-hitting, danceable Bomba, Plena and Salsa - beloved musical forms and traditions from Puerto Rico. These Latin Grammy nominees released their seventh album "El tren de la sabrosura" (The Train of Joy) in 2022 to high praise and recognition, winning the prestigious "Best Album of the Year" from Puerto Rico's Fundación Nacional para La Cultura Popular.

Joining them is special guest artist Hector "Pichie" Pérez - the Bronx-born "sonero" and 30-year lead singer of Papo Lucca's acclaimed salsa band La Sonora Ponceña. This culturally rich evening will resonate with lovers - young and old - of contemporary Puerto Rican Bomba, Plena, Salsa and Afro-Caribbean music.

The evening opens with an exciting set performed by Bronx-based singer and artist Yova Rodríguez y Su Conjunto Sakao Aká, under the direction of percussionist Anthony Carrillo. The stellar evening takes place in the Main Theater of Hostos Community College, located at 450 Grand Concourse (at 149 th Street) in the Bronx. Tickets are $25 and $20 with discounts available for students, seniors and groups of 10 or more. They can be purchased online at www.hostoscenter.org, by calling 718-518-4455 (M-F, 9am-5pm), or by visiting the Hostos Box Office Window, Mon-Fri, from 1pm to 4pm and beginning at 5:30 pm on the day of the concert. Hostos Community College can be reached by the IRT 2, 4, 5 Trains and the Bronx Bx1, Bx2, Bx19 buses to 149 th Street & Grand Concourse. By car, the College is off Exit 3 of the Major Deegan Expressway (I-87).

About The Artists:

Ángel "Papote" Alvarado is a percussionist, composer and singer from the historic La Cuarta neighborhood in Ponce, Puerto Rico. He is the director and founder of the musical group Grupo Esencia, as well as a cultural manager and the current organizer of the Festival Afro Caribeño del Barrio La Cuarta. In his 25-year musical career, he has collaborated with many groups and musicians of the Bomba, the Plena, and Salsa - the African-based music and dance traditions of the island. With Grupo Esencia, he has recorded several productions that have been praised by the most important music critics of the genre. The album titled "Con la fuerza de un tren" (With the Force of a Train) was nominated for the Latin Grammy Awards in 2011. In 2022, his seventh album "El tren de la sabrosura" (The Train of Joy) was awarded "Best Album of the Year" by Puerto Rico's Fundación Nacional Para la Cultura Popular (The National Foundation for Popular Culture).

In his musical productions and concerts, he often collaborates with and presents renowned figures from the world of Salsa music, including Gilberto Santa Rosa, José Alberto "El Canario", Pirulo, and Hector "Pichie" Pérez, among many others. Ángel "Papote" Alvarado y el Grupo Esencia has performed in several cities in the United States, most recently in Chicago and New Orleans, as well as in France and Spain, among others.

About The Hostos Center for Arts & Culture

Named "the powerful locus for Latino art" by the New York Times, the Hostos Center serves the cultural needs of South Bronx residents and neighboring communities. As a leader in Latinx and African-based programming, the Center creates performing and visual arts forums in which the diverse cultural heritages of its audiences are celebrated and nurtured. The Hostos Center consists of two state-of-the art theaters of 900 and 367 seats each, an experimental Black Box theater and a museum-grade art gallery.

Hostos Center events are sponsored by the Hostos Community College Foundation with funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, the New York State Council on the Arts, the Howard Gilman Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Office of NYC Councilmember Rafael Salamanca, Jr.

About Hostos Community College

Hostos Community College is an educational agent for change, transforming and improving the quality of life in the South Bronx and neighboring communities since 1968. Hostos serves as a gateway to intellectual growth and socioeconomic mobility, and a point of departure for lifelong learning, success in professional careers, and transfer to advanced higher education programs. Hostos Community College is part of CUNY, the nation's leading urban public university serving more than 480,000 students at 24 colleges. https://www.hostos.cuny.edu/