Season Opening Concert: Mambo Legends, Lucrecia, Xiomara Laugart, Nelson Gonzalez At Lehman Center

Just 30 minutes from Harlem, Lehman Center for the Performing Arts is proud to announce the Spectacular 2024-2025 Season Opening Concert .

The concert featured THE MAMBO LEGENDS ORCHESTRA, LUCRECIA, XIOMARA LAUGART, & NELSON GONZALEZ. On Saturday, September 14, 2024, at 8 PM, audiences will experience a dazzling performance featuring the vibrant rhythms of Rumba, Mambo, and Salsa. Cuban vocalists Lucrecia and Xiomara Laugart will lend their beautiful voices to this event, marking an exhilarating start to a new season of exceptional performances with a rich blend of Afro-Cuban and Latin melodies.

Produced by Robert Sancho. 

Lehman Center for the Performing Arts is on the campus of Lehman College/CUNY at 250 Bedford Park Boulevard West, Bronx, NY 10468. Tickets for RUMBA, MAMBO & SALSA on Saturday, September 14, 2024, at 8 pm (VIP $100, $85, $65, $40, $35) can be purchased by calling the Lehman Center box office at 718-960-8833; Para Español: 718-960-8835 (Monday through Friday, 10 am–5 pm, and beginning 4 hours prior to showtime on weekends), or through online access at https://www.lehmancenter.org/events/rumba-mambo-salsa. The Lehman Center is accessible by #4 or D train to Bedford Park Blvd. and is off the Saw Mill River Parkway and the Major Deegan Expressway.

LUCRECIA was born in Cuba, where she studied music and piano at El Instituto Superior de Arte.She has been a pivotal member of the acclaimed all-female orchestra Anacaona, excelling in vocal arrangements, keyboard performance, and musical composition. Her talents extend to the soundtrack for the Oscar-nominated film Balseros, directed by Carles Bosch and Josep María Domenech. In 1996, she participated in the Three Generations of Cuban Musicians tour with Paquito D’Rivera and Patato Valdés, performing at Festival Womad in Cáceres and Las Palmas de Gran Canarias. Her album, Álbum de Cuba, produced in collaboration with Andy García, was nominated for Best Contemporary Tropical Album by the Latin GRAMMYs in 2010. She is the visionary producer and creator behind the esteemed social-cultural event Premios Alegría de Vivir. Her remarkable contribution to the Grammy-winning album The Last Mambo earned accolades at the Latin Grammy Awards in 2011 and 2012. 

XIOMARA LAUGART vocalist from Cuba who began her career at only 15 years old. In the 1980s, she won the highest award at the Adolfo Guzmán Contest for Cuban Music and received international acclaim at Poland’s Sopot Festival (1985) and Germany’s Dresden Festival (1986). Laugart was the lead singer of the group Yerba Buena, whose debut album, President Alien, received a Grammy-nomination and has been featured in the film Havana Nights. She has also been included on popular albums, Deep Rumba by Kip Hanrahan, Latin Lullaby by Ellipsis Art, and Jacky Terrason’s What It Is. Over the course of her successful career, she has produced over 17 albums, including hits like Guajira, Hoy Mi Habana, and De Mis Recuerdos.

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THE MAMBO LEGENDS ORCHESTRA created in 2000 by former members of the Tito Puente Orchestra, the group is led by John “Dandy” Rodriguez, Mitch Frohman, and musical director Jose Madera. Renowned bongocero John “Dandy” Rodriguez began his career with Tito Rodriguez and played with Ray Barretto and Típica ’73 before joining Tito Puente’s band for 27 years. Bronx native Mitch Frohman served as the saxophone and flute soloist with the Tito Puente Orchestra for 25 years and has played with Latin greats, Eddie and Charlie Palmieri. Jose Madera, the group’s musical director, started with Machito and was Tito Puente’s conguero for 30 years, performing on over 100 recordings. Their album Watch Out! ¡Ten Cuidao! (2011) earned a Latin Grammy nomination, and they were featured in the 2013 documentary “For the Love of the Mambo.”

NELSON GONZALEZ is a renowned tres player and leader of the Del Caribe Latin Jazz All Stars. He made his debut with Justo Betancourt’s Orchestra in 1971 and later played with the Larry Harlow Orchestra, which led to the formation of the Revelation Orchestra with Ismael Miranda. He joined Grupo Típica ‘73 in 1973, which won the Best Salsa Band award at the 1976 World Salsa Festival. His accolades include being named Best Tres Player of the Year by Latin New York Magazine (1997-1999) and participating in President Jimmy Carter’s inauguration in 1977. He was featured on the following Grammy Award-winning albums from artists Gloria Estefan, Tito Puente and Eddie Palmieri, Cachao, and Rubin Blades. Nelson, along with his legendary band, released Gracias Dizzy in 2021, which is a tribute to Dizzy Gillespie. 

Lehman Center for the Performing Arts, Inc. is supported, in part, by public funds through the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the New York City Council and the Bronx Delegation. Additional funding is provided by the New York State Council on the Arts with support from the office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature. We are thrilled to share that Goya Foods has agreed to renew their sponsorship for this season which will help Lehman Center expand our reach to the community. In addition, we have secured funding from the Howard Gillman Foundation to help grow our programming. The 2024-2025 season is also made possible through sponsorships by Con Edison, Havana Café, Friends of Lehman Center, and our cherished audience members.