Nellie Tanco: Vocalist, Pandereta Seguidor |
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| Nellie was born in Santurce, Puerto Rico and was raised in a family where the tradition of bomba and plena was always present. Noticing her natural inclination toward music since she was very young, her father, Mr. Domingo Tanco, taught her to play the pandereta, the traditional plena drum. She also learned from her older brothers and from the great plenero Emilio Escobar, a close friend of her father. Possessed with a crystal-clear and beautiful voice, she was always encouraged to play and sing at the community gatherings where the music was played. In 1970, Nellie moved to New York City with her family, where she along with her brother Sammy, helped organize the bomba and plena group, Conjunto Loiza. From 1978 to 1981, Nellie toured as a singer and actress with the Joseph Papp's production, 'Olu Clemente, Here We Come, and Piñones", by the renown Puerto Rican poet and playwright, Tato Laviera. She was also featured as a plena singer with the great Puerto Rican musicians, Rafael Cortijo and Victor Montañez. Nellie has played a leading role in Los Pleneros de la 21 since she joined the group in 1987. She is an outstanding performer and her powerful alto voice easily cuts through the often incendiary and complex drumming of Los Pleneros |
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Edgardo Miranda: Master Cuatro Player & Arranger |
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| Born in Santurce, Puerto Rico, in 1952, Edgardo is a self-taught Cuatro player. He learned to play the instrument by listening and watching members of his family play the cuatro at family gatherings. When he reached 12, he had already embraced the guitar and spent countless hours listening to records of guitar great West Montgomery. Edgardo grew up to be one of the best young guitar players the music scene in Puerto Rico. While pursuing a degree in performance and composition at the University and The Conservatory of Music of Puerto Rico, Edgardo collaborated with two of the most important musical personalities of Puerto Rico, Rafael Cortijo and Juan Torres, in addition to playing in dance and show bands. In 1977, Edgardo moved to New York City and immediately started working with Puerto Rican musicians Pepe Castillo and Jerry Gonzalez, with whom he arranged and recorded. In 1982, Edgardo joined the Tito Puente Jazz Ensemble, where he was featured as composer, arranger, and Cuatro and Guitar soloist in the group's Grammy Award winning recording, "On Broadway", and in tours in the United States and Europe. In 1983, he associated with Juan Gutiérrez to form Los Pleneros de la 21, where he has been one of the major contributors to the group's musical development and success over its eight years of existence. Edgardo has also recorded and performed with Paul Simon's Caribbeña Project, The Children's Television Workshop, Bob Telson's off Broadway and touring plays, 'The Warrior Ant', and 'Images', Puerto Rican Traveling Theater. He has also served as production consultant and conducted music workshops and seminars. He was a 1981 'Meet the Composer' grant recipient, and has written compositions for Cuatro and Small Symphonic Orchestra, as well as compositions for Piano and Jazz Ensemble. |
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Alberto "Tito" Cepeda: Bomba Primo/Subidor, Maraca |
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| Born in East Harlem, New York in 1956. Tito's family exposed him to the traditional music of Santeria. Later, in the Lexington Avenue Express Music Workshop, he learned bomba and plena from the master plenero Marcial Reyes. He played and recorded with Pepe Castillo y su Estampa Criolla and is a founding member of Los Pleneros de la 21. His distinctive drum and his ability to motivate the dancers, makes Tito the commanding force in the bomba drum ensemble of Los Pleneros de la 21. Tito has featured with Eddie Palmieri, Tito Puente, Victor Montañez, La Familia Cepeda, Grupo Afro Cuba de Matanzas, Orlando Ríos "Puntilla", Carlos "Patato" Valdez y Totico. |
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Juan Gutierrez: Founder & Director |
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A 1996 recipient of National
Endowment for the Arts' National Heritage Fellowship Award, Juan
studied at the University of Puerto Rico and the Conservatory
of Music in San Juan before moving to New York City in 1976.
He continued his music education at the Manhattan School of Music
where he received a diploma in percussion with a minor in piano
and later, a Masters in Music Education from Lehman College. As leader and composer for "Los
Pleneros" (named for the Santurce, P.R. neighborhood famous
for its pleneros), Juan has performed his compositions at major
music festivals and music events throughout the country including:
The Smithsonian Institution's Martin Luther King's Birthday Celebration,
the Festival of American Folklife, the Hudson River Revival Festival,
the National Festival, the Masters Series at Carnegie Hall, the
Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, as well as the First International
Folk Festival in Moscow. |
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Jose Lantigua: Pianist, Arranger & Composer |
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| Born in the Dominican Republic. Has studied music since age fifteen. Mr. Lantigua has worked as pianist of internationally know figures such as Jose Luis Rodriguez, Basilio, Lolita de España, among others and with renonow orquestras like, Roberto Rohena and his Apollo Sound, Willie Rosario, Santiago Ceron, among others. As an arranger, Mr. Lantigua has contributed with diverse works for different orquestras in the salsa, and merengue scene. As a pianist Jose Lantigua has the ability of performing with a very wide spectrum of Latin styles, from merengue to salsa, including folklore such as Bomba & Plena and Latin Jazz emsembles. Presently enrolled in Nyack College where is pursuing Theological Studies and a Psychology mayor. Mr. Lantigua, a born-again christian has a very deep commitment ot his faith and the preservation and respect of Christian values... |
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Juan Manuel Usera: Bomba Dancer |
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| Raised in Villa Palmeras, Puerto Rico, Usera has been dancing and playing bomba and plena since he was a kid. During his early childhood he studied music and dance at the Cepeda Family School in Puerto Rico. Later he formed part of the Puerto Rico based group Paracumbé, the Cepeda Family and the Folkloric Ballet of Caguas under the direction of dancer and choreographer Awilda Sterling. Usera has a Bachelors Degree in History and Theater from the University of Puerto Rico. He was trained in modern and experimental dance by dancer Viveca Vázquez and Petra Bravo. Among his performance and theater professors are Rosa Luisa Márquez, Augusto Boal and Richard Schechner. In 1997 he finished his Masters Degree in Performance Studies in New York University. While attending Graduate School he was part of the Latin American Ensemble of NYU. In New York he has performed with several companies including Dos Alas with Afrocuba de Matanzas and los Hermanos Cepeda, William Cepeda's Afrorican Jazz, Boys Harbor ensemble in tribute to Tito Puente and of course Los Pleneros de la 21. He is currently studying music and applying his experience as both a scholar and a dancer to the development of a video documentary Sabor a Rumba while he continues to teach at the Children's Workshop organized by Los Pleneros de la 21. |
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Sammy Tanco: Singer, Guiro, Maraca & Pandereta |
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| Born and raised in Santurce, Puerto Rico. Mr. Tanco's first musical influence came from his father Domingo Tanco, who was a "plenero" (plena player). In 1967 Mr. Tanco organized his first bomba & plena group in New York City. Mr. Tanco participated in many festivals and concerts such as the Expressiones Festival, John Jay College First Folk Festival and "Fiestas de Loiza". He also has had the privilege of performing with the immortals Rafael Cortijo, Ismael Rivera and Mon Rivera. Mr. Tanco was also one of the founding members, developers of the "Taller de Artesanias" in El Museo del Barrio and El Taller Boricua in New York City. He has also been a member of los Pleneros de la 21 since 1983. |
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Ricardo Pons: Pregones' Musical Director |
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| This young Puerto Rican composer is an experienced Flutist, Saxophonist, Clarinetist and Percussionist. In 1993 he was awarded an Edward & Sally Van Lier Fellowship. Ricardo graduated with a Bachelors Degree in Fine Arts from the City College of new York and a masters degree in Jazz Performance and Composition from the Aaron Copland School of Music in Queens College. He studied under saxophonist and composer Jimmy Heath and under pianist and composer Sir Roland Hanna. In 1989 Ricardo joins pregones and has since participated in all company productions as a musician and composer. Currently he also works as a professional musician with several orchestras in New York, including: Los Pleneros de la 21, José José, Brenda K. Star, Sarabanda, Hector Lavoe orchestra, Ray Santos Caribbean Experience. More recently, Ricardo has been collaborating with master dumber Rafi Irizarry and Timbalaye. Together with several young musicians in New York, Mr. Pons is currently creating the music ensemble Latin Jazz Fusion. With this ensemble, Ricardo continues to experiment with folklore rhythms like bomba and plena, mixing with jazz harmonies and salsa elements. One of the goals both with Pregones and with Latin Jazz Fusion is to join Jazz and Classical music knowledge with folklore to create music and drama works for mixed ensembles involving the traditional, folklore and electronic elements. | |
Donald Knicks: Bassist |
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|Juango Gutiérrez|Edgardo Miranda|Juan Manuel Usera|Tito Cepeda|Nellie Tanco|Sammy Tanco|Donald Knicks|Ricardo Pons|Jose Lantigua| |
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