Our Board

Edwin Pagán

Edwin Pagán Director of Communications and Media at Nos Quedamos, Eddie is a Bronx-based artist, cultural advocate, strategist, and activist with over 30 years of hands-on experience in communications, organizing, program development and implementation in the non-profit and commercial sectors in the service of the South Bronx community.

Email: pagan@latinhorror.com

Elena martínez

Elena Martínez is the Co-Artistic Director of the Bronx Music Heritage Center a gallery and Folklorist at City Lore. She co-produced the documentary, From Mambo to Hip Hop: A South Bronx Tale, which aired on PBS in September 2006 and won the NCLR’s (National Council of La Raza) 2007 ALMA Award for Best TV Documentary. She was a producer for the documentary, We Like It Like That: The Story of Latin Boogaloo, which premiered at the SXSW Festival in 2015. She was also a producer on the short documentary, Eddie Palmieri: A Revolution on Harlem River Drive (Red Bull Academy 2016).

Email: emartinez@citylore.org

Roberto Marrero

Retired Attorney and Spanish teacher, Roberto Marrero has served on LP21’s board since 2017. Having participated in LP21’s programs and being a friend to the organziation for a long time, his legal expertise and community support has been invaluable in his role as Board Member.

Nelson Cabassa

Born and raised in NYC, Nelson Cabassa is founding partner at Urbane Brokerage real estate firm, and has served as a Managing Director at Bond New York, Mark David, & SDB Residential. A former Broadway Actor & Concert Dancer, Nelson has performed with Jessye Norman at Carnegie Hall and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. He studied with master practitioners at LP21 and has performed with accomplished Bomba and Plena groups such as Alma Moyo and the BomPlenazo Artist Collective, a collaborative effort involving more than 20 artists, many of whom are renowned practitioners in the traditions of Bomba and Plena music and dance. Nelson is an active parent and participant in LP21’s Bomba & Plena Community Workshops and Cultural Legacy programs.

José Ari Rivera

José Ari Rivera serves as Vice President and Deputy General Counsel in the legal department at Pandora Media’s New York offices. With over 17 years of experience in the legal industry, Ari holds a Government and Politics Bachelor of Science from the University of Maryland, College Park and a Juris Doctor from Fordham University School of Law. Born and raised in El Barrio, Ari is an active parent and participant in LP21’s Bomba & Plena Community Workshops and Cultural Legacy programs, and a talented Bomba and Plena practitioner in his own right.

Roberta singer

En Memoria

Roberta Singer PhD, Ethnomusicologist & Folklorist, was a member of LP21's Board of Directors since its beginning in 1992 until her passing in 2022. She researched, wrote about, presented, and produced Puerto Rican and Cuban music traditions for 40 years, including Somos Boricuas, LP21's first tour to Puerto Rico, Dos Alas tour, and Bomba-Dancing the Drum, a documentary film about the Cepeda family. Roberta also presented Puerto Rican and Cuban music traditions for 40 years with City Lore, with a mission to document, present, and advocate for grassroots cultures and ensure their living and traditions. Roberta was a close friend from the beginning, and her place in la familia de LP21 will always remain.

Que descanse en paz, Bobi.

~ A personal note from LP21’s Founder, Juan José ‘Juango’ Gutiérrez Rodríguez ~

Now, that the reader has the opportunity to know a bit about the fruitful voyage of Dr. Roberta Singer, perhaps it is the right time for me (Juango Gutiérrez) to mention a few of the many ways, most often personal, in which Bobi impacted and changed the course of what became Los Pleneros de la 21, and particularly, how our friendship of 40 years and counting, changed my life.

Bobi was a mentor, counselor, teacher, colleague, confidante, and above all, a dear friend, to whom I will be indebted for as long as I live. Early in our relationship, she sensed the passion that I had and continue to possess for Los Pleneros de la 21 and the many things that 'junte' meant in my life. Now I can clearly see that she worked tirelessly to make things happen for us, for our public, for our community, and of course, for me. It would not be accurate to say that for half of the things La 21 accomplished, she was a player. On the contrary, because she was a player, a mover, one accomplishment brought another, and so on. And here we are, still going forward while she is now all over the place and around embracing us. We feel you Bobi.

Roberta, mi amiga, te extraño. Por mi familia y por mí, gracias por la amistad y el amor.

Hasta siempre compañera, CAMARADA!!!!