Berklees Signature Series Presents The Mambo Kings: 100 Years

Berklees Signature Series Presents The Mambo Kings: 100 Years The concert will feature legendary percussionist John Dandy Rodriguez and six-time Latin Grammy Award-winning superstar singer Gilberto Santa Rosa.

By

Colette Greenstein

March 17, 2023

Gilberto Santa Rosa

Image courtesy of the artist

Berklees Signature Series celebrates Latin music in The Mambo Kings: 100 Years, with special guests including legendary percussionist John Dandy Rodriguez and six-time Latin Grammy Award-winning singer Gilberto Santa Rosa, on Thursday, April 6, at 8:00 p.m. at the Berklee Performance Center.

For me it is a dream come true to bring this megastar of salsa, Gilberto Santa Rosa, to Berklee to interpret the music of Los Reyes del Mambo, Tito Puente, and Tito Rodriguez, says Eguie Castrillo, a professor in Berklee's Percussion Department. Students and the general public will be traveling in a time machine back to the era of the Palladium Ballroom in New York City.

Castrillo, the concerts producer, will curate the music selections and lead the band, which will feature Berklee students and faculty, with Rodriguez on bongos. It will be the first time that Santa Rosa and Rodriguez have performed at Berklee.

Gilberto Santa Rosa Nicknamed El Caballero de la Salsa (the Gentleman of Salsa), Santa Rosa began singing at the age of 6. Over a storied 40-plus-year career that has produced more than 25 albums, the Puerto Rican bandleader has had many firsts, including being the first tropical salsa singer to perform at Carnegie Hall. In 2021, Santa Rosa was presented with a Latin Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, and Colegas, his most recent release, was nominated for a Grammy in the category of Best Tropical Latin Album.

John Dandy Rodriguez Rodriguez is an acclaimed percussionist who has played and recorded with internationally renowned artists Tito Puente, Celia Cruz, Tito Rodriguez, La Lupe, and Johnny Pacheco, among many others. He grew up in El Barrio, known as Spanish Harlem, in New York City. At the age of 17, he earned a spot in the Tito Puente Orchestra, where he performed for over 30 years. He worked with Tito Rodriguez from 1965 to 1968, and later formed his own band, T pica 73, of which he remained a member until 1979. Rodriguez then returned to Puente's band, playing alongside him until the time of Puente's death in May 2000.

Admission is $15-20 in advance and $20-25 day of show. Tickets are available online and at the Berklee box office. This is a seated event.

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