Los Pleneros de la 21 Premiere Afro-Puerto Rican Bomba and Plena Ensemble Performs at the NHCC

Los Pleneros de la 21 (“LP21”), an Afro-Puerto Rican bomba and plena ensemble featuring musicians, dancers, and artisans, returns to New Mexico for a four-day National Performance Network (NPN) residency, Redobles de Cultura Boricua, which will include workshops and other activities as well as the group’s concert at the NHCC. 

LP21’s complex, multi-part vocal harmonies, set to the rhythms of hand-held plena drums and barrel-shaped bomba drums, resurrect the African-rooted bomba and plena musical styles of Puerto Rico. Billboard praised the band for its “exhilaratingly deep Latino explorations of Afro-Caribbean grooves,” and the New York Times wrote, “the melodies are gorgeous and the tunes perfectly arranged, precise rhythms making way for singing or a drum section.”

LP21 is also a non-profit community-based organization, founded in 1983 by National Heritage Fellow Juan Gutiérrez and located in the heart of El Barrio (NYC’s Spanish Harlem); the group’s mission is to “unite community building and cultural equity through music.” Members make traditional music programming accessible to the public, expose inner city youth and others to the cultural heritage of Puerto Rico while encouraging their active participation in these traditions, and perform a repertoire of work embedded in the rich tradition of Puerto Rican folk music for audiences everywhere. Presented in partnership with Outpost Productions.

$35, $32 w/ $3 discount for students & seniors and $5 discount for Outpost & NHCC members