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Sample Track 1:
"Julieta" from Plena al Salsero
Sample Track 2:
"Sandunguera" from Plena al Salsero
Sample Track 3:
"Pa' Que Tu" from Plena al Salsero
Layer 2
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Concert Presenter Checklist

Plena Libre would like to customize their performance for your setting. They are adept at performing in a diversity of settings including festivals (jazz, world, latin, community; large and small), theaters (large and small), clubs, universities and schools, and more. When speaking with the agents at Mondo Mundo, please specify which elements you would like to make sure are included in your performance request:

PRESENTATION

+ Begin pandero performance from the audience level and parade onto stage for dramatic stage entrance

+ Significant use of folkloric elements such as the traditional hand drums and traditional costume

+ Substantial explanations of the cultural context from the concert stage (also see educational offering below)

+ Extended pieces for audience-members to dance

+ Inclusion of instrumental improvisation (well-suited for jazz festivals and venues)

+ Inclusion of salsa tunes (Plena Libre prides itself on playing music based on plena and bomba, the real roots of Puerto Rico; but they can salsa with the best of them; well-suited for audiences who are ready to dance salsa)


AUDIENCE INTERACTION

+Opportunities for call and response

+ Opportunities for the audience to sing along

+ Bringing volunteers from the audience on stage to dance in a traditional interaction with the lead drummer

+ Pre- or Post- concert lecture/demonstration

+ Autographing CDs after the concert

+ Special reception for VIPs before or after the concert


EDUCATION (specify length)

+ K-8th grade workshop

+ High school workshop

+ College workshop

+ Master class for musicians

+ Extended residency (specific goals and elements, such as culminating student performances, etc.)

SOUNDBITES

Short 1: The torchbearers of Puerto Rican roots music.

Short 2: It’s plena to see, Plena Libre are the bomba!

Short 3: Modern music with Puerto Rican roots.

Short 4: Hard-hitting horns, master hand drummers, and songs from the soul of Puerto Rico.

Medium 1: Captivating and moving audiences over the course of a fifteen-year, thirteen-album career, this fine-tuned 12-piece Puerto Rican-based ensemble of virtuoso musicians has only gotten better with age, as evidenced by their four recent Grammy nominations. Plena Libre has created an all-new exciting repertoire along with new choreography, compelling new stories told from the stage between songs, and an overall presentation sure to win the hearts of both aficionados and newcomers to their sound.

Medium 2: Plena Libre infuses their contemporary Caribbean compositions with a deep sense of the unique indigenous musical traditions, known as plena and bomba, which developed on the island over a century ago. Unlike salsa bands, who usually only have two singers, Plena Libre features five vocalists singing in lush three and four part harmonies; a musical representation of a traditional community gathering. Further giving their live performances a memorable standout quality, occasionally, the entire band will vocalize the percussion parts of the plena, creating an a cappella polyphonic polyrhythm. These artistic choices drive home the core of the tradition in an aesthetic that appeals to broad audiences and aficionados alike. With an aggressive, tight, yet sensitive style, which balances the traditional with the contemporary, the global and the local, Plena Libre creates a brand of music and live performance that is both profoundly Puerto Rican and universally appealing.

Additional Info
The Torch Bearers of Puerto Rico’s Plena, Bomba, and ...
Quotes From the Field and Press
Concert Presenter Checklist

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