Berklee College of Music, La Casa de La Cultura and ParkARTS Make O’Day Park Danceable with The Third Tito Puente Latin Music Series July 11, 2007

Community Collaboration Brings South End’s Flavorful Summer Sounds Outside

Boston, MA, June 26, 2007 - Berklee College of Music, La Casa de La Cultura/Inquilinos Boricuas en Accion (IBA), and ParkARTS are pleased to present the third-annual Tito Puente Latin Music Series. This year’s program combines the Latin rhythms of Cuba, Peru, Venezuela, Costa Rica, and Ecuador with beats from the urban landscapes of Boston, New York and D.C. to create heavy–hitting, spicy licks that would make “El Maestro” Puente proud. ALL CONCERTS ARE FREE.
The four outdoor concert performances will heat up the Thursday evenings of July 12, 19, 26 and August 2, in honor of the legacy of Latin music giant Tito Puente at O’ Day Park (next door to the Jorge Hernandez Cultural Center), 85 West Newton St., in Boston’s South End. Concerts start at 7:00 p.m. For more information call 617-927-1707, e-mail info@claboston.org, or www.berklee.edu. This venue is wheelchair accessible.
Tito Puente Latin Music Series ’07 Schedule:
Thursday, July 12, Francisco Mela Melao at 7:00 p.m., FREE
Thursday, July 19, Peru Mestizo at 7:00 p.m., FREE
Thursday, July 26, Gonzalo Grau y Su Clave Secreta (formerly La Timba Loca) at 7:00 p.m., FREE
Thursday, August 2, Nu Guajiro at 7:00 p.m., FREE
The series marks Berklee's third annual concert collaboration with La Casa de la Cultura and ParkARTS. James McCoy, Berklee's director for community and governmental affairs, states "It is a fantastic opportunity for the college to engage with the community of Villa Victoria, right down the street from us." This series has an even greater significance for the center. According to Alex Alvear, performing arts director at La Casa de La Cultura, “O’Day Park was renovated through support from the Boston Parks and Recreation Department to become one of the few parks in Boston with a performance space, which was essential to fulfilling the founder’s dream of creating a place for Latinos to share their culture. The collaboration with Berklee has opened up the pool of resources necessary to make that vision possible.”

La Casa de la Cultura, ParkARTS, and Berklee College of Music have joined forces for several projects to bring music education programming to local youth, produce fundraising concerts for La Casa de la Cultura, and secure equipment and computers for music programs.
Now in its eleventh year, ParkARTS began as Mayor Thomas M. Menino’s initiative to present a yearlong program of arts and culture related programs and events in Boston's park system. ParkARTS, the Boston Parks and Recreation Department's multi faceted arts program incorporates the visual, performing, and participatory arts. The 2007 ParkARTS performing arts program, sponsored by Bank of America, presents concerts at Boston neighborhood parks that will range from jazz to symphonic music. Over 80 participatory arts programs will be offered including arts and crafts workshops and landscape watercolor painting classes.

About the Center for Latino Arts
A program of the dynamic community building agency Inquilinos Boricuas en Accion (IBA), La Casa de la Cultura/Center for Latino Arts (CLA) www.claboston.org is the only multi-functional arts complex in New England fully dedicated to the mission of promoting and preserving Latino arts. The CLA conveys the vitality of contemporary and traditional Latino cultural expressions through performances, exhibits and classes in a variety of art forms, including: Latin jazz, folk dance and music, poetry, theater and the visual arts. We fulfill our mission by providing high quality and affordable: Arts Education, particularly for at-risk youth in Villa Victoria; Advocacy, Coordination, Support and Incubation for Latino artists and arts organizations; Exhibition, Work, Rehearsal, Performance and Rental Space; and Opportunities for Cross-Cultural Collaboration between Latinos and the rest of the city’s diverse populations. The CLA has a vision of the arts as life-affirming, community-centered and individually transformative—celebrating local traditions, while promoting the broad diversity of Latin American cultural expression
Berklee College of Music was founded on the revolutionary principle that the best way to prepare students for careers in music was through the study and practice of contemporary music. For over half a century, the college has evolved constantly to reflect the state of the art of music and the music business. With over a dozen performance and nonperformance majors, a diverse and talented student body representing over 70 countries, and a music industry "who's who" of alumni, Berklee is the world's premier learning lab for the music of today — and tomorrow.

Official Website: http://boston.zebratickets.com/event/6019/back-bay