LATINO ARTISTS

There’s a long-standing Latino American influence in Harlem — East Harlem, which has boasted a large Latin population for nearly 100 years, earned the nickname Spanish Harlem during the 1930s, while West Harlem, the site of our Harlem Stage Gatehouse, has long been home to a significant Latino community, especially from the Dominican Republic.

Harlem Stage recognizes not only the artistic contributions made by the local and at-large Latin communities, but we also acknowledge the shared struggles artists of color continue to face regarding opportunities, resources, and equity. We are proud to host and celebrate Latino artists by providing a space and platform in one of the most culturally diverse neighborhoods in America that continually showcases their rich history and exceptional talents across a large variety of performing arts.

Latino artists have spent decades cultivating a prominent niche within the diverse arts scene in and around the Harlem area that has continued to grow and expand, especially in the musical realm. Latino artists in and around Harlem continue to make considerable contributions to jazz, salsa, and hip-hop and have also created innovative new genres like boogaloo — a fusion of African-American and Latin culture that blends together R&B, soul, mambo and son montuno.

Latin artists who have performed at Harlem Stage include Claudia Acuña, Leonardo Sandoval, Eddie Palmieri, and acclaimed Cuban vocalist & percussionist Pedrito Martinez.

Harlem Stage routinely partners with Repertorio Español to present a wide variety of Spanish and Latin-American theatrical productions that are almost always performed in Spanish. The events range from musical productions and Spanish classics to contemporary performances addressing social topics relevant to Latin-American culture and life in the United States. 

English subtitles and simultaneous translations are typically provided with each performance to ensure the production can be enjoyed by diverse audiences while retaining the original language. 

Past productions include En El Tiempo de las Mariposas,  La Gringa, Federico García Lorca’s, La Casa de Bernarda Alba, and El Coronel No Tiene Quien Le Escriba.

A native of Havana, Cuba, Pedrito Martinez’s love for music and signature style was cultivated at a young age and strongly influenced by his surroundings in the Cayo Hueso neighborhood of Old Havana. Across the street from his childhood home was a park where people would routinely gather to play percussion, sing, and dance to Cuban rumba, a foundational folkloric style of music and dance with deep roots in Africa. Infatuated with the music, Pedrito began to learn at an early age and hasn’t looked back since. By the age of eleven, he was already performing with Cuban artist Tata Guines and later performed with Los Muñequitos de Matanzas — a long-running Cuban rumba ensemble formed in 1952 — while still a teenager.

Pedrito relocated to New York in 1998 and quickly made an impact, winning first prize in the Thelonious Monk Competition for Afro-Latin Hand Percussion presented at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. He was a founding member of the acclaimed Afro-Cuban/Afro-Beat band, Yerba Buena, before starting his career as a band leader with the Grammy-nominated Pedrito Martinez Group.

He has since performed and recorded with artists such as Wynton Marsalis, Paquito D'Rivera, Bruce Springsteen, Paul Simon, James Taylor, Sting, Jane Bunnett, Eddie Palmieri, Esperanza Spalding, Elton John, Dave Matthews, Jackson Browne, Eric Clapton, and Los Hombres Calientes. Today, he continues to tour the world and release new albums, including 2021’s Acertijos, which featured multiple collaborations with Eric Clapton and received a Latin Grammy nomination for Best Contemporary Tropical Album.

Harlem Stage continues to host an array of diverse performances from visionary artists of color. Stay up to date on upcoming live and digital performances by subscribing to our weekly newsletter.

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