Tag: Music

Parranda in The Bronx! Puerto Rican Style Christmas Caroling in Melrose

Join the Bronx Music Heritage Center for the first ever Parranda, the traditional fun-filled Puerto Rican way of celebrating the holidays in this inaugural event that will take on a different theme each year!

The event is scheduled for Monday, December 21st and kicks off at the Bronx Documentary Center at 4pm.

If you’ve never been to a parranda or know what it is, it’s basically Christmas caroling on steroids with traditional Puerto Rican instruments and the crowd grows as it goes from place to place, picking folks up along the way.

Hugo Chavez, an Oil Company and the Beautiful Sound of Bronx Youth

When we first started our music program with a handful of kids in 2009 we only dreamed of one day having an orchestra full of youth from the South Bronx. Now, not only does such an orchestra exist but it’s had the incredible good fortune to travel to Venezuela for a week of intensive study and performance with El Sistema, the world-renown Venezuelan system of youth orchestras and choirs that inspired us to start UpBeat NYC six years ago.

The Venezuelan-Bronx cultural exchange continues this weekend when the National Youth Orchestra of Caracas comes to Crotona Park for a free outdoor concert open to the public. The 160-piece orchestra will also be performing this weekend at the United Nations for its 70th anniversary celebration. It is noteworthy that this renowned orchestra, one of El Sistema’s most important orchestral and educational achievements, will be holding its public concert in the South Bronx, a community rich in its own culture but so often overlooked and underserved.

Do You Have What it Takes to Be THE Bronx Idol?!

“You’ve heard of American Idol. Now, get ready for Bronx Idol.
The Jerome-Gun Hill Business Improvement District is sponsoring the musical contest, with the first round happening online through Aug. 15. The competition is opened to teens between ages of 12 and 19 and the Contestants are required to post a 2-3 minute video on YouTube showcasing their vocal talents.

Hip-Hop Museum Coming To The Old Bronx Courthouse?

After No Longer Empty’s residency and exhibition at the Old Bronx Borough Courthouse, ‘When You Cut Into The Preset The Future Leaks Out’, and over 6,000 visitors—over 75% from the area and not counting youth programs who graced the halls of this hallowed landmark—many have asked what now?

Well one possibility is that The Universal Hip Hop Museum—the only and official Hip-Hop museum chartered by the State of New York—may in fact call the Old Bronx Borough Courthouse Home. A fitting tribute given the fact that The Bronx is the birthplace of the global phenomenon that is Hip-Hop.

Video: Bronx Artist Wants To Live The ‘Good Life’

You may remember earlier this year when we interviewed Bronx born and raised artist Christopher Estrada when he launched his first single and video. Well almost 9 months later, he’s getting ready to launch his first album titled ‘1414’ and In anticipation of the album, he’s launched the video for his song, ‘Goodlife’ and it’s definitely a keeper. Filmed entirely in The Bronx — in Co-op City to be exact — the video is a fun, upbeat, and playful montage of Estrada just being himself and having fun.

Bronx Musical Legend, Bobby Sanabria To Appear On NY1 Tonight

The 7 time Grammy nominated musical legend, Bobby Sanabria, will be on NY1 tonight , Monday April 28 at 8:30PM.

According to his bio on his website, Bobby Sanabria is a, “…drummer, percussionist, composer, arranger, recording artist, producer, filmmaker, conductor, educator, activist, multi-cultural warrior and multiple Grammy nominee – has performed with a veritable Who’s Who in the world of jazz and Latin music, as well as with his own critically acclaimed ensembles. His diverse recording and performing experience includes work with such legendary figures as Dizzy Gillespie, Tito Puente, Paquito D’Rivera, Charles McPherson, Mongo Santamaría, Ray Barretto, Marco Rizo, Arturo Sandoval, Roswell Rudd, Chico O’Farrill, Candido, Yomo Toro, Francisco Aguabella, Larry Harlow, Henry Threadgill, and the Godfather of Afro-Cuban Jazz, Mario Bauzá.