Bolero Legends! ANTHONY RIOS & FRANCISCO CESPEDES + More
Lehman Center for the Performing Arts is proud to present world renowned bolero stars ANTHONY RÍOS and FRANCISCO CÉSPEDES with special guest artist DIOMARY LA MALA as they take the stage to sing all their beloved classics on Saturday, November 11th, 2017 at 8pm. Dominican Republic’s most famous bolero artist, Anthony Ríos, will perform such classics as “Si Entendieras”, “Fatalidad”, and “Sin Un Di Te Sientes Sola”, and Grammy–nominated Francisco Céspedes, known for his impeccable take on “feeling” (bolero mixed with jazz), will perform the hits “Vida Loca”, “Dicen Que Alma”, “Remolino”, “Donda Esta La Vida” and more. Produced by Lehman Center and José Raposo.
Lehman Center for the Performing Arts is on the campus of Lehman College/CUNY at 250 Bedford Park Boulevard West, Bronx, NY 10468. Tickets for TEATRO BOHEMIO on Saturday, November 11th, 2017 at 8pm are $100*VIP, $65, $55, and $50 and can be purchased by calling the Lehman Center box office at 718-960-8833 (Monday through Friday, 10am–5pm, and beginning at 12 noon on the day of the concert), or through online access at www.LehmanCenter.org. *VIP Reception: The HAVANA CAFÉ, Havana Club Rum and Lehman Center special VIP pre-concert wine, beer, Havana Club Rum & hors d’oeuvres reception will start at 6:30pm. VIP tickets include the reception and the best seats in the house. At the reception meet other patrons and the staff of Lehman Center. Sponsored by Havana Café Restaurant and Havana Club Puerto Rican Rum. Lehman Center is accessible by #4 or D train to Bedford Park Blvd. and is off the Saw Mill River Parkway and the Major Deegan Expressway. Low-cost on-site parking available for $5.
ANTHONY RÍOS started singing and playing guitar as a child, becoming popular in 1970 as a meringue and bolero singer in Johnny Ventura’s Combo Show Band performing the (now) classics “Viejo Amigo”, “Una Noche No Es Bastante”, “Pudiera Ser” and “Morir De Amor”. His first album with Ventura, El Sentimental, was an instant hit and Ríos went on to record ten additional albums with the band. In 1977, he formed El Sonido Original with Luis Martí, releasing the salsa, meringue and bolero album Sonido Original Con Luis Martí & Anthony Ríos that included the song “Gato Entre Macuto”. After recording two more albums with Martí, he issued his first solo release, Vivencias on Algar Records in 1979. Ríos has regularly recorded albums, many of which feature his popular original compositions, the latest being 2007’s Demasiado Romantico. An all around entertainer, Ríos is also a television host, actor and comedian in the Dominican television shows El Show de Luisito y Anthony, the hit comedy show El Show del Mediodía (The Noon Show) and Cuentos y Cantas (Stories and Songs.)
FRANCISCO “Pancho” CÉSPEDES is a Grammy-nominated vocalist and composer that was born in Santa Clara, Cuba and began his career by joining the Orquesta Cubana de Música Moderna. After moving to Mexico in 1992,. his big break came when the Mexican pop bolero superstar Luis Miguel chose to include the Céspedes composition “Pensar en Ti” on his 1993 Grammy-winning album Aries. After Miguel featured another of Pancho’s songs, “Que Tu Te Vas”, on his 1996 album Nada Es Igual, Céspedes came to the attention of Warner Music, who issued his debut album as a soloist, Vida Loca, in 1997 that achieved Quintuple Platinum sales in Spain. That same year he participated in the acclaimed Latino-American Festival Internacional de la Canción de Viña del Mar in Chile and won second prize for his song “Hablo de Ti”. The following year he recorded, as guest vocalist, his composition “Nadie Como Tú” on the Spanish pop band Presuntos Implicados’s album Versión Original. In 2000, he released his second album, Dónte Está la Vida, which achieved platinum status in Mexico, the title track of which was nominated for the 2001 Latin Grammy Song of the Year and was used as the theme song for the Mexican telenovela La Casa en la Playa. Between 2002 and 2015, Céspedes issued eight additional successful albums. His latest release, 2017’s Desde el Teatro Karl Marx (En Vivo), was recorded live at the legendary Karl Marx Theater in Havana with many of Cuba’s most famous musicians, including vocalist Pablo Milanés.
DIOMARY LA MALA is a bolero and ballad vocalist that was born in San Francisco de Macorís, in the Dominican Republic where from the age of 7 she sang in children’s’ choirs and studied music at the Palacio Bellas Artes. After moving to New York City in 1992, she began singing in bars, eventually being asked to perform and record with artists such as Félix D’Oleo, Francisco Céspedes, Paquito Guzmán, José Alberto “El Canario”, and Héctor Tricoche among others. Diomary released her first tropical album Enero 2 in 2006 and recorded her second album La Mala de la Película, which included an original arrangement of the famous song “A Mi Manera”, in Puerto Rico. In 2011 she participated in the Puerto Rican vocal talent show Yo Canto, singing boleros and ballads, where she finished as a finalist. This exposure led to performance invites from prominent Puerto Rican artists such as Gilberto Santa Rosa, Chucho Avellanet, and La Sophy. She has been honored with the prestigious Cronistas de Artes Cantante Solista del Año 2015 award, the highest recognition given to a Dominican vocalist. Diomary is currently in the final production stages of her next release, Quisqueyanas, that was recorded live at the Palacio Bellas Artes and is a tribute to the Dominican balladistas of the 80’s.
Lehman Center for the Performing Arts, Inc. is supported, in part, with public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the New York City Council. The 2017-2018 Season is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature. Additional funding is provided by Con Edison, the New Yankee Stadium Community Benefits Fund, the Rudin Foundation, the Hyde and Watson Foundation, and the friends of Lehman Center.
For high resolution photos, click these links:
Anthony Rios
http://lehmancenter.org/th_gallery/anthony-rios/
Francisco Céspedes
http://lehmancenter.org/th_gallery/francisco-cespedes/
Diomary La Mala
http://lehmancenter.org/th_gallery/diomary-la-mala/
