Vince De Jesus and Bay Area Latin Soul: Let’s play it Latin

Even today, the term “Latin America” is used as a way to flatten the 21 diverse countries into a monolith that really doesn’t exist. Beneath this strange misnomer, lives a deep history rooted in West Africa, the Caribbean, as well as Spain and the Americas (North and South respectively). What we mean by “Latin music” is actually a fusion of West African, Indigenous and European musical traditions that stretches far and wide with many unique forms and varieties. Jazz musicians often throw this term around to describe music from Cuba (Son, Mambo, Cha Cha Cha, Rumba, Bolero, Timba), Brazil (Samba, Bossa Nova), Spain (Flamenco, Spanish Rumba), Argentina (Tango), Peru (Lando), Puerto Rico (Bomba) and more.

Join the Bay Area Latin Soul project as they explore the origins of this strange instruction so often heard on bandstands — “play it Latin” — while enjoying the music of the Caribbean and Americas rooted in West African rhythmic tradition joined with music from Cuba, Puerto Rico, Mexico, and the US.