Mucho baile at Gran Performances with Buyepongo and Sidestepper leading the dance.
Patrick O’Heffernan (Los Angeles) It was dance, dance, dance with LA-based polyrhythmic cumbia-rock-funk-merengue band Buyepongo and electroacústica Columbian music group Sidestepper. Both dance pavilions at the California Plaza were elbow to elbow with writhing crowds that spilled over into the VIP seats and the picnic areas, rocking out to music that just wouldn’t let you stay seated. The hugely popular and resolutely community oriented Buyepongo was exactly in their element at the free Grand Performances concert series, which has been called “a grand gift to the public.” by the Los Angeles Times. Those were their people dancing – Latinos, Asians, blacks, gringos — the spicy rainbow mashup that exults in the dynamic culture jumble of Los Angeles. Buyepongo has played major venues and motivated crowds on both coasts and around the world, sharing stages with bands like Quantic in the UK, Ondatropica in Colombia, Ozomatli, Booker T and Cut Chemist and Sharon Jones in the US, Celso Piña in Mexico, and many others. But all the world tours were forgotten Friday night; [Read More]
