HISTORY OF THE BROWNSVILLE LATIN
JAZZ FESTIVAL
With its tenth year
now behind it, the Brownsville Latin Jazz Festival has become an
internationally recognized musical event and an important addition to the
cultural calendar of the Rio Grande Valley. Featuring the most
distinguished artists in the business, many up-and-coming performers, and an
abundance of local talent, the Latin Jazz Festival has consistently provided
unforgettable entertainment of the highest quality.
Latin Jazz encompasses
multiple music genres: Salsa and Merengue, Mambo and Samba, Son and
Danzón, even the modern fusion of Flamenco and Jazz. This is why the BSPA
chose Latin Jazz… to attract an audience representative of the broad
cultural spectrum in our community. No other event
in the Rio Grande Valley draws from so many different cultures and
backgrounds… all of us united in the eclectic format of Latin Jazz! |
10th Annual Brownsville Latin Jazz
Festival - 2006

The 10th Jazz Festival celebrated ten years of unforgettable performances by
the best Latin Jazz artists in the world. What better way to mark
our 10th anniversary than by one of the pioneers of Latin Jazz: Larry Harlow.
The Night at the Copa had never been so electric as Larry Harlow and
the Latin Legends Band amazed the audience with the epitome of everything
that makes the Latin Jazz genre great. Opening for Harlow was Henry
Brun and the Latin Playerz.
The festival began for a second time with the Jazz Jam at Las Campanas.
This event once again featured the finest local talent: The
Tomás Ramirez Ensemble, Ani Tharpe Quintet, The Scorpions Jazz
Ensemble and the SPI Steel Pan Band. Latin Dance Night
featured Jimmy Bosch, a fiery exponent of the progressive sound often
referred to as the most awesome Salsa band to dance to, listen to and watch in a
concert setting. The Latin Jazz Festival ended with a truly exhilarating
performance by Yerba Benua. Their amazing mixture of Afro-Cuban,
Afrobeat and Hip-Hop provided an exciting finale to ten incredible years. The
Los Fresnos High School Jazz Band, The UTB/TSC Jazz Band, Tumbao, the Bongo Dogs
and Dulce Gonzalez also performed. |
9th Annual Brownsville Latin Jazz
Festival - 2005

The 9th Jazz Festival had the extraordinary pleasure of hosting a Latin Jazz
legend: Giovanni Hidalgo. Performing at the festival's gala event,
The Night at the Copa, Giovanni put on an amazing show, showing the
awestruck audience why he is considered the best conguero around.
Opening for Giovanni was Melena and her Afro-Cuban Band.
The festival kicked-off with the first ever Jazz Jam at Las Campanas.
This event brought together some of the best local jazz groups: The
Tomás Ramirez Ensemble, René Sandoval Quartet, and the Charles
Hearn Sextet. This exciting night of music was followed the next day
by Latin Dance Night featuring La Orquesta Shati. The night
of dancing also featured dance showcases by dance troupes from all over Texas
and Mexico. As always, the Jazz Festival ended with a bang with the
Capitol Theatre Street Party, featuring two Brownsville Latin Jazz favorites,
Chuchito Valdes and Rosalia de Cuba, together in one exciting
performance! Melena, Sugar Iced Tea, and the UTB/TSC Jazz
Bands also performed. |
8th Annual Brownsville Latin Jazz
Festival - 2004
Keeping
with tradition, the 8th Jazz Festival featured a number of superbly-talented
artists packed into one exciting weekend. The Night at the Copa provided
an amazing show with the phenomenal 19-piece band from L.A.:
Jazz on the Latin Side
All-Stars. Led by Jose Rizo, the JLS All-Stars were made up
of true powerhouses of Latin Jazz including Francisco Aguabella, Alex
Acuna, Francisco Torres, among many others. San Antonio's
renowned Henry Brun & the Latin Playerz
opened.
The much anticipated kick-off concert, Latin Dance Night, featuring a fabulous
performance by Rosalia & the
Afro-Cuban Beat. The concert also included dance showcase by dance
companies from all over Texas, including Sabor Vallero, the top salsa
dance team in the Rio Grande Valley and a Latin Jazz Festival staple.
Chuchito Valdes, Jr. headlined at the Capitol Theatre Street Party,
and put on an outstanding show for the thousands that lined the streets of
Downtown Brownsville. Performances by The Brew and yet another
fantastic performance by Rosalia & the Afro Cuban Beat made this an
unforgettable evening of Latin Jazz music. |
7th Annual Brownsville Latin Jazz
Festival - 2003
Two
giants in Latin Jazz headlined the Seventh Annual Brownsville Latin Jazz
Festival: Bobby Sanabria from New York City and
Poncho Sanchez
from Los Angeles! There was an "East Meets West" ambiance during a weekend of
world class entertainment in Brownsville.
Opening for both Bobby and Poncho on two separate concerts was Viváz!,
a hot 10 piece Afro-Cuban Jazz ensemble from New Orleans, under the cool
direction of tres-player and vocalist Javier Gutierrez, originally from Bolivia.
Other acts included Calpolli, the tightest Latin Jazz ensemble in the Rio
Grande Valley, Ritmo Caribe from Corpus Christi with their big,
danceable sound and, of course, the award-winning UTB/TSC Jazz Band. This year
also inaugurated a new and exciting feature sure to be an important part of all
future festivals to come: LATIN DANCE NIGHT, organized by Rosie and Israel
Coronado of Sabor Vallero, the top salsa dance team in the Rio Grande
Valley. This event featured dancing showcases and a Salsa Dance Competition with
Special Guest Semeneya of San Antonio and K'yuco from Houston
judging the competitions.
|
6th Annual Brownsville Latin Jazz
Festival - 2002
The third-generation
piano giant from Cuba, Chuchito
Va ldéz and His Latin Jazz Ensemble,
headlined "A Night in La Habana"
where he astonished the crowd in one of the most exciting virtuoso
performances in the history of the festival.
The
14-piece orchestra from Corpus, Ritmo Caribe, led by Panamanian
Gus Torres, opened for Chuchito, proving beyond
a doubt they’re the best salseros in the
Texas Gulf Coast. "The Capitol
Theatre Street Party" was bigger than ever with an estimated
three thousand attending performances by the UTPA Latin
Jazz Ensemble, Sugar-Iced Tea, the
Meade-Murphy Band, the Unlimite d Salsa Dancers,
Del Castillo, The
Brew,
all topped off by a wild and memorable set by the
Chuchito Valdéz
Quintet
featuring the Aussie saxophonist Laksar Reese from Chicago. The
definitive documentary film on Afro-Cuban Jazz, The Buena Vista Social Club,
was screened between sets in another collaboration between BSPA and CineSol.
|
5th Annual Brownsville
Latin Jazz Festival - 2001
The
fifth festival featured seven-time Grammy Award-winner
Eddie Palmieri and His
Latin Jazz Band, from New York, playing to a full house at the auditorium on
Friday n ight,
followed on Saturday by the Capitol Theatre Street Party, an outdoor,
all-day concert with four of the hottest salsa bands playing to a massive
audience.
Featured on the
outdoor concert were Luis Gasca and the Mambo Kings, a vintage orchestra
from San Antonio, Ritmo Caribe, a 13-piece Salsa band from Corpus
Christi, Son y No Son,
the soneros from
Austin, and Del Castillo, an up-and-coming Flamenco-Jazz
fusion band originally
from Brownsville and living in Austin.
Between
sets, the
acclaimed film Calle 54, featuring top Latin Jazz legends, was screened
inside the theatre in collaboration with the CineSol Latin
Film Festival, the first of many to come between BSPA and the
internationally recognized
film festival.
|
4th Annual Brownsville Latin Jazz
Festival - 2000
With
over ten acts across seven venues, the fourth festival featured three solid days
of Latin Jazz music and dancing headlined by the unquestionable master of the
congas, Grammy Award-winning Poncho Sanchez and His Latin Jazz Band from
Los Angeles.
In daytime and
evening
street concerts in Historic Downtown Brownsville, Rene Sandoval,
the “Dean” of South Texas Jazz, the Tony "Ham" Guerrero Latin Band, local
favorite Ani & New World Jazz Quin tet,
the Eddie de la Garza Quintet and the Danny Gomez
Ensemble and the Unlimited Salsa Dancers entertained thousands for
free. The UTB/TSC
Jazz Bands kicked off the week with a packed house at UTB/TSC’s SETB Lecture
Hall. This
festival marked the first time nightclubs fully joined the festivities,
hosting after-show descargas (jam sessions) by visiting artists that many
declared as their favorite part of the week.
|
3rd Annual Brownsville Latin Jazz Festival - 1999
The
third festival launched our campaign to save the Capitol Theatre in Historic
Downtown Brownsville, setting the stage for what is now a popular feature of the
festival: The Capitol Theatre Street Party!

On stages in the
streets of downtown, more than a dozen acts played to the crowds at no charge!
The line-up included
an unforgettable one-time production featuring Ani and the Brownsville Latin
Jazz All-Stars with the Unlimited Salsa Dancers, the Hopalong,
Severo y Cartas Band with Ensamble La Misión, the Bongo Dogs,
the New World Jazz Quintet, the Eddie de la Garza Band and
the incredible Los Fresnos High School Jazz Band.
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2nd Annual Brownsville Latin Jazz
Festival - 1998
On
its second installment, the festival’s main event, A Night at the Copacabana,
set the tone and format for the future. The auditorium was converted into a
dinner-dance-club, where the audience could eat, dance, talk and mingle in a
Caribbean setting greatly enjoyed by all. Headlining was Frank y Son Seis,
with Venezuelan Frank Bravo and his San Miguel de Allende combo. The
Brew, Brownsville favorite sons residing in Austin, brought their amazing
blend of New Flamenco and Latin dance music. The evening was highlighted by a
dazzling dance performance by the Unlimited Salsa Dancers, their first of
many appearances in festivals to come.
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1st Annual Brownsville Latin Jazz
Festival - 1997
The
first Latin Jazz Festival started out with a bang, featuring a host of artists
headlined by none other than the late, great King of Latin Music, Tito
Puente! His openhearted perso nality
and unequaled magnetism will never be forgotten by those lucky enough to be
there.
The inaugural also
featured the Jesus Enriquez Orchestra, a 14-piece salsa band from
Chicago, Santa, a super-hot salsera from Mexico City, and
Frank y Son Seis, with the great Frank Bravo from San Miguel de
Allende. Our own nationally-recognized UTB/TSC Jazz Band also played,
impressing Tito who enjoyed their entire performance from the front row!
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