Ritmos Afro Puertorriqueños / Afro Puerto Rican Rhythms

Autor/in

Sanchez, Dimas | Cepeda, Jesús

Jesús M. Cepeda Brenes, son of Patriarch de la Bomba and Plena Don Rafael Cepeda Atiles and Doña Caridad Brenes, is an expert in everything related to this major art of Puerto Rican folklore. He has excelled as a teacher in and outside of Puerto Rico, training expert musicians, researchers, music students, and the general public. He has given talks at universities, colleges and elementary schools on the fundamentals of the Bomba and the Plena. The artistic education that it possesses is the tradition that has been passed down from parents to children and grandchildren over the years, creating a classic folklore within the native musical line with greater emphasis on the Bomba and the Puerto Rican Plena..He belonged to the Folkloric Ballet of the Cepeda Family, a group that constitutes a representative sample of our folklore, recreating in his presentations the Bomba and the Puerto Rican plena without losing the authentic flavor of the dances of our grandparents. He has transcended the borders of Puerto Rico and has taken his presentations to many countries, including: France, England, Italy, Spain, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, and the Virgin Islands (US). They have been performed in various cities and universities and halls across the United States, including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, New York City Central Park, and others.Dimas Sánchez is a Puerto Rican-born drummer and percussionist living in the city of Orlando FL. Some of the musical styles in which he has worked are Blues, Jazz, Country, Latin Jazz, Rock, Bomba, Plena, Funk, Samba Bossa Nova and Big Band among others.Dimas has had the opportunity to play with the following musicians and groups: El Taller de Jazz Don Pedro; David Sánchez; Giovanni Hidalgo; Eddie "GuaGua" Rivera; Milly Puente; John Benítez; Nestor Torres; Anthony Carrillo; Iba A Se; Gabriel Hernández; Edsel Gómez, "The Cepeda Family"; Eric Figueroa; Lucecita Benítez; Juancito Torres; Chuchito Valdés; Ray Coén; Tito Puente Jr; Marty Morell, Xavier Cougat Orchestra among others. He has also produced Latin Jazz recordings with Eddie "GuaGua" Rivera's Opus Mundi group and with his own group Fusión Beat.He has also participated in the following music festivals; Mundo Latino (Paris), SunFest (West Palm Beach), Clearwater Jazz Festival, Toros y Salsa (France), Folklore Festival of Palma de Mallorca, Spain; Cultural Festival (Guadalupe).