Some musical genres are just particular—particular to a region or a community, without aspiring to be universally relevant or to commercially conquer new audiences. I think of the plena this way, an ...

In Santurce, a poor suburb outside San Juan, Puerto Rico, there’s a bus that doesn’t run anymore, but the stops it once madeparadasstill lend their names to the densely populated neighborhoods. Ask ...

A blend of Spanish, African, and native Taíno music, plena is a traditional form of Puerto Rican music. The music's beat and rhythm are mainly due to the African-derived conga drums, more specifically ...

The Riverside Live! music series winds up its season in spicy fashion May 10 with a Latin dance party and music by Puerto Rico's hottest band, Plena Libre. The concert will be in the Mayo Civic Center ...

Plena Libre is one of Puerto Rico's most popular bands, a group marked by its dynamic rhythms, passionate singing, powerful horn section, imaginative choreography and the inventive arrangements of ...

Bomba and Plena music, Puerto Rico’s traditional rhythms, are having a global moment. Bad Bunny has helped elevate the genres to new audiences.

Julienne Gage is a Miami-based anthropologist and journalist who has worked as a reporter and as a civil rights and international aid communications specialist in the United States, Latin America, the ...

In just a few years, Puerto Ricans have gone through a devastating debt crisis, a catastrophic hurricane, a string of earthquakes, a series of angry protests against political corruption and ...

CC0 Usage Conditions ApplyClick for more information. Maps, music and video-recordings can be effectively used to discuss the present and historical incidence of the plena. In the way that rap music ...

Bad Bunny is a three-time GRAMMY and 11-time Latin GRAMMY award-winner, yet his most precious winning is being able to start 2025 with a bold musical statement: a heartfelt return to his Puerto Rican ...