by Mark Carney
Los Hermanos Rosario
From their unique sound and style, Los Hermanos Rosario is a group worthwhile to see play and dance along their musical beat. If you don’t believe it, google it and see the many U-Tube links that show their talent, for yourself.
It’s a type of merengue that doesn’t burn you up dancing because of its speed, it’s soft, it is also soft and a little bit fast but also very romantic. It’s a very traditional merengue, and modern at the same time. They really got it. Los Hermanos Rosario, since childhood, showed an interest in playingmusic, according to bio posted by Wikipedia.
They played self-created instruments such as bottle caps, plastic containers, pots, pans and other items. Soon, they started singing and playing in their neighborhood. They formed in the Dominican Republic city of Higuey in May 1978. The 14-piece orchestra has had a series of very successful albums among those are “Los Hermanos Rosario,1983,” “Bomba Mi Hermano,1990 “ “Insuperables, 1991” “Los Dueños del Swing,1995” and “Bomba 2000.” They count with 14 estudio albums since 1983, including eight copilations since 1989. On Friday, Feb. 25, at Roccapulco Superclub, at 3140 Misison Street, SF, at 9 p.m.
New Art Exhibits To Open
The Togonon Gallery is now showing the works of several interesting artists. Lora Groves’ show, New Works, will be exhibited until Feb. 25, with the opening reception to be held on Thursday, Feb. 5, at 5 p.m. Ms. Groves, a graduate of the San Francisco Art Institute, combines many textures of linen, paper, and concrete board into dissonant gestalts, often using shades of mauve, azure, olive green and mallow pink.
The gallery has this year added a new exhibition format, The Collector’s Room, in which the works of both new as well as gallery artists will be showcased. The first exhibition will include works by Pantea Karimi and Luis Gutiérrez. Ms.Karimi’s works are jarring combinations of images taken from the mass media, meant as socio-cultural critiques of our money-obsessed habits. Mr. Gutiérrez, a Mexican-American artist who
taught at San Jose City College for several decades, is well known, both for his abstract paintings and his assemblage sculptures. The Togonon Gallery is located at 77 Geary St., SF, CA, just one block from the Powell BART station.
February Shows at Roccapulco
Valentine’s Day is approaching and a night of salsa dancing would be a romantic way to spend the evening. On Saturday, Feb.12, Hector Rey will be performing his many hits, such as Te Propongo, Ya No Es Lo Mismo and Tan Enamorado, and DJ Tony O and DJ Bosco will be spinning the best salsa songs from the ‘90s. Singles are welcome, and a ‘meet and greet’ will take place early in the evening.
Dinner packages are also available, but reservations are required. Call (415) 821-3563 for more information. Come see the crowdpleasing favorite Los Hermanos Flores, from El Salvador, on Saturday, Feb. 19. The group, which is an orchestra featuring three lead vocalists—two male and one female—plays rousing cumbias and salsas. Their use of their three vocalists makes them an especially interesting group. Many of their songs are stories in which the respective views of men and women are presented through these vocalists, oftentimes in a humorous way. The orchestra, too, takes part, shouting out choruses with the lead singers. DJ L.Caballero, DJ Tony and DJ Bosco will, as always, be on hand to keep the dancers moving during the breaks in live music. Roccapulco, 3140 Mission St., SF, CA. Sat. Feb. 19, from 8 p.m to 2 a.m. Tickets are $25. (Marvin Ramírez contributed to this report).
