Grupo Afro Boricua, a leading exponent of Puerto Rico's traditional musical forms, the Bomba and the Plena, offers audiences around the world the excitement and beauty of an experience as vital today as it was in its origins. Original arrangements expose the remarkable talents of these gifted musicians and performers and give new life to a rich and colorful folklore. The dramatic rhythms of the Bomba grew out of the African slave experience in colonial Puerto Rico. As in other Caribbean music, the drumming styles, the call and response singing and the improvisational dancing that make up the Bomba can be traced to their West African origins. The Bomba is a dynamic dialogue engaging singer, drummer and dancer alike in an intimate visual and musical exchange.

The Plena emerged as a popular music in the towns along the coast around the turn of this century. Its spontaneously improvised lyrics with choral refrain (often inspired in local events and characters), its one step dancing and lively rhythmic drive brightened many a social occasion and like the Bomba, provided an essential expression of a shared experience.

Today as in the past, no public celebration, carnival or local festivity is imaginable without the Bomba and the Plena, both important symbols of Puerto Rican identity.

Grupo Afro Boricua celebrates this musical heritage by offering a wide selection of different styles and regional variations. All of the musicians and performers in the group not only bring their own particular expertise to the ensemble, but also represent the different styles of this tradition. Among the singers, Martinez presents the Bomba from Loiza; Roberto Cepeda, descendent of Don Rafael Cepeda (internationally renowned composer, performer, folklorist who dedicated his career to preserving the authenticity of the Bomba and Plena), carries in his voice the deepest echoes of this music's African past; while Nellie represents the Bomba from the South (region of Mayagüez) and Tito Matos specializes in the Plena. The dancers and percussionists, all of them masters of their art, represent the wealth and variety of styles from Loiza, Santurce and Ponce.

Director and composer William Cepeda has brought together these fine musicians and dancers to present Puerto Rico's traditional forms in their most vital and contemporary expression. Cepeda's arrangements scrupulously conserve the elegance of the traditional melodies with their graceful and surprising turns and their moving invocations. At the same time, the familiar is infused with a new energy and spirit. The songs weave their way through the rhythmic complexity of the percussion as if through a honeycomb, propelled by an exuberance that is felt deep in the bones. This music is itself a dance, as colorful and vibrant as the carnival costumes and masks the performers wear and as stirring and engaging as the stories they act out.

Collective Personnel: Grupo AfroBoricua:

William Cepeda: musical director, conch shell, trombone, piano, vocals;
Antonio Martinez: principal vocalist; Nellie Lebron: lead vocals, bass guitar;
Roberto Cepeda: vocals;
Hector Matos: percussion, lead vocals;
Hector Calderon: percussion, vocals;
Luis Cepeda: percussion;
Angel Mojica: percussion;
Harry Diaz: vocals (on "Verso Negro").

Additional musicians: Jose Emanuelli: background vocals; Darvel Garcia: background vocals; Chegui Ramos: background vocals; Jerry Medina: background vocals; Victor Fuentes: percussion; Felix Diaz: percussion; Jesus Cepeda: percussion; Ivonne Torres: background vocals; Vimidsa Silva: background vocals; Jose "Nuna" Calderon: background vocals, percussion;