Lehman Center Presents

Submitted by ub on

Lehman Center for the Performing Arts is excited to present a sensational evening of salsa, DUELO DE EXITOS on Saturday, March 15th, 2014 at 8pm. Get ready for the great TITO ROJAS to bring down the house when he takes the stage along with Grammy Award winning LALO RODRIGUEZ in this duel of salsa giants! Produced by Lehman Center and José Raposo.

Lehman Center for the Performing Arts is on the campus of Lehman College/CUNY at 250 Bedford Park Boulevard West, Bronx, NY 10468. Tickets for DUELO DE EXITOS on Saturday, March 15th, 2014 at 8pm are $50, $45, and $35 and can be purchased by calling the Lehman Center box office at 718-960-8833 (Monday through Friday, 10am–5pm, and beginning at 12 noon on the day of the concert), or through online access at www.LehmanCenter.org. Lehman Center is accessible by #4 or D train to Bedford Park Blvd. and is off the Saw Mill River Parkway and the Major Deegan Expressway. Low-cost on-site parking available for $5.

TITO ROJAS was born in 1955 in Puerto Rico and began his musical career in the 1970’s, recording his first album with Pedro Conga y su Orquesta Internacional. Known as “El Gallo Salsero” (The Salsa Rooster), he became the lead vocalist with Conjunto Borincuba, led by Justo Betancourt, releasing the hit album Con Amor in 1978. Going solo in the early ‘90s, Rojas regularly released well received new records including Condename (1992) containing the popular songs “Porque Este Amor” and “Condename a Tu Amor” and A Mi Estilo (1994) that featured the hits “Tambien Nos Duele,” “He Chocado Con La Vida” and “Señora De Madrugada” and reached number 8 on the Billboard Tropical/Salsa chart. His fourth album Por Propio Derecho (On My Own Right, 1995), a combination of tangos, Cumbias and ballads went double Platinum, won Rojas the Paoli Prize for “Best Salsa Artist of the Year” and included the hits “Esperandote,” “Llorare,” “Claro” and “Te Quedaras Conmigo.” In 1999, Rojas released his number one hit “Por Mujeres Como Tu” from the album Alegrias Y Penas which tracked at #2 on the Billboard Tropical/Salsa chart. His most recent record Independiente was released on 2011.

LALO RODRIGUEZ, known for his charismatic stage presence, began singing when he was twelve years old in his native Puerto Rico. He made his recording debut at age 16 as the lead singer and composer of “Deseo Salvaje” on Eddie Palmiere’s The Sun of Latin Music (1974), the first Latin album to win a Grammy Award. In 1976, Rodriguez was the featured vocalist on the classic Eddie Palmiere Orchestra recording Unfinished Masterpiece, which also garnered a Grammy Award. That same year his finely tuned voice was showcased with the Tommy Olivencia Orchestra on Introducing Lalo Rodriguez and Simón Pérez. In 1977, he appeared as co-lead singer and composer of three tunes on Machito’s Grammy nominated album Fireworks. Going solo in 1980, his first album Simplemente…Lalo remains his most famous, having launched a new era in Puerto Rican salsa and contained the hit “Tu No Sabes Querer.” Rodriguez had two additional popular salsa records in the 1980’s before releasing his number one Billboard chart topping album Un Nuevo Despertar in 1988. Recorded in the salsa romántica style, this record featured the now classic songs “Si, Te Menti,” “Despues De Hacer El Amor” and his famous smash hit “Ven Devórame Otra Vez” which was awarded “Tropical Song of the Year” at the Lo Nuestro Awards in 1989.

Lehman Center is supported, in part, with public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the New York City Council. The 2013-2014 season is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature, JPMorgan Chase, and through corporations, foundations and private donations.