Lehman Center for the Performing Arts is excited to present TITO ROJAS with special guests PUERTO RICAN POWER under the direction of LUISITO AYALA performing together for the first time in New York on Saturday, August 15th, 2015 at 8pm. The young Puerto Rican salsa vocalist YAN COLLAZO will also make a special appearance. 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 TITO ROJAS on Saturday, August 15th, 2015 at 8pm are $65, $55, and $50 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. In 1983, Rojas joined the Salsa orchestra PUERTO RICAN POWER as lead vocalist and had hits with the salsa versions of the ballads Noche de Boda and Quiereme Tal Como Soy. Going solo in the early ‘90s, Rojas regularly released well received new records including Condename (1992) containing the popular songs Porque Este Amor, Condename a Tu Amor and the album 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 reached #2 on the Billboard Tropical/Salsa chart. His most recent record Independiente was released in 2011.

The quintessential New York musician, Max Weinberg needs little introduction. From his initial performance with Blackstone, his longtime para-diddles with Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band to his role as Conan O'Brien's beloved bandleader, the published author of "The Big Beat", Conversations with Rock's Great Drummers. He is one of the best rhythm-keepers and swing-starters ever, and his love for music, both classic and new, keeps him relevant and always moving forward. I have known this old man since way back when.

Astronomer Fred Bruenjes recorded a series of many 30 second long exposures spanning about six hours on the night of Aug. 11 and early morning of Aug. 12, 2004 using a wide angle lens. Combining those frames which captured meteor flashes, he produced this dramatic view of the Perseids of summer. There are 51 Perseid meteors in the composite image, including one seen nearly head-on.
Credits: Fred Bruenjes

Thanks to a new moon, this week’s Perseid meteor shower is expected to be one of the best in years, and NASA Television will bring viewers a front row seat.