With songs like Jenni Rivera's ranchera rendition of the classic "Amarga Navidad," El Gran Combo's Salsa staple "La Fiesta del Pilito," Christina Aguilera's pop tune "Christmas Time," and villancicos like "Mi Burrito Sabanero," there is no shortage of music for a Latino parranda (party)! .
At Manhattan nightclubs like Nell's on West 14th Street and Babalú on West 44th Street, Elvira Dominguez, 33, a D.J., plays El Gran Combo and older salsa throughout the night, shunning newer acts as bland and formulaic -- "salsa monga" or limp salsa, some fans call it -- and sticking with what traditionalists call "classic salsa".
Then again, to hear live music, there's no reason to leave La Vitrola, where on most nights a talented combo performs merengue, salsa and Cuban music.
In H-E-B's case, grabbing a paper coupon isn't as powerful as a written statement that you'll buy the chips-and-salsa combo, but the act of tearing it off and putting it in your cart or purse is far more engaging than simply cruising by a sign.
GREENVALE El Gran Combo 50th Anniversary Tour, salsa orchestra.
"They threw a lot of parties, and the music they played was all Latin music: salsa, El Gran Combo," he says.
The sounds of jackhammers mix with the sounds of traditional Cuban combos playing son and salsa hits for tourists.
The merengue star Elvis Crespo and the salsa band Gran Combo recently played there.
The Puerto Rican salsa institution El Gran Combo is to perform on June 24, and the Latin rockers Kid Creole and the Coconuts and Los Mocosos share a bill on July 28.
The great Puerto Rican salsa orchestra El Gran Combo has been around for 50 years, as the projected visuals of its current stage show tell you, or 51, as history tells you.
