Support immigration rights at the Selena for Sanctuary concert with Kali Uchis, Cuco, Helado Negro, IV Jay, Ambar Lucid, Jasper Bones, La Doña, Ana Villafañe, DJ Principe Q, the Santuario House Band directed by Adrian Quesada and organizer Doris Muñoz at Central Park SummerStage (Rumsey Playfield) on Sunday, August 18, 2019 from 8-10pm. FREE
Doors open at 6:30pm. To be sure to get in, arrive an hour or two ahead.
If you don’t make it in, you can still enjoy all that great music in Central Park just outside Rumsey Playfield.
Selena for Sanctuary
One of the great things about SummerStage is it introduces you to a whole new crop of artists every year. Let’s break down who is performing a little because these are the latest of the latest.
Kali Uchis
The Colombian-American R&B singer’s debut album Isolation (2018) really rocks. It’s really unique to see a great R&B singer with mountains of Colombiana style. She is fun to watch because she has that Latin humor too.
Cuco
The Chicano pop star went from singing dreamy millennial lover boy psychedelic pop in his bedroom to a huge internet fan base.
Cuco broke out with his 2016 mixtape Wannabewithu. His big hit is Lo Que Siento (2017). His latest is Para Mi (2019).
Helado Negro
Ecuadorian-American makes hard to classify pop that often speaks to the Latino experience in the United States. His latest is This is How You Smile (2019).
IV Jay
The 17-year old instagram star from Paterson, New Jersey is Puerto Rican-Dominican-Colombian, so she has the whole Caribbean on her side. She’s a pop R&B singer with loads of girl power.
IV Jay broke out in 2018 so it’s all pretty new. Her first single was Thirsty. She released an EP called IV. She does have Pretty Wings.
Ambar Lucid
Lucid is another bedroom music maker. The Dominican-New Yorker from Little Ferry, New Jersey released her debut album Dreaming Lucid in 2018. Her big hit is A letter to my younger self (2018).
Jasper Bones
Bones is another dreamy R&B type of singer.
La Doña
Cecilia Peña-Govea is a San Francisco-based Mexican-American folk reggaeton singer who has been performing since she was seven in her family band La Familia Peña-Govea.
She sings and plays trumpet and percussion. Of this entire group of young artists, her music jumped out as like it, like it, like it.
Her Nada Me Pertenece is really beautiful, a new favorite song. “Nothing belongs to me, my love. I give you my hand like this. Give me your broken heart. I am a fucked black cat. Death belongs to me. I dream of your return. I count the days that I am without you. I ask God to come back. Don’t forget anything.” Aztecas believe that death is real, and life is but a dream.
Mexican-reggaeton unites the two main currents of Latin (Mex-Caribbean) that we have in the United States today. Growing up in Los Angeles, she sounds like home. Living in Puerto Rico she sounds like home. Nobody ever did that to me before.
Ana Villafañe
I knew I knew that name from somewhere. Villafañe starred as Gloria Estefan in the Broadway musical On Your Feet!, the Gloria and Emilio Estefan story.
The Salvadoran-Cuban-American has that big stage quality to her voice and her work is well produced. The way her Twinkle Twinkle switches between English and Spanish is moving. We’ll probably see more of Villafañe on the screen than on the stage. She is already headed in the direction.
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Whatever your tastes, the future of Latin music is secure. Even if you love reggaeton and Latin trap, it’s nice to hear the diversity of the music coming up. Like our heritage, it’s all over the map. The kids are all right.
Selena
We love the Mexican-American tejano music legend, Selena Quintanilla-Pérez. She was one of the first Latinas to cross over and be loved by everybody.
Today’s generation of young artists looked up to Selena. She showed that anything is possible ~ even when “they” tell you it is not, especially when “they” tell you it is not.
Solidarity for Sanctuary
Doris Muñoz founded the Solidarity for Sanctuary series of benefit concerts in Southern California to raise money to help immigrants get on the best path to citizenship. She started this to raise money for her own parents’ legal fees, but it has grown huge.
Muñoz was the only U.S. citizen in her family and that’s the thing. Many of us have mixed families, but the kids are citizens. Let’s teach them how the system works and then to be good citizens and work the system to stop the madness that’s going on now.
This is the tenth installment of the series. It benefits immigrant advocacy group Make the Road New York. The concert is free. Funds are being raised through merchandise sales by the Kids of Immigrants clothing brand.
So take your cash money or your biggest plastic and let’s get dressed. Let’s fill the park and sell out the clothes.
We can’t turn away any more. Time to do something. The strength of our Latin community is family. We are all El Paso family now!
In our country, everything is possible, but nothing is given. We have to take it. Together we can do anything. ¡Ya!
For more information, visit cityparksfoundation.org