La Sonora Ponceña (“The Ponce Sound”) is one of New York’s longest running salsa bands; Formed in Ponce, Puerto Rico in 1954 by Enrique Lucca Caraballo and Antonio Santaella, the group has recorded 32 albums and is still going strong, now directed by Caraballo’s son Papo Lucca. The band is joined by Jose “El Canario” Alberto, the Dominican salsa vocalist who moved from Santo Domingo to Puerto Rico as a young boy and got his name (“The Canary”) on account of his virtuosic whistling ability. Alberto moved to New York in 1977 and got his break with Tipica ’73, going on to start his own band and collaborate with the likes of Sonny Bravo, Mario Rivera, and Leopoldo Pineda. They’re both supported by the Bronx’s DJ Lucho, a mentee of freestyle legend “Little” Louie Vega.
