Los Pleneros de la 21 - Biography
By J Poet
Los Pleneros de La 21 is a band dedicated to preserving traditional Puerto Rican music, particularly the forms known as bomba and plena. The group takes it name from Parada 21 (Bus Stop 21), a corner in the city of San Juan, Puerto Rico in the black neighborhood of Santurce, home to many of the island’s most famous players of bomba and plena. Juan Gutiérrez, the group’s musical and cultural director, founded the ensemble in 1983. The musicians play, sing, dance, and make their own instruments, preserving many aspects of traditional Puerto Rican culture. Los Pleneros were the first New York-based Plena group to perform at Carnegie Hall.
Plena has its roots in the music of the African slaves brought to Puerto Rico by the Spanish and blends European, African, and Native Taino (Indian) music. Juan Gutierrez grew up in San Juan playing piano and percussion. He studied music at the University of Puerto Rico, the Conservatory of Music in San Juan, the Manhattan School of Music, and Lehman College. As a freelance musician he played and recorded with legends like Bobby Valentín, Eddie Palmieri, Paul Simon, Patty Labelle, and Danny Rivera as well as the Orquesta Sinfónica de Puerto Rico, Orquesta Filarmónica de Puerto Rico, and Opera de Puerto Rico. In the late 70s, he studied with plena master Marcial Reyes Arvelo. With Arvelo, Gutiérrez assembled the best traditional pleneros in New York City to create the multi-generational Los Pleneros de la 21.
Their first recording, Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico (1990 Shanachie) was a shared outing with Conjunto Melodia Tropical, another band dedicated to the roots traditions of bomba and plena. There were no crossover moves, but the pure bomba and plena of both bands created a sensation in New York’s Puerto Rican and Latin dance communities. Somos Boricuas - We Are Puerto Rican (1996 Henry Street) the band’s proper debut, is a supercharged masterpiece. The band’s percussionists lay down a relentless groove to support the improvisations of cuatro player Edgardo Miranda and pianist José Lantigua. The lyrics are full of edgy humor and serious social commentary. Like calypso, plena has a tradition of humorous social commentary and was once known as el periódico cantando (the sung newspaper.) Puerto Rico Tropical (1997 Music of the World) is another shared album, this time with El Quintero Criollo, and emphasizes the music’s African roots. On Para Todos Ustedes (2005 Smithsonian Folkways), the band’s second album, they’re joined by trombonist Papo Vázquez, San Francisco percussion legend John Santos, salsero Hermán Olivera, and Miriam Félix of Segunda Quimbamba for a session that adds salsa, hip-hop and jazz influences to the band’s traditional groove. The band spends most of their time playing at grammar schools, high schools and universities, educating people about traditional Puerto Rican music and culture with concerts, workshops and artistic residencies.