Locos por Juana at Bryant Park

Locos por Juana formed as a bilingual Latin band in 2000 in Miami, Florida. Vocalist Itawe Correa and drummer Javier Delgado were born in Colombia, guitarist Mark Kondrat is a Miami native of Colombian descent and bassist David Pransky is from Cabot, Vermont. Since its origins, the band's mission has been to compose and perform original music blending Latin music and reggae with rock, funk and hip-hop. Locos por Juana's fifth and most recent album is 2016's Caribe.

Locos por Juana performed a free outdoor after-work concert this early evening as part of the Carnegie Hall Citywide Series at Bryant Park. For 45 minutes, the trees surrounding the stage seemed to turn into palm, citrus and mango trees as the band conjured a tropical fiesta of music and dance. The hybrid of sounds grew out of an Afro-Caribbean spine, but covered a wide range of rhythms including salsa, cumbia, reggae and ska and peppered them with splashes of rock guitar and hip-hop raps. The additional percussionist, keyboardist and two trombone players boosted the flavors. Multicultural and cosmopolitan, this uncommon mix sparked participation from an ethnically diverse audience, as listeners increasingly drew closer to the stage and danced to Locos por Juana's exuberant polyrhythmic swing.

Visit Locos por Juana at www.locosporjuana.com.