ORQUESTA AKOKÁN
Grammy-nominated band from Havana serves up a fresh take on Cuban mambo
May 5, 2022 at 8 p.m.
Tickets: $25, $35, $55, $75*
John S. and James L. Knight Concert Hall
MIAMI – March 7, 2022 – The Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County (@arshtcenter) presents ORQUESTA AKOKÁN (@orquestaakokan) on May 5, 2022. A sensational ensemble creating deeply soulful mambo reminiscent of Benny Moré, Pérez Prado and banda gigante of the 1940s and ’50s, the Grammy-nominated band makes their Miami debut as part of the Center’s Live at Knight series – live and in person in the Knight Concert Hall.
Tickets for ORQUESTA AKOKÁN are $25, $35, $55 and $75* and may be purchased at the Adrienne Arsht Center box office by calling (305) 949-6722, or online at arshtcenter.org.
The 2021-2022 Live at Knight series is generously supported by presenting sponsor Spirit Airlines. EPIC Hotel, Bacardi and Café Bustelo are supporting sponsors.
Assembled and led by Cuban vocalist José “Pepito” Gómez, ORQUESTA AKOKÁN is a big band collective made up of the finest musicians on the island. The band infuses legendary Cuban grooves with a renewed vitality and powerful sense of akokán – the Yoruba word meaning “from the heart.” Their self-titled debut album was nominated for Best Tropical Latin Album at the 2018 Grammy Awards. The group has also been nominated for a Billboard Latin Music Award and Telemundo Latin American Music Award and have received critical acclaim from media around the globe.
ORQUESTA AKOKÁN’s latest album, 16 Rayos, boasts all original songs recorded at the historic Estudios Areito with Cuba’s finest players, young and old, led by Gómez, produced by Chulo Records’ Jacob Plasse, with blazing arrangements by Michael Eckroth. The ferocious and pedigreed wind and rhythm sections consist of musicians from storied groups including Irakere, NG La Banda, and Los Van Van. Robust, time-tested musical architectures of son cubano and mambo are honored and modernized through a synthesis of the rich compositional styles of Havana, New York and beyond.
For more information, visit orquestaakokan.com.