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       THE POINT CDC lives in the heart of Hunts Point, a vibrant and diverse South Bronx community. Postwar Latin music is one of the great creative products of the South Bronx. In the 1940s, '50s, and '60s, a fusion of Cuban rhythms, New York energy, and musical talent -- largely Puerto Rican, but also African American, Jewish, and Italian -- produced some of the world's most dance-able and popular musical styles. Son (aka rhumba), mambo, cha-cha-cha, and charanga exploded in popularity, each transforming into a distinct New York Latin music sound and later blending with its close musical relatives under the label salsa in the late 1960s. The sound is fast, with intense percussion and dense orchestral arrangements.

Places central to this story are the Park Palace in East Harlem; the Palladium in Midtown where the three mambo kings -- Tito Puente, Tito Rodriguez, and Machito -- hold court; and the southern Bronx, at literally dozens of local dance halls, clubs, and theaters. In Hunts Point, Longwood, and Mott Haven -- neighborhoods once Jewish, Italian and Irish, but by the 1950s increasingly Puerto Rican, and later African American as well -- hundreds of Latino musicians, singers, bandleaders and composers live, rehearse, jam, and play. Some Bronx music venues are elegant and glamorous, others are humble and homey. People come from all over the city to listen and dance to the greatest names in Latin music. The "Burning of the Bronx" in the early 1970s overshadows this earlier era, but all through the years of devastation, Bronx residents continue to create. Hip hop, too, is made in the Bronx. Many of these places are now gone or have turned to other uses. Casa Amadeo record store, est. 1941 as Casa Hernandez, still sells the best in Latin music. Newer places, such as The Point CDC, Casita Rincon Criollo, and P.S. Park 52, keep traditions alive through concerts and music lessons. Jimmy's Bronx Cafe, the Wild Palm Club, Willie's Steak House, and Tito Puente's Restaurant on City Island are vibrant parts of the city's nightlife.

 
Text Box:        THE POINT CDC lives in the heart of Hunts Point, a vibrant and diverse South Bronx community. Postwar Latin music is one of the great creative products of the South Bronx. In the 1940s, '50s, and '60s, a fusion of Cuban rhythms, New York energy, and musical talent -- largely Puerto Rican, but also African American, Jewish, and Italian -- produced some of the world's most dance-able and popular musical styles. Son (aka rhumba), mambo, cha-cha-cha, and charanga exploded in popularity, each transforming into a distinct New York Latin music sound and later blending with its close musical relatives under the label salsa in the late 1960s. The sound is fast, with intense percussion and dense orchestral arrangements. Places central to this story are the Park Palace in East Harlem; the Palladium in Midtown where the three mambo kings -- Tito Puente, Tito Rodriguez, and Machito -- hold court; and the southern Bronx, at literally dozens of local dance halls, clubs, and theaters. In Hunts Point, Longwood, and Mott Haven -- neighborhoods once Jewish, Italian and Irish, but by the 1950s increasingly Puerto Rican, and later African American as well -- hundreds of Latino musicians, singers, bandleaders and composers live, rehearse, jam, and play. Some Bronx music venues are elegant and glamorous, others are humble and homey. People come from all over the city to listen and dance to the greatest names in Latin music. The "Burning of the Bronx" in the early 1970s overshadows this earlier era, but all through the years of devastation, Bronx residents continue to create. Hip hop, too, is made in the Bronx. Many of these places are now gone or have turned to other uses. Casa Amadeo record store, est. 1941 as Casa Hernandez, still sells the best in Latin music. Newer places, such as The Point CDC, Casita Rincon Criollo, and P.S. Park 52, keep traditions alive through concerts and music lessons. Jimmy's Bronx Cafe, the Wild Palm Club, Willie's Steak House, and Tito Puente's Restaurant on City Island are vibrant parts of the city's nightlife.