Start summer SIZZLINGLY with the Latin music and dance highlight of the year- the 6th Annual Minnesota Salsa Fiesta, featuring Mayito Rivera, direct from Havana, Cuba!

One of the top salsa singers in the world, Mayito Rivera presents dynamic shows rich in musicality and rhythm. For a generation he was the voice of the legendary Cuban band Los Van Van with whom he won a Grammy. Later Rivera’s solo CD ‘Negrito Bailador’ was also nominated for a Grammy. A master of many styles - salsa, timba, rumba, son, cha cha cha, and more- Rivera is hugely popular both in Cuba and throughout the globe.

Rivera rarely performs in the United States due to difficulty of obtaining immigration visas for his Cuba based band. However now there is solution in the form of a new American-Cuban collaboration that will debut at Minnesota Salsa Fiesta and may be working for years to come.

Rivera will be backed up by Minneapolis-based salsa orchestra Charanga Tropical, for this one night expanded to 18-pieces with strings, horn section, back-up singers and full Latin rhythm section. Charanga Tropical plays more than local salsa music. In 2015 the band became the first U.S. group ever to tour Cuba and perform at Havana’s International Danzón Festival. In 2016 Charanga Tropical released its CD ‘In Cuba,’ recorded in the same Havana studios as ‘Buena Vista Social Club.’

For this show only Charanga Tropical’s 18-piece edition will feature an all-star collection of Latin talent including Cuban singer/pianist Viviana Pintado, Cuban singer Zuzel Balbín from Malamanya, and musicians from Salsa del Soul, Tropical Zone, Havana Gypsies, and other Minnesota ensembles. Traveling from Chicago to perform will also be exceptional coroistas Franklin Paz and Juan Castro and Latin jazzer Craig Russo.