The National Symphony Orchestra Pops led by Marvin Hamlisch will gyrate to a Latin beat as Tito Puente Jr., son of the legendary percussionist, and Grammy Award-winning pop star Jon Secada join forces for three audience-pleasing shows. “I’ve know Tito and his father for a long time in a musical and personal friendship,” Secada said. “This will not be the first time we’ve worked together, but sharing the evening with each other and this tremendous orchestra is a special honor.”
Although Secada’s latest album, “Otra Vez,” is already zooming up the pop charts, his focus in this show will be on numbers from his classical recordings to summarize his musical history.
| Onstage |
| NSO Pops with Latin stars Jon Secada and Tito Puente Jr. |
| Where: Kennedy Center Concert Hall |
| When: 7 p.m. Thurdsay, 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday |
| Info: $20 to $85 at 202-467-4600, 800- 444-1324 or kennedy-center.org |
Born in Havana, Cuba, he immigrated with his parents to the United States and grew up in the diverse community of Hialeah, Fla., where pop, R&B, jazz and Latin rhythms shared the limelight. He embraced them all. After graduating from high school in 1979, he attended Miami Dade Community College before transferring to the University of Miami’s outstanding music school where he earned both a bachelor’s degree in music and a master’s degree in jazz vocal performance.
Gloria Estefan, a fellow Cuban-American and University of Miami graduate, hired him as a backup singer and he soon began composing for her. He wrote the words and music to most of the 12 songs in his self-titled debut album that went platinum, two of them repeated in Spanish. In 1992, little more than a year later, he won his first Grammy Award for “Best Latin Pop Album.”
In addition to composing for such artists as Ricky Martin and Jennifer Lopez, Secada has performed with many great singers, among them Luciano Pavarotti and Frank Sinatra. Along the way, he starred on Broadway as Danny Zuko in “Grease,” the emcee in “Cabaret” and as Joseph in the Webber-Rice hit “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.”
“The biggest challenge was the emcee in ‘Cabaret,'” he said. “I enjoy the variety of being an actor, singer and dancer and certainly would do another Broadway show when the right one comes along.”
“Because I love to entertain and get the audience involved, I look forward to the Kennedy Center concert and sharing the stories and songs that represent the many different things I’ve done.”
