The King of Mambo and the Queen of Latin Soul will get the spotlight they deserve this fall when the International Salsa Museum (ISM) opens a three-day pop-up presentation in their honor. ISM, a cultural organization dedicated to preserving early Latin music history and the legacy of Salsa, will focus its first-ever museum exhibition on the Afro-Cuban singer La Lupe and Nuyorican bandleader and musician Tito Puente.
The pop-up exhibition and fan experience will open September 1, 2023, during the 21st annual New York International Salsa Congress (NYISC) at the New York Marriott Marquis in Times Square. And it will close on September 3.
“ISM is honored that the estates of these seminal artists of early Latin music believe in our mission,” Willy Rodriguez, co-founder and executive director of ISM, said in a statement. “It’s important to educate the public on their legacies while humanizing the persons behind the curtains.”
Rodriguez added: “It’s important to educate the public on their legacies while humanizing the persons behind the curtains.”
According to an ISM press release, the exhibition on La Lupe and Puente will include sound, film, visual art, instruments, and never-before-seen artifacts that “will chronicle the trajectory of Afro-Latin music with retrospectives on the profound contributions” of the two artists as individuals and collaborators.
The exhibit will include an examination of the music they created together like “Tito Puente Swings/The Exciting Lupe Sings,” “Tú y yo,” “El Rey y Yo” and “Qué Te Pedí.”
Tito Puente Jr. will join a panel discussion during the event. Also in attendance will be musician Luis Figueroa, who will perform on September 3.
To learn more about this Tito Puente and La Lupe exhibit, including how to purchase tickets, go here.