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Latin Roots: Boogaloo With Joe Bataan

Joe Bataan
Courtesy of the artist
Joe Bataan

Joe Bataan was one of the major figures in the rise of boogaloo in New York City in the 1960s. As he tells it, boogaloo — a very danceable combination of R&B and Latin grooves, with lyrics in English — saved Latin music, which Bataan says was in decline in New York.

Bataan, whose many boogaloo hits included "Gypsy Woman," is one of the artists featured in a new documentary called We Like It Like That. Hear him and his 12-piece band perform live at the Prince Theater in Philadelphia.

Copyright 2016 XPN

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