Chino Pons & Grupo Irék
“Prince enjoyed listening to Grupo Irék at Thom Bar so much Sunday night, the Cuban band extended its set for an extra 30 minutes.” – New York Post, January 11, 2011.
“Chino Pons’
dancing is comparabl e to Fred Astaire or Michael
Jackson.”- 99.5 FM NYC
Formed in 2007 in New York City , but representing countries all over the globe, Grupo Irek consists of Chino Pons (from Cuba) , Hensy Perez (from Columbia),Tosso Hettinger (from Germany), and Eddie Valentin (from Puerto Rico).
Singer Chino Pons – a consummate entertainer and showman – always provides an incredible live show, with his outrageous dance skills. Chino studied dance in his native Cuba from the age of 8, following legendary traditional Cuban dancers “La China” and “Sanguini”, who performed with iconic Cuban Son / Rumba musicians Ignacio Pineiro (Septeto Nacional) and Carlos Embale. Here in New York, Chino studied for over ten years with Ramon Rodriguez, Director of the Harbor Conservatory of Music- one of the few places in the world teaching authentic Afro-Caribbean rhythm, from the musical masters who have studied with the original pioneers of Cuban music.
Grupo Irek have become one of the best known and most respected Salsa acts on the New York City circuit, by bringing a unique live show with amazing energy in every performance. Because of these live shows, the band’s regular gigs attract a large and upscale following. The sounds of Cuba: Salsa, Son, Cha-Cha and Mambo are all mixed into their original songs, to really get the dance floor moving at any type of party or event.
Grupo Irék has been featured on NBC TV, on 99.5 FM NYC, and frequently receive a buzz in cutting edge publications and blogs. They recently performed alongside the runway at the Lanvin for H&M fashion show. Sting attends their gigs when in New York, as they played regularly at his club, Socialista, while it was open; as well as at the gala events for his Rainforest Foundation. Grupo Irek plays every year at the Vanidades Magazine (the most popular Spanish language magazine) anniversary party, recently honoring such classic entertainers as Gloria Estefan and Juan Luis Guerra.
Grupo Irek has a weekly residency at the Thom Bar in Soho, packing the place every Sunday night, where Prince asked them to play an extra set last January because he and his party were enjoying it so much.
When you catch Grupo Irek live or book them at your event, you will be blown away by the vibes and energy of their incredible live show.
For bookings email:
Chinopoun@yahoo.com / chinopons71@gmail.com