Algareplena

Algareplena (originally Algareplena AP), is an urban plena group from Arecibo, Puerto Rico. Since getting together in 2003, their focus has been keeping the sound of Puerto Rican culture alive. Their sound is a lively, crowd-pleasing, dance-centric meld of plena, salsa, bomba, merengue, bachata, bolero, and batucada melded to urban genres such as reggaeton and electro. Since 2007, their music has been easily identifiable by thundering hand percussion backed by rolling pianola and steel drums. The group is a near constant presence at festivals, carnivals, and the annual parade of patron saint festivities. The band issued their debut album, Algareplena, Vol. 1, in 2016 for Dexter Entertainment. They followed it with the singles "Pa Celebrar," "El Life," and "La Fila de Gasolina" in 2017 -- all self-issued. The single "La Tabla" was released in February 2018 and proved their most successful to date when its video went viral. ~ Thom Jurek