OPEN Friday: May 22, 2026 [43:14-48:15]

All right, that was the taste of the South Bronx Culture Festival coming up once again. And one of this year's featured performers is the Bombasso Dance Company who also happens to be today's Open Artists Spotlight. And the Bombasso Dance Company was established in 2012 by Nick Daddy Tucker Concepcion, a celebrated scholar, choreographer, and dancer in this Bronx-based nonprofit focuses on exhibiting and upholding afro, Puerto Rican Bombacastans while providing various educational and community programs and here to share more about the South Bronx Culture Festival and the arts. We welcome Gassita Maria Center for Arts and Education Artistic Director, Gail Heidel, and founder of Bombasso Dance Company, Artistic Director, Mithetty Tucker Concepcion. Hello. Hello. Hello. Yes, how are you? Yeah, the sun is finally seeping its way through. Things are warming up. Yeah, that's a good way to put it. Well, Ms. Gail, this is your baby. And first of all, I want to say this vibrant blue color, it is so working. Yes, and I love that you always use a different color each year for the South Bronx Culture Festival. Now, what's different about this year? Well, we have expanded the timeframe for the young artists of Concepcion Maria to perform so they now get an hour and 15 minutes. And we're also focusing on our teaching artists, which military is one of, so that during this set, which is on Friday, the 29th of May, you can see the young artists, but you can also see them with their teaching artists and realize that they're professional artists in their own right as well. We also have Bronx Banda, which is our partnership with Arturo Farrell. And we are collaborating with his orchestra, the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra. So that is going to be tremendous. We'll have 25 people on stage on Friday. We wrote a new composition about Concepcion Maria Lombani Bonilla and his brother Richie Bonilla. And then again, military with Bombossa Dance Company is going to be collaborating with the orchestra. With the Bronx Banda and the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra. Oh my goodness. Yeah, so Friday night is going to be spectacular. And then, of course, Saturday, but I won't roll into that yet. Well, let's talk a little bit about. I mean, Daddy's involvement with the festival because this is how many years now, because you're also part of it almost like annually as well. With some form or another. Yes, definitely. I've always participated since I started with my company and we've grown together, the partnership with Cassita Maria. And it's a beautiful festival family family. And it just brings not only Bronx artists, but artists across New York City together in our borough. So I love the activity. We participated last year with my junior company. And it was well received. Yeah. And this year you're going to be doing a collaboration with the multi-grammy wedding Arturo O'Farrell. Yes. Well, this is my second time doing it with Arturo O'Farrell. Yes, a few years back about maybe 10 or 15. 2015, I did a work as well with him. And this year I'm bringing some of my company members. And we're doing two of his works. So that's what we're rehearsing tonight as well. It is very, very honored and humbled to be invited and to be collaborating with Cassita throughout the year in teaching bomba to the students, to the elementary students, and seeing them grow and be confident. And I'm excited for them to see the company as well and the junior company performing along with them. How many in your company now? Oh my gosh. I lost count. But would I dirty something? Beautiful. I've watched you since the beginning. So it's really admirable. And I do want us to acknowledge the fact that you now have a brick and mortar. Yes. Now we have our own space organization as grown, right, organically. And we have been having our workshops there for the past two months. And it's beautiful. And what I like about it is that the community can see what we're doing. And you can see the smile, stop, wander. And they go like, what? What's going on here? Drone classes even come in and take the classes with us. So yes, and we have class tomorrow as well. And then that's beautiful for you, right? As a company, but you've partnered up with organizations and institutions such as Cascita Maria for so many years. Yes, well, we started with Cascita Maria and some of the organizations definitely Cascita Maria and the point as well in a speed. So to have that, we don't grow alone. There's no eye in growing as a team. And in getting to where we are now is the partnership that we've developed along the way, but also the community. Yes, yeah. And that's what this is about. It's the most culture festival.