6pm: Dance Instruction with Marlon Mills and Talia Castro-Pozo

7pm: Live Dance Music with La Excelencia

Inspired by the salsa sounds of the 1970s and the sociopolitical landscape of today, La Excelencia is an award-winning band from New York City that combines traditional salsa elements with a modern and unapologetic sound. Their music invigorates social mindedness amidst a powerful and danceable soundtrack. "It takes just a note or two to hear that La Excelencia is different. This is rugged salsa dura, with the percussion cranked, lots of breaks, the voices loud, almost distorted. It’s the sound of a tough working band, the sort that used to be everywhere in New York and now are rare to find," says Peter Watrous of The New York Times. Founded in 2005, La Excelencia honed their sound by performing at local venues around New York City; they caught the attention of the international salsa community with their 2006 debut album, Salsa Con Conciencia. The success of that album would result in the first of several international tours. The band would later release three more albums, Mi Tumbao Social (2009), Ecos Del Barrio (2012), and Machete (2020). La Excelencia’s in-your-face sound and energetic, live performances reach outside of the salsa norm, and have propelled the band to mainstream audiences and venues. “I felt like I was at a rock show, not a salsa performance,” commented Anthony Guerrero, a longtime fan. Under the leadership and direction of owner, Julian Silva, La Excelencia has enjoyed solid success, and continues to keep their sights on the future with a commitment to bringing voice to the next generation of salseros.