Yerbabuena Biography

The group Yerbabuena was formed during the summer of 1999 at the renowned Rincon Criollo Cultural Center in the Bronx by musicians, singers, and dancers under the direction of musician Tato Torres. Forming out of an identified need for reappropriation and redefinition of Puerto Rican musical heritage, the group strived to serve as a link between the older and a new generation of Boricuas. Performing traditional rhythms and styles such as bomba, plena, and musica jibara, Yerbabuena hopes to repackage the music of their homeland as something beyond “folkloric,” something that’s also contemporary and relevant. The group takes their name, meaning “good herb,” from a minty herb that grows all over Latin America.