TITO PUENTE CONCERT SERIES

Created in honor of Latin music icon, Tito Puente, this series is celebrating 11 years of bringing live Latin music with a strong salsa influence to Boston parks.

This series is sponsored in part by Berklee College of Music,

The radio was made by Sylvania – of all things – and was just a little grey rectangular box that fit just right in one’s hand. It had the tuner on top, the speaker below and a sturdy antenna that you could pull up or push down. It even had a nice string to go around the wrist so you wouldn’t drop it.

You couldn’t break it. I dropped it, a softball smashed it, and even aguyontheTbussatonitand crushed it by accident. In all cases, I was able to re-assemble it, put it all back together and duck tape it secure. Such a thing back then was made to last. Low-tech and long lasting.

That thing went everywhere with me.

I listened to the Sox almost every night. Joe Castiglione was my best friend that summer. On my walk to my part-time week- end job, I’d dial up old WILD AM radio to hear classic soul in the mornings. There was always WBZ to catch the breaking news (as an aside: anyone feel like there is a lot more breaking news than there used to be? I think the stan- dards for breaking news, much

Inquilinos Boricuas en Acción, Villa Victoria Center for the Arts, Zumix, Hyde Square Task Force, and Sociadad Latina.

Free salsa lessons led by MetaMovements at select con- certs.

Thursday, August 3, 7 p.m. O’Day Playground, South End Conjunto Barrio