Sponsored by KNKX. Kiki Valera is one of Cuba's foremost cuatro-guitar virtuosos and a fourth-generation member of La Familia Valera Miranda, the pioneers renowned for more than a century as creators of Eastern Cuba's Son tradition. Over the last century, this style of traditional Cuban music has contributed to many other musical genres, including jazz, cha-cha-cha, mambo and salsa. Cuban Son is the music that made the Buena Vista Social Club worldwide stars in the late 1990s, but Kiki Valera comes from a family of musicians whose involvement with Son pre-dates the BVSC by decades. Now based in the United States, Valera's dynamic ensemble features many of Latin America's most outstanding musicians including lead vocalists Carlos Cascante (Spanish Harlem Orchestra) and Victor Castillo (Giraldo Piloto y Klimax) and bongocero Pedro Vargas (Barbarito Torres band). They'll be joined by Joe de Jesus (lead vocals/congas), Javier Maru (guitar), Julian Weissman (bass.)