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Latin Roots: La Tribu De Abrante

On the last weekend of October, La Tribu de Abrante boarded a plane from Puerto Rico to Philadelphia to play a special live set, blending traditional bomba and plena with salsa, Latin jazz and lots of percussion. They played for hundreds of music fans — or, as frontman Hiram Abrante would prefer to call them: family. That's how Abrante thinks of his audience, and that point of view is at the core of La Tribu's music and the emotional connection they're able to inspire — especially at a time when things are so challenging in their home of Puerto Rico.

I had a chance to talk with Abrante about the importance of that family connection — the band itself includes his three brothers and his son, who were all part of this performance. But first we discussed how the rest of the Abrante family is faring back in Puerto Rico post-hurricane. Hear the complete performance and interview in the player above.

Copyright 2017 XPN

Felix Contreras is co-creator and host of Alt.Latino, NPR's pioneering radio show and podcast celebrating Latin music and culture since 2010.