Puerto Rican artist ‘El Jibaro’ comes to South Florida for Three Kings Day concert

Folk musician Andrés Jiménez, known as “El Jíbaro,” will come to Miami for the first time in his 50-year career to celebrate Three Kings Day, the most special day of the Christmas season for Puerto Ricans.

Jiménez will perform in a concert titled “Regalo de Reyes” on Jan. 6 at the iconic Trail Theater on Calle 8 in Little Havana.

Jiménez, 74, a composer and singer of traditional Puerto Rican folk music — whose discography spans over 36 productions and who has performed in a variety of international venues — will perform several popular songs from various Latin American countries.

“We are very happy. This is going to be my first concert in the city of Miami,” Jiménez said in an interview with the South Florida Sun Sentinel. “We invite all fellow Puerto Ricans and Latin Americans. I know they will have a good time.

“It seems to me that going to Miami is fundamental because it is a very important cultural metropolis... I would like to be able to work for a diverse audience, not only Puerto Rican but also Colombian, Honduran, Mexican, Venezuelan, Peruvian. I would like the Hispanic and Puerto Rican community in Miami to get together and share,“ said the artist who lives between San Juan and Orocovis, Puerto Rico.

El Jíbaro said he will perform décimas (tenths) by the Puerto Rican poet Virgilio Dávila related to the Three Kings Day tradition, as well as a repertoire of hits such as “Me gusta mi gente,” “Madre solo hay una,” “Mi barrio,” “Fiesta boricua” and songs dedicated to the Three Kings, such as “Caballitos de Palo,” “Los Reyes van a llegar,” among others.

“We have a Puerto Rican folk repertoire that is what distinguishes most of my career, but I also have many influences from Latin America, from Venezuelan music, from Colombian and Cuban music, from Argentine music, from the milonga. We are going to do a very typical Puerto Rican and multicultural concert,“ he said.

Jimenez comes to Miami after a November concert by other Puerto Rican musicians produced by Fenomenal Entertainment, a company founded by Puerto Rican music teacher and musician Anthony Rodríguez, known as Tony Toyán. The same company is producing the Andrés Jiménez concert in record time.

“We are very honored to bring Andrés Jiménez to Miami for the first time... We hope to continue bringing quality shows that allow us to spread and make Puerto Rican music more known to our diaspora, as well as to other audiences. We are sure that this will also help to strengthen ties between the communities of South Florida and Puerto Rico,“ Toyán said.

The growth of the Puerto Rican cultural scene in South Florida is the result of the increase in numbers of Puerto Ricans living in the area. Florida surpassed New York as the state with the largest Puerto Rican population after Hurricane Maria devastated the island in 2017. At 1.2 million residents, Puerto Ricans now make up 21% of Florida’s Hispanic population, and are poised to outnumber the Cuban population, historically the largest group of Hispanics in Florida, according to puertoricoreport.com.

Toyán is one of the thousands of Puerto Ricans who left the island after Hurricane María.

“The goal is to promote traditional Puerto Rican music and Latin American artists in the United States. This event seeks to show how beautiful our traditional Puerto Rican music is,“ says Toyán, who works as a music teacher at an elementary school in Miami, where he lives.

“We have many visions, but we started with Puerto Rican music, which is what we love. We must all try to project the best of our roots, our cultures, our music and that is what we are doing with this concert: Representing the Puerto Rican community,“ he said.

The event will be held at the Trail Theater, a historic building located on Miami’s lively Calle 8. The theater opened in 1930 and the local community – predominantly Cuban – saved it from being demolished.

“Andrés Jiménez Regalo de Reyes” is Jan. 6 at the Trail Theater, at 3715 SW Eighth St., Miami. Tickets ($55 to $75) are on sale at teatrotrail.com or 305-443-1009.

yvaldez@sunsentinel.com, @elsentinelsur en Facebook, Twitter e Instagram.