2020-09-18

Robertico Arias

Robertico Arias (Providence, Rhode Island) 

Robertico Arias is a Dominican musician and leader of the Latin Music Group Alebreke, based in Providence, Rhode Island. He started his music education at ten years old, supported by his mother, folklorist Juana Arias. At the age of seventeen, Robertico became one of the most prominent congas player in the Dominican Republic, eventually moving to New York City. He has toured internationally in Europe, Asia, and North and Central America, and has performed and recorded with musicians such as Wilfrido Vargas and David Byrne. In 1998, he founded the group Merengada which released multiple albums on the BMG Latin label. In 1994, he moved from NYC to Providence, Rhode Island, where he has taught at the Providence Music School and at the Rhode Island Philharmonic. Robertico has performed and taught at many universities in Rhode Island and Massachusetts, including the Berklee College of Music, Brown University, and Rhode Island University. 

Interviewed by Tamar Sella, 09/18/2020.

Tamar Sella

Music; United States; Covid-19 Pandemic

Providence, Rhode Island

Musicians in America during the Covid-19 Pandemic

Society for Ethnomusicology