Public Employee Press

Snapshots

Joe Bataan sings at Lincoln Center

DC 37 retiree and singer Joe Bataan enjoyed a busy summer. Bataan was featured in a new documentary that premiered in front of a packed house at Lincoln Center's Walter Reade Theater Aug. 5. "We Like It Like That - The Story of Latin Boogaloo," chronicles the rise of a unique style of music that swept New York during the 1960s.

"I'm very proud to be a part of this film," Bataan said. "That's a part of the city's history and that story needed to be told." Along with Johnny Colon, Ricardo Ray, Pete Rodriguez and many others, Bataan was a pioneer in creating a style that mixed Latin music with rhythm and blues and was sung in English.

The following evening Bataan performed a free concert at Lincoln Center's Damrosch Park."I love doing these shows because so many members that I used to work with come out," Bataan said during the soundcheck before the concert.

— Alfredo Alvarado