A Different Flavor

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When asked what draws her and her bandmates in Sabrosas Latin Orchestra to salsa music, timbales player Monica Saenz has a quick answer at the ready: “Because it’s fun!”

To see Sabrosas live is to understand and feel that very sensation of movement and elation. The group, which formed in 2018, has kept a lineup of between 10 and 12 members, including Saenz, vocalists Antonia Ruiz and Mariela Contreras, bassist Justine Dolorfino-Thieman, trumpet players Elizabeth Meeker Howard and Alyssa Keene, trombonist Shirley Coggon, percussionists Janet Murray Thornton and Monette Marino, and pianist Tomo Osako.

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Their music is lively and vibrant, with live setlists that mix more traditional salsa standards with salsa-fied versions of cover songs by more contemporary artists like Adele. When the band performs at a festival, street fair, or other outdoor events, they tend to catch people off guard in the best possible way.

San Diego hasn’t historically been a major hub for salsa music, though salsa bands have been here for years. The group frequently plays at local festivals: last year it played at the Carlsbad Music Festival, the Rock n’ Roll Marathon, Pride by the Beach, and San Diego-area wineries. A January Belly Up show has been postponed, so keep an eye for its promised rescheduling.