Mix America's largest social networking website with its fastest-growing part of the population and what do you get? MySpace Latino, a recently official bilingual subsite of the juggernaut. And just like the original MySpace, it boasts star-studded "secret shows," to which admission can be gained only by friending the Secret Shows page. So this Friday, Studio A hosts the very first Show Secreto.
The lineup here is diverse. The San Juan-based quartet Circo pumps out New Wave-inspired tunes as icy and angular as the bandmates' cheekbones and haircuts. The eight members of the gigantic Locos por Juana hail from Colombia, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, and, well, Miami, and their sound is a similar global mishmash: from rock to funk to reggae to classic salsa dura. Heading up the whole thing is another famous boricua, reggaeton pioneer Tego Calderón. An early star of the genre, he has moved beyond its limitations into more straight-up street hip-hop territory inflected with his beloved tropical rhythms. (A surprise guest, also performing at the show, will be announced Friday night onstage.)
Tickets are free, but getting them involves, of course, using MySpace. Add "Shows Secretos" (www.myspace.com/showssecretos) to your friends. Then bring a printout of your profile to Studio A beginning at 2 p.m. on April 11 to pick up your wristband.
