Nil Lara Keeps It Local at Bougie's July 2

It may strike you as odd that an artist who plays multi-stringed instruments -- like the tres, a six-stringed Cuban guitar, and the cuatro, a four-stringed Venezuelan guitar -- goes by the name Nil. But that doesn't mean Mr. Lara is synonymous with nada. His heyday was back in the...

By Alexandra Leon

June 21, 2011

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It may strike you as odd that an artist who plays multi-stringed instruments -- like the tres, a six-stringed Cuban guitar, and the cuatro, a four-stringed Venezuelan guitar -- goes by the name Nil. But that doesn't mean Mr. Lara is synonymous with nada.

His heyday was back in the '90s, but this Cuban-American troubadour still keeps Miami's heart beating in 4/4 time.

After signing with Capitol Records in 1995, touring with artists like Lenny Kravitz, and showing up on soundtracks for TV shows like Scrubs, Lara is bringing it back to his home base. He's now playing small, local venues like Bougie's, giving all the guajiros and sons a taste of his music of the same name. His fusion of these traditional Cuban genres with American pop will make you want to sing, dance, and maybe even smoke a Habano.

Nil Lara. Saturday, July 2. Bougainvillea's, 7221 SW 58th Ave., South Miami. The show starts at 10 p.m. and admission is free. Call 305-669-8577 or visit bougiesbar.com.

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Alexandra Leon

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