Lehman officials say that in the 1950s, America fell in love with the Latin music genre, mambo, and that “The Home of Mambo” was the Palladium Ballroom, located at 53rd Street and Broadway in Manhattan, until it closed in 1966. Initially starting as Alma Dance Studio, it was renamed the Palladium Ballroom in 1946, with Machito headlining and Tito Puente appearing on the scene as a director in 1948.

 

According to Lehman officials, later, singer, Tito Rodriguez, and his band began to compete with Machito and Puente as headliners, establishing Machito, Puente, and Rodriguez as The Big Three. They say The Big Three Palladium Orchestra is the brainchild of Machito’s son, Mario Grillo, as he wanted to get closer to the Puente and Rodriguez families to represent the music of the Palladium era. With 20 members and a repertoire of more than 2,000 tunes, The Big Three Palladium Orchestra recreates all the glory of the Latin big band and the mambo craze of the 1950s with its tropical-flavored trumpets, be-bop piano and drumbeats.

 

 

Lehman Center for the Performing Arts is located on the campus of Lehman College/CUNY at 250 Bedford Park Boulevard West, Bronx, NY 10468. Tickets for PALLADIUM IN THE NEW MILLENNIUM can be purchased at $100, $65, $55, $50, and $45, by calling the Lehman Center box office at (718) 960-8833, Monday through Friday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and beginning at 4 p.m. on the day of the concert, or online at www.LehmanCenter.org. The center is accessible via the 4 or D trains to Bedford Park Boulevard, or off the Saw Mill River Parkway and the Major Deegan Expressway if traveling by car.

 

The center is supported, in part, with public funds through the SVOG Grant by the U.S. Small Business Administration, implemented by U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, and from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with New York City Council. The 2022 Season is also made possible through sponsorship by New York State Council on the Arts, Spring Bank, Con Edison, and the Friends of Lehman Center.

 

IMPORTANT COVID-19 SAFETY INFORMATION: To keep our staff, audiences, and artists safe, proof of vaccination and masks will be required to attend any performances at Lehman Center for the Performing Arts in accordance with the Mayor’s Office of the City of New York.