Having gone through several incarnations as a Latin/world/party band in the last decade or so, Richmond-based Bio Ritmo (a Spanish play on “biorhythms”) has come full circle to their salsa roots. Frontman Rei Alvarez (pictuerd above, with the band), one of the band’s founders, spent a lot of that time painting murals after leaving in 1994 to pursue his art work. His return as sonero signals the band’s return to rootsy, ’70s-style salsa and boogalu, inspired by the likes of the Lebron Brothers and Sonora Ponceña. Citing his influences as “anything Puerto Rican,” Alvarez’s warm, slightly nasal, urban campesino vocals are backed by an eight-piece salsa band as tight as any this area has heard. Back together and touring for close to a year, they’re already popular with Triangle dancers, and these guys are just warming up. Catch their sound at the Cat’s Cradle in Carrboro this Saturday, July 13, for a taste of good salsa to come. Sabor! Call 967-9053 for details. –Sylvia Pfeiffenberger
