A Latin music legend since the mid-1960s, Joe Bataan was at the center of the New York City action as one of the early stars of Fania Records. His seductive combination of doo-wop vocals and boogaloo is one of the era’s defining sounds, though Bataan has never stayed in one groove for long. Born Bataan Nitollano to a Filipino father and African-American mother and raised in Spanish Harlem, he is the father of the Latin soul sound, crooning hits like “Gypsy Woman” and “Ordinary Guy.” Bataan went on to expand the sound in the ’70s with his Ghetto Records releases, co-coining the apt moniker “salsoul,” though he adapted to changing currents at the end of the decade with forays into disco and hip-hop, scoring the early rap hit “Rap-O Clap-O” in 1979. Stepping back from performing in the early ‘80s, he largely disappeared from the scene while working as a counselor for youth in detention facilities. Since returning to music in 2005, he’s reclaimed his title as the King of Latin Soul, and is still going strong at 80. La Doña looking out the door of a red vintage car.

A Festival regular since she was a child performing with La Familia Peña–Govea, the band run by her parents, La Doña (aka Cecilia Peña-Govea) has come into her own as one of the most charismatic and original voices defining the contemporary San Francisco scene. Drawing on the crowd-pleasing repertoire of Mexican and Caribbean styles and traditions she learned with her family, La Doña has crafted her own seductive sound blending reggaetón and hip hop beats with dance-inducing Latin American roots music.