Ángel “Papote” Alvarado is a percussionist, composer and singer from the historic La Cuarta neighborhood in Ponce, Puerto Rico. He is the director and founder of the musical group Grupo Esencia, as well as a cultural manager and the current organizer of the Festival Afro Caribeño del Barrio La Cuarta.In his 25-year musical career, he has collaborated with many groups and musicians of the Bomba, the Plena, and Salsa – the African-based music and dance traditions of the island. With Grupo Esencia, he has recorded several productions that have been praised by the most important music critics of the genre.
The album titled “Con la fuerza de un tren” (With the Force of a Train) was nominated for the Latin Grammy Awards in 2011. In 2022, his seventh album “El tren de la sabrosura” (The Train of Joy) was awarded “Best Album of the Year” by Puerto Rico’s Fundación Nacional Para la Cultura Popular (The National Foundation for Popular Culture).
In his musical productions and concerts, he often collaborates with and presents renowned figures from the world of Salsa music, including Gilberto Santa Rosa, José Alberto “El Canario”, Pirulo, and Hector “Pichie” Pérez, among many others. Ángel “Papote” Alvarado y el Grupo Esencia has performed in several cities in the United States, most recently in Chicago and New Orleans, as well as in France and Spain, among others.