Conga Room

The Conga Room is a Los Angeles, California, nightclub that focuses on salsa and Latin music.

History

Early on, it broadened its musical repertoire beyond salsa (Celia Cruz, Tito Puente, Buena Vista Social Club and Oscar De Leon) to spotlight popular artists in other genres: rock en Español (e.g., Aterciopelados, Julieta Venegas), world beat (e.g., Susana Baca, Lila Downs, Hugh Masekela, Bebel Gilberto), jazz (e.g., Billy Cobham, Poncho Sanchez, Jack DeJohnette), urban (e.g., Common, Wyclef Jean) and pop/rock (e.g., Jose Feliciano, Nelly Furtado, Los Lobos). With its rebirth at L.A. Live district in downtown Los Angeles, the Conga Room is poised to host an even broader array of concerts and parties, many in the wake of entertainment, social, political and sporting events at the nearby Staples Center, Nokia Theatre, Club Nokia and JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton Hotel. The new club, with 15,000 square feet (1,400 m²) and a capacity of about 1,800, is nearly three times the size of the funky, elbow-bumping old club. (Basic cover charge for the new venue ranges from $18 to $25.) Gluckstein said the concept for the Conga Room "outgrew" its old location, which was hampered by poor freeway access and by being on the edge of a primarily residential neighborhood.^[1]

Having swept onto the Los Angeles social scene in 1998, the Conga Room earned a following with its hip ambiance and hot performers. It hosted record launches, movie debuts, award shows and parties. It hosted the press conference that announced the 2001 Latin Grammy Award winners. It featured concerts by top Cuban and Latin tropical legends such as Celia Cruz, Tito Puente and the Buena Vista Social Club and its stage was graced by the likes of Shakira, Juanes and Carlos Santana.

The Conga Room is co-owned by Jimmy Smits, Jennifer Lopez, Paul Rodriguez, Sheila E., Amaury Nolasco, Baron Davis, Trevor Ariza, and will.i.am.

Notable events

• The Carlos Santana post-Grammy party in 2000
• The 2nd Annual Latin Grammy Awards announcement press conference in 2001 due to the show's cancellation on September 11, 2001.

Notable patrons

• Dennis Franz
• Sharon Lawrence
• Tony Curtis
• Alan Thicke
• Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
• Donny Osmond
• Paul Reubens
• Natalie Cole
• Harry Belafonte
• Samuel L. Jackson
• Gregory Peck
• Roseanne Barr
• Halle Berry
• Mario Van Peebles
• Andy García
• Maria Conchita Alonso
• Angela Bassett
• Edward James Olmos
• Robert Townsend
• Michael Douglas
• Minnie Driver
• Susana Baca

Performers

• Celia Cruz
• Bobby Brown
• Gloria Estefan
• Santana
• Renegade
• Enrique Iglesias
• Tito Puente
• Ricky Martin
• Jose Feliciano
• Nelly Furtado
• Olga Tanon
• Gipsy Kings
• Brian Culbertson

References

1. ^ Reed Johnson (December 7, 2008). "The Conga Room at L.A. Live is thinking big". Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/2008/dec/07/entertainment/ca-congaroom7. 

External links

• congaroom.com
• Conga Room on nocheLatina

Preceded by Staples Center

Host of the Latin Grammy Awards 2001

Succeeded by Kodak Theatre