BX residents celebrate Puerto Rican heritage at Bom Plezano festival

Students and community members attended the Bom Plezano Festival to celebrate Puerto Rican heritage in the Bronx.
The festival was held at the Hostos Center for the Arts and Culture Saturday.
The celebration is to honor Puerto Rico's tradition of bomba and plena music.
The festival included a concert by various performers.
Organizers say plena serves as a voice for all people and bomba often uses no words at all. There are 16 traditional rhythms, each associated with a signature dance step.
They say bomba began in the 17th century among enslaved African-Americans, while plena emerged in the 20th century.
Organizers say both art forms have been influenced by pop music over the decades.