Recession cuts attendance, sales at Richmond Latino clubs

Oscar Quintanilla, owner of El Tropicabana Restaurant and Night Club on Jefferson Davis Highway in South Richmond, often hears people expressing disbelief about the big music artists coming to his place.

"Is it true that so and so is coming here to Tropicabana?" he said they ask. "They don't believe it. They're surprised. Until the artist comes and they see for themselves do they believe it."

El Tropicabana has room for 500 to 600 people, and for some performances with international groups, he's had to turn away as many as 300 people, Quintanilla said.

With a growing Spanish-speaking population, Richmond has become a stopping place for popular international artists and groups as they travel along the Interstate 95 corridor to and from bigger performances in Washington and North Carolina.

But the thriving Latino music scene has not escaped the economic downturn, some club owners said. Ticket prices for international groups coming to Richmond vary from $20 to $70.

"Before, I had one group on Friday, one on Saturday and one on Sunday on some weekends," Quintanilla said. "Now, we do it once or twice a month. If we bring a group this Friday and the next, we don't get a whole lot of response."

The number of clients coming to his club is down 10 percent to 20 percent, Quintanilla said.

"Sometimes we're full, but sales are low," he said. "Maybe clients who spent $50 before now spend $25."

Elmer B. Jimenez, owner of El Sabor Latino Restaurant and Night Club on Jefferson Davis Highway in Richmond, said attendance and sales are down about 40 percent.

"It's not like two years ago anymore, when all the businesses were doing well," he said.

Jimenez said he has lowered the cover charge on nights with regular DJs from $10 to $5, he said.

"People want to go out, but they don't have money," he said. "We have brought groups recently who had packed the house in past appearances, and only a fourth of the people showed up. People want to support the groups, but they have no money."

As the summer winds down, so does his clientele, because most of them work in the construction industry and work slows during the winter, Jimenez said.

Carolyne Bridges, owner of El Fuego Night Club on West Broad Street in Henrico County, said she occasionally brings in groups. Her club has a dance floor for Mexican music lovers and a second dance floor for international music, such as salsa, merengue, bachata and rock.

"Groups tend to be a bit pricey, and people like the DJs anyway," she said. "Those groups cost some $20,000, so you have to charge $20, $30 to get in, and the way the economy is, they want to take that $30 and buy drinks instead of getting in the door."

Recent performances at El Sabor Latino include Latin Grammy Award winners and nominees, such as DJ Flex, and Tito El Bambino and Alex y Fido.

In May, the multiple Latin Grammy winners Los Tigres del Norte performed with other groups at the Show Place in Henrico. The Mexican group is the legend of "corridos," a musical style that tells folk tales about the enduring pursuit of truth, justice and opportunity by heroes or ordinary people. Tickets were $70.

David Prado, a salsa music promoter and instructor, said he's working on bringing the Spanish Harlem Orchestra. And while the salsa crowd is international, the growth of the Latino community in Richmond would help attendance, he said.

"I'm sure it's going to be big," he said.

The big groups that have come so far to Richmond are opening the way to mega stars such as Guatemalan singer and composer Ricardo Arjona and Mexican rock band Maná, which performs regularly in Washington, said Shalín Midence, a radio personality at La Selecta Spanish-language radio in Richmond who has interviewed many of the artists when they have come to town.

"Four years ago, you didn't see these types of groups," she said. "What they have brought has been good, but it's going to get better."

Contact Juan Antonio Lizama at (804) 649-6513 or .