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BRONX TIMES REPORTER, APR. 15-21, 2022 BXR
BY ROBBIE SEQUEIRA
On April 16, Chavi Leons,
a 20-year-old ascending prodigy
in the bachata genre, will
perform his first show in New
York City.
While his career has taken
off ever since his 2019 “Madrugada”
single impressed both
idol Romeo Santos and the Top
100 Latin charts, the Mott Haven
native couldn’t hide his excitement
about performing in
front his family, friends and
fellow New Yorkers at SoHo’s
S.O.B.s.
“I grew up listening to a
bunch of Hispanic sounds from
sala, merengue, and so on …
but bachata is where I found
out my passion and love for
music, rhythm, movement,”
Leons told the Bronx Times.
“And to be able to share that on
Saturday at my first New York
City show means a lot to me.”
“Madrugada” placed Leons
on No. 37 in the Top 100 Latin
Songs within iTunes which
has brought him to wide recognition
and respect from his
peers in the genre and earned
him the nickname “El Relevo
de la Bachata” Bachata’s Relay
in Spanish.
Now he’s coming off the success
of a newly released single
“Perfume,” which he said
is a musical homage to the
1990s bachata sounds he grew
up listening to as kid in the
South Bronx. Bachata’s roots
originate from the sounds of
the Dominican Republic, but
the appeal of superstars Romeo
Santos and Prince Royce
has led to its popularity in the
Bronx — home to the nation’s
largest Dominican population.
“Bachata is a genre filled
with emotions from the melodies,
instrumentals and lyrics,
and because it’s art, there’s a
diversity of expressions in bachata,”
Leons said. “The best
part is you can dance to it, you
can take a drink and nod you
head to it, and your body simply
moves to the rhythm of it.”
Leons doesn’t flinch from
the pressure to lead the next
wave of bachata artists into
the mainstream. Life in the
South Bronx shaped Leons to
have “thick skin” as he spent
his childhood surrounded by
violence, poverty and uncertainty,
noting that his guitar
allowed him peace in times of
hardship.
As his career comes full circle
on Saturday, Leons hopes
anyone who listens to his
rhythms and melodies can see
his story as a symbol that success
can reside from anywhere
in the Bronx.
“One day I woke up to Romeo
Santos sharing one of
my songs, and getting all this
support and it was something
amazing,” Leons said. “I hope
that all blessings I’ve received
can be an inspiration that you
can come from anywhere and
find that passion and success.”
Doors for Leon’s show at
S.O.B., located at 204 Varrick
St., opens at 7 p.m. on Saturday.
Rising bachata star Chavi Leons, a Mott Haven native, will perform his first New
York City show at S.O.B.’s on March 16. Photo courtesy Chavi Leons
Bronx-born bachata artist Chavi
Leons talks first NYC show
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THE CITY OF NEW YORK
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORATION
DIVISION OF TRANSPORTATION PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT
ALTERNATIVE FUELS PROGRAM
REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS
The New York City Department of Transportation is releasing the following Request
for Proposals: 84121P0033-84121MBTP427 Consultant/Program Management
Services in Connection with NYC Clean Trucks Program.
Contract Term: Five (5) years (1825 CCD) with an option to renew under the
same terms and conditions for up to five (5) years (1825 CCD) at the sole
discretion of the City.
This Procurement for Consultant/Program Management Services is subject to
a DBE participation goal of 18%.
A Pre-Proposal Conference (Optional) has been scheduled for May 2, 2022,
Time: 11:00 A.M. via Zoom. Proposers who wish to connect to the Zoom
Conference will need a Zoom ID and Password or the link. Proposers who wish
to attend should contact the authorized agency contact person
(dmaco@dot.nyc.gov) via email no later than April 28, 2022 by 5:00 PM for the
Zoom link. Proposers will need to provide the first name, last name of everyone
who wishes to connect, name of the organization, phone number and email
address. Deadline for submission of questions is May 4, 2022 by 5:00 P.M.
This Request for Proposals (RFP) is released through PASSPort, New York City’s
online procurement portal. Responses to this RFP must be submitted via
PASSPort by 2:00 P.M. on May 16, 2022. To access the RFP, vendors should visit
the PASSPort public Portal at https://www1.nyc.gov/site/mocs/systems/about-goto
passport.page and click on the “Search Funding Opportunities in PASSPort”
blue box. Doing so will take one to the public portal of all procurements in the
PASSPort system. To quickly locate the RFP, insert the EPIN 84121P0033, into
the Keyword search field. In order to respond to the RFP, vendors must create an
account within the PASSPort system if they have not already done so.
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