Monday night at the Zinc Bar, the Lilihouse Agency presented the first annual NYC SOUTH AMERICAN MUSIC FESTIVAL. Four hours, four artists and their bands, four from the bar to lighten the heat. First up: Juancho Herrara (top), a Colombian born Venezuelan, with a precise, insistent and sardonic sound, streetwise and urban in tone; his work was new to me and an invigorating way to begin. Second up: Sofía Rei (center left); it has a been a while since I first heard this Argentine vocalist; this time around she astounded me with the fullness and playfulness of her voice, ranging from ludic scats and tongue clicks to open-throated wails; I bought her new album on the spot. Third up: What more do I have to say about Sofia Tosello (center right), quite simply one of best tango singers anywhere and who never fails to bring the water to my eyes? Fourth up: The carnivalesque Gregorio Uribe (bottom), a sly Colombian who knows how to get people up and dancing with his big band treatment of cumbia and other forms. The house was packed and justly so. I look forward to the next one, a year or so from now, and the next, and …

Click on Zinc Bar for information about upcoming events at that venue. The 2016 South American Music Festival is Monday, Jan. 18, at DROM: info.