New York State Office of General Services (OGS) Commissioner Jeanette Moy today announced that Rubby Pérez will headline the 2023 Hispanic Heritage Celebration at the Empire State Plaza Convention Center from 5 to 9 p.m. on Saturday, September 16.

“We will close out our Summer at Plaza series of events with New York State’s annual celebration of Latino and Hispanic cultures. I hope that everyone in the Capital Region will join us at the Empire State Plaza as we recognize the significant contributions of New York’s Hispanic and Latino community to our state,” Commissioner Moy said. “The evening will be filled with fun activities for the whole family, including dancing, food, and music.”

The state’s annual celebration of Latin cultures will feature traditional cuisine, contemporary, high-energy, live music from Rafy Cabrera, DJ Boy Boy, and Rubby Pérez, “Las Voces Originales” de Los Adolocentes. This free event will also feature food vendors selling empanadas, arepas, chicken & rice, sweet plantains, and community outreach groups, including Centro Civico, Capital District Latinos, and Dominicanos Activos.

Rubby Pérez is known as the “loudest voice of merengue” who first came to prominence as a member of Wilfrido Vargas’ orchestra, where he performed hits like “El Africano” and “Cobarde Cobarde.” He later became a famous solo artist in his own right, beginning with his debut album, Buscando Tus Besos, released in 1987. His self-titled album “Rubby Pérez” spent two weeks on Billboards Tropical List, peaking at number 15, and his song “Love Her” peaked at number 29 on the Latin Charts. 

Performance Schedule: 

Free parking will be available in the Madison Lots on Madison Avenue and the East Garage on the corners of Madison Avenue, Eagle Street, and Philip Street. Paid parking is available in the visitor lot underneath the Empire State Plaza.

For event updates, visit empirestateplaza.ny.gov, @EmpireStatePlaza on Facebook, and @plazaevents on Twitter or call (518) 474-4759.

Sponsors include Hot 99.1, Price Chopper/Market 32, CDTA, Capital District YMCA, DeCrescente Distributing Company, MVP Health Care, Renaissance Albany Hotel, and Times Union.