An Afro-Caribbean
Journey

RICANO is an original Afro-Caribbean experience that presents themes of exploration, integration, community, education and self-acceptance, available to audiences through live shows, immersive classes and recorded assets.

The word RICANO was conceived by J. Suazo and is a play/fusion of the words "Puertorriqueño” and “Dominicano,'' symbolizing self-discovery and connections to Puerto Rican and Dominican roots.

The long-term vision is a multi-sensory performance that immerses audiences in a new way to cultural content by combining musical, movement, historic, theoretic, and educational elements. RICANO will showcase the Afro-Caribbean experience to bring that past, present, and future of this cultural heritage to a wide array of audiences.

The social / educational componen of Ricano has already impacted the lives of over 500 students in Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Chicago & Boston.

We hope you enjoy the material, the Ricano album is OUT NOW with Ropeadope Records. You can purchase physical copies HERE. This album includes special guests such as: Miguel Zenón, David Sánchez, Fabiola Méndez, Christian Nieves, Tanicha López, Kike Serrano, Emil "El Hijo de Borikén" Martínez, Josean Jacobo, Ricky Rodriguez and many more.

THE ALBUM

JON PARELES
THE NEW YORK TIMES
"This is richly built, effusively played Latin jazz, written from the heart and packed with complexity, always seeking the next level of altitude." Read the full feature here.

JIM HYNES
MAKING A SCENE
"Suazo has both Puerto Rican and Dominican roots and fuses these Afro forms with jazz as well as chants, lyrics, danceable music and improvisation in this stunning debut." Read the full review here.

DANILO NAVAS
LATIN JAZZ NET
"Jonathan Suazo calls RICANO “an original Afro-Caribbean experience” that deals in themes of “exploration, integration, community, education and self-acceptance.” The title is a tip of the hat to Suazo’s dual heritage; it fuses the words Puertorriqueño and Dominicano." Read the full review here.

BUY NOW