GOZA
Connecticut Old State House Summer Concert Series
Hartford
July 10, 2026
It’s summer vacation time, but for all of us still at home during the sweltering season, one of Connecticut’s most popular bands is offering a tour of the Latin world for the unbeatable price of free.
The Summer Concert Series at the Old State House featured GOZA, a Latin musical ensemble that performs music from all over Latin America and Spain. The band consists of Dave Giardina on guitar, Asher Determe on percussion, Dulce Santana on vocals, Brian Wallace on trumpet and Jeff McQuillan on bass.
GOZA, which means “joy” in Spanish, is a talented and versatile group of performers. Over the course of their hour-long set, GOZA performed popular music from all over the Spanish-speaking world, including bachata from the Dominican Republic, salsa from Cuba, and rock and roll from Venezuela.
These are all aurally distinct forms of music. While they may share common roots and instrumentation, the styles and conventions of each are as different as jazz and classical piano. The band was able to switch genres on the fly.
One of the stops on the audio tour was Colombia, where megastar Shakira hails from. The band performed “Hay Amores,” a slow, dream-like bolero that Shakira co-wrote. Dulce Santana showed that her name is well-given, as her sweet voice oozed like honey over Shakira’s lyrics about a love that grows with the seasons and resists the ravages of time.
Brian Wallace articulated the notes to make his trumpet sound more like a second voice than background accompaniment. It felt as though Santana and Wallace were performing a duet, singing back and forth about a love that improves with time like fine wine.
GOZA also knew how to kick it up a notch as well and get the crowd dancing. Later in the set they took us to the Caribbean as they performed merengue to get everyone on their feet. This gave Dave Giardina his chance to shine. The guitar seemed like an extension of himself as his fingers glided across the strings. Latin guitar is one of my favorite instruments, and Giardina made some of the best guitar I’ve heard seem effortless.
It felt like I took a trip around Latin America without ever leaving Hartford. Dulce made that clear when she reminded the audience that the people in her home of Venezuela are suffering now more than ever. Many of us Americans forgot about the nation when Nicholas Maduro was arrested, but the music is there to remind us that the place still exists.
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