Puerto Vallarta, Mexico - The Salty Paw Jazz Orchestra, Puerto Vallarta's first and only youth-based jazz orchestra, will be performing a free concert at 7:00 pm on Sunday, May 27 at El Faro del Malecón (the lighthouse on the Boardwalk), as a part of the city's Festival Cultural de Mayo.

The Salty Paw Jazz Orchestra or Pata Salada Orquesta de Jazz is characterized by instrumentation in the style of a Big Band orchestra. The members are mostly young musicians learning jazz improvisation - the definition of jazz encompassing 3 major categories - Swing, Rock and Latin.

Established in September 2016 with 18 musicians led by the young, impassioned Director Victor Kris, it quickly evolved into a full jazz ensemble - and expanded beyond the usual jazz instrumentation, and includes violins, flutes and clarinets, adding innovative dimensions to the ensemble.

Today, The Salty Paw Jazz Orchestra has grown to 27 members and has thrilled audiences at several local venues, like Act II Stages and the Jazz Foundation in Puerto Vallarta and the Breakers Beach Club Restaurant and Bar in Bucerías.

The Salty Paws are honored to be a proud part of this year's May Fest and Centennial celebrations, and will be performing classics like In the Mood, Girl from Impanema, Birdland, and a variety of jazz favorites, from Pop to Latin and, of course, their signature funk song, Ir a bailar con una Big Band Pata Salada (Come and Dance with the Salty Paw Jazz Orchestra).

The 2018 Festival Cultural de Mayo will offer a variety of free concerts at El Faro del Malecón from 7-10 pm every night from May 26-31. Click HERE to download the concert schedule in .pdf format.