About This Event
Joe Bataan at YBG Festival takes place at Yerba Buena Gardens in San Francisco on Saturday, October 17, 2026 at 2:00 PM. The performance is scheduled for 750 Howard Street, San Francisco, CA 94103.
Joe Bataan has been a Latin music figure since the mid-1960s and is returning to the Gardens for his third performance in the past four years. He was an early star of Fania Records and became known for combining doo-wop vocals with boogaloo, a sound that helped define the era. Born Bataan Nitollano to a Filipino father and African-American mother and raised in Spanish Harlem, he is also credited as a key figure in Latin soul.
His recordings include “Gypsy Woman” and “Ordinary Guy.” In the 1970s, he expanded his sound through Ghetto Records releases and helped coin the term “salsoul.” He later recorded disco and hip-hop, including the 1979 rap single “Rap-O Clap-O.” After stepping back from performing in the early 1980s, he worked as a youth counselor in detention facilities. He returned to music in 2005 and has continued performing, including recent YBG Festival appearances.
Joe Bataan also discussed his life and career in his 2024 memoir, Streetology: The Legacy of the Afro-Filipino, King of Latin Soul.
Event Flyer
