Would you like salsa with that? Hot or mild?

This salsa ain't for dipping, it's for dancing. And you'd better like it hot. Salsa, merengue, calypso, Plena Libre plays it all. The 13-piece ensemble of horns, strings and percussion bills itself as the premier Afro-Rican big band on the planet. The groups play Friday at Jefferson Center's Shaftman Performance Hall.

"Plena" is a traditional Puerto Rican song form that melds Spanish and African influences and is characterized by multiple rhythms and long, narrative lyrics. Plena Libre stays true to the folk traditions but adds other contemporary Latin influences.

Latin music concerts have become a popular part of Jefferson Center's winter schedule the past three years. The concerts and dance parties that follow have warmed the corazons of many chicos and chicas who like their music and parties muy caliente.

Roanoke's very own Latin jazz band, Los Gatos, will play for the dance, which doubles as a CD release party for their self-titled album. Local jazzmen Lenny Marcus and Jeff Hofmann teamed with former Solazo members Vladimir Espinosa and Francisco Aranda and other Latin jazz veterans to form Los Gatos, which means "The Cats."

"Even within Latin music, we have people from different backgrounds," said Los Gatos' Hofmann. "Guys from Cuba, Chile, Puerto Rico ... it's amazing all these guys can get together in the Appalachian mountains and play this kind of music."

What: Plena Libre and the fourth annual Latin Dance Party featuring Los Gatos

Where: Jefferson Center

When: Friday

Time: 8 p.m.

Tickets: $18-$28 for concert, $28-$38 for concert and dance party; $15 for dance party only. 345-2550 or jeffcenter.org.

— Ralph Berrier Jr.