A staple of the Latin dance scene in southwestern Ohio for the past six years, Tropicoso is a nine-member band from Cincinnati with a growing reputation for sizzling salsa and crowded dance floors. The band began life as a quartet playing traditional music from the Caribbean, but as the band added Latin pop, salsa, merengue and Latin jazz to its sound, it grew to its present size. Tropicoso today is Carmen Vélez (vocals and percussion); Larry Feldner (piano); Charlie Schweitzer (congas, vocals); Chris Vélez (percussion); Bill Jackson (bass); Bill Gwynne (trombone, vocals); John Zappa (trumpet, vocals); Garin Webb, an adjunct professor of jazz studies at the University of Dayton (saxophone); and Nicholas Radina (timbales, cuatro). The band plays festivals, dances and concerts and has performed at “Rally on the Square” celebrating the Cincinnati Reds’ season opening game for three consecutive years. Tropicoso released its debut recording, Un Cuento, last year.