Every year around early January, we find ourselves wishing we were sitting barefoot on a plaza in Buenos Aires, watching the water of the Rio de la Plata and listening to the samba rhythms that float in the air. Then we open our eyes and our computer screen welcomes us back to reality. We still have those visions, but these steamy summer days, it’s easier to get into a South American state of mind, especially tonight, when Tantanakuy performs as part of HarborWalk Sounds series outside at the Institute of Contemporary Art (100 Northern Avenue, Boston, 617.478.3100). Tantanakuy means “becoming brothers” in an ancient South American language, but this is no boy band, at least not since Argentinean percussionist and bassist Marcelo Woloski and Andres Rotmistrofsky, respectively, were at Berklee and met Eleonora Bianchini, an Italian singer. Now her vocals infuse the group’s already complex hybrid sound of Latin-meets-Afro-Cuban-meets-jazz with a European flavor. That’s a lot of free music. The show starts at 6 p.m.; get there early.
