Salsa king Tito Nieves to headline 15th annual Coquito Festival

ST. CROIX — It’s the tastiest time of the year and Tito Nieves is bringing the salsa flair.

That day is Saturday, Dec. 21, when thousands are expected to converge on La Reine Chicken Shack for its annual Coquito Festival. The creamy coconut concoction dubbed “coquito” — and which means little coconut in Spanish — has become as traditional as eggnog during the holiday season on St. Croix. Its main ingredients include both evaporated and condensed milks, cream of coconut, spices — egg yolk in some variations — and of course, rum. And much like pina colada, the tropical holiday drink has its origin in Puerto Rico.

A mandatory meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. tonight at Chicken Shack for competitors and vendors of this year’s Coquito Festival. The deejay group Unlimited Sounds is geared up to keep the mood festive in between performances by Ten Sleepless Knights, Xpress Band, and of course Nieves, known as “El Pavarotti de la Salsa” will perform hits like “I like it like that,” “La Salsa Vive” and ‘El Amor Mast Bonita” among others.