Susie Hansen and her Latin band plays on after 20 years

If you have attended a free Summer outdoor concert in recent years, there's a good chance the musical line up included the Latin band headed by Mt. Washington resident and violinist Susie Hansen. This summer alone, Hansen's band will perform at more than two dozen concerts at parks, shopping centers and museums in addition to gigs at private clubs and hotels in the Los Angeles area. This Sunday, Hansen and her band mates will be playing close by in Eagle Rock as the her group celebrates 20 years of music making. She started her own group only a few years after her introduction to Latin music as part of a Mambo band. "Boy, it was the best music I ever played and I never really looked back," she said.

After moving to Los Angeles, the former Chicagoan lived briefly in the Hollywood Hills before a musician introduced her to Mt. Washington, where she has lived for 22 years. Two members of her band also live nearby. "I love Mt. Washington," said Hansen, who takes frequent walks through the neighborhood. "A lot of the people I've met walking come to the concerts."