Ed Fuentes

Musician and percussionist Sheila Escovedo (Sheila E.) and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (Tony V.) share conga duties.

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES — The conga line of restaurant openings, ribbon cuttings, museum tours––and even a high-rise topping––continued last night with the grand opening of the new Conga Room at L.A. Live.

The venue, which can hold just over 1,000 patrons, includes a main room for live music, private VIP spaces and Latin restaurant Boca. Before an opening night line-up that featured will.i.am and friends, civic leaders joined ownership to welcome the new space. In the Conga Room's case, it's a blurry line between ownership and the red carpet.

At the ceremony, co-owner and managing partner Brad Gluckstein recalled when Tim Leiweke, president and CEO of AEG, was at the old Conga Room on Wilshire and noted how it would fit L.A. Live’s goal of being an entertainment destination.

It may be a good fit for Southern California as well. Latino populations in some cities in Riverside and San Bernardino counties have risen 40% according to census data released Tuesday. Considering how successful casinos sixty to eighty miles in the opposite direction have been in pulling Latino crowds looking for music entertainment, a trip to L.A. is just a short jaunt into town.