PBS SoCal to air ‘Caribbean Fantasy’ concert Sunday

It’s not nice to trash-talk Staples Center, and certainly nobody in their right mind would diss the Hollywood Bowl.

But if you’re a pop star searching for a dramatic performance venue, it would be hard to beat the Castillo de San Cristóbal in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The massive fortress, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is one of the largest built by the Spanish colonizers in the New World, and it commands a majestic oceanside view.

So it should supply a remarkable visual backdrop when pianist-singer-songwriter Arthur Hanlon and a formidable lineup of Latin pop stars come together for the “Encanto del Caribe” (Caribbean Fantasy) concert that airs at 7 p.m. Sunday on PBS SoCal.

Billed as the first concert ever recorded at the historic site, and accompanied by a CD/DVD release, the event unites Hanlon with Marc Anthony, Laura Pausini, Bernie Williams, Cheo Feliciano, Natalia Jiménez and Ana Isabell, among others -- some 50 musicians and dancers in all -- to celebrate the music and history of Puerto Rico and the Caribbean.

Natives ofla isla should brace themselves to get misty-eyed when Hanlon and Anthony launch into their rendition of the classic anthem “En Mi Viejo San Juan” (In My Old San Juan).

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