Where’s the Latin crowd?

The same thing happened, albeit on a smaller scale, a few days later when Babasónicos made its New England debut. One of Argentina’s most beloved indie-rock bands, the group attracted a fervent but surprisingly sparse crowd at the Middle East Downstairs, where the capacity is 575.

You can blame it on the economy - and in Anthony’s case, tickets started at a hefty $88 - but the paltry attendance at both shows is a sign of rough times for the local Latin-concert scene. It’s even more confounding given how light the fall season is with top-tier pop and rock shows in this market, which out-of-town promoters and booking agents still don’t seem to understand.

“You have to be in the market to know what’s going on,’’ says Mauricio Rocha, who promotes shows through Latin Concerts, the Boston-based company he founded and later sold to Rafael Jaimes. “Instead you get these remote-control promoters who think they’re going to come and put some ads on Univisión and they’re going to have a sold-out night. They have these ridiculous ticket prices without knowing the market, but the core of Latinos here are blue-collar.’’

None of this bodes well for the next high-profile Latin concert, Guatemalan pop singer Ricardo Arjona, who performs at Agganis Arena on Monday; as of Wednesday, the show had sold just 1,200 tickets, according to Rocha.

Rounding out the fall’s other big-ticket Latin shows are seminal Argentine rockers Enanitos Verdes (Sept. 25, House of Blues), electronica ensemble Bajofondo (Oct. 1, Paradise Rock Club), and the reunion tour of Brazilian Tropicalia legends Os Mutantes (Oct. 4, Somerville Theatre).

Still, that’s a big drop from previous years where leading artists such as Juanes, Café Tacuba, Julieta Venegas, and Manu Chao drew big crowds to the Orpheum Theatre, Paradise Rock Club, the Roxy, and the now-defunct Avalon. Last year 68-year-old Brazilian balladeer Roberto Carlos sold out the Agganis.

“I’d say there’s been a decrease of at least 40 percent in business this year alone,’’ Rocha says of the number of concerts. “A year to 10 years ago was the golden age. You could bring any artist and charge $40 in advance and $60-$70 at the door and nobody complained. Now you gotta make up all kinds of gimmicks.’’

Even in the downturn, however, new channels have opened for bringing Latin music to town. Christian Hinojosa, a Peruvian transplant who has made his name around town with the popular Clandestino dance night, has started booking shows, including Babasónicos, which he predicted, correctly, he would lose money on.

“I don’t need to bring bands in to survive, but I want to bring them because I think it’s good for the market,’’ Hinojosa says, acknowledging that it’s risky to branch out into unknown territory. “Latin Americans here only go to shows when they know very well who’s playing. They don’t go to discover a band.’’

Hinojosa also notes the distinction between audiences who go to see Latin rock concerts and the ones who attend to dance to tropical music. Genres such as bachata, vallenato, salsa, and merengue often appeal to a more working-class crowd that’s happy to travel to shows in Lawrence and Club Lido in Revere.

That disparity tends to leave the Boston area with a rather narrow slice of programming: We either get the big pop stars (Alejandro Sanz), tropical artists (Juan Luis Guerra), or alternative rock bands (Aterciopelados). There’s hardly any wiggle room for up-and-coming acts, but that hasn’t stopped Dan Hirsch from exploring Latin music’s fringes.

Hirsch, who first came to prominence programming eclectic indie shows at the Museum of Fine Arts, now works at World Music, a Cambridge-based organization that largely shapes the market for global music in New England. Hirsch has been notable for bringing artists who appeal more to the NPR crowd than the salsa scene. While at the MFA, he booked Mexican-American torch singer Lhasa, acclaimed Uruguayan singer-songwriter Jorge Drexler, and experimental electronica musician Juana Molina from Argentina.

Even with his finger on the pulse of the local music scene, Hirsch is hesitant to gauge the health of Latin concerts this year: “It’s hard to tell if there is a dearth of stuff or whether it’s just under the radar,’’ he says, noting the various shows that happen in the suburbs.

Hirsch points out that Boston already has a hard time attracting certain musicians. “There’s plenty of reasons artists don’t come to Boston,’’ he says, including a lack of good venues (especially medium-size, 300-capacity rooms). “And there’s this perception that Boston audiences are stiff and don’t get excited for shows.’’

Hinojosa says part of the problem is Boston’s proximity to New York, where the market for Latin music is much bigger and, in many ways, more adventurous.

“Many bands come to New York, just four hours away, but then they don’t come to Boston,’’ Hinojosa says, “because nobody offers them anything. The market here is just developing.’’

“New York is a different world,’’ Jaimes says. “The Latin shows in New York are very expensive. I never charge $100 for a ticket here.’’

And, of course, New England’s Latino population can’t even begin to compare with New York’s.

“You have a pool of 7 million Latin people in New York, between the three states,’’ Jaimes says. “Here, the fish tank is a lot smaller. According to the census, there’s only 250,000 Hispanics here, which is hard to believe.’’

It’s also not even clear if Latin American musicians consider Boston a pivotal tour stop.

“I’ve seen that the smaller artists - the artists that are more alternative or underground - for those guys it’s important to come here,’’ Rocha says. “They see it as a city of culture, and they want to expose their music here.’’

James Reed can be reached at jreed@globe.com.