"Love in the Tropics" Salsa Benefit TONIGHT (2/7)

Saludos Compay is made up of teachers, so its only natural they would perform at the annual benefit for Educators for Excellence at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh this Saturday (2/7). The fundraiser is billed as an "adults only, romantic evening" that includes music, salsa dancing, silent auction, tattoo parlor and other fun for grownups.

WHAT: "Love in the Tropics" fundraiser for Educators for Excellence
WHEN: Saturday, 2/7 at 7:30-10:30 p.m.
WHERE: NC Museum of Natural Sciences, 11 W. Jones St, Raleigh
TICKETS: $20 adults ($15 for friends of the Museum)
CONTACT: Liz Baird, 919.733.7450 x601

Saludos' newsletter says they will perform various types of Latin music as a quartet, with musicians Erich Lieth (piano), [CORRECTION added 2/16: Chuck Nolan played congas, Pablo Valencia did not perform], Lisa Lindsay (saxophone), and Victor Murillo. Wesley Boz of Mad About Dance is slated to give a salsa lesson, and Paso dancers Eduardo Winston will lead a demo with their students, pledging to get the audience involved.


UPDATE Added 2/16:

Some photos from the party (click on to see larger):




Chuck Nolan (in his Obama logo hat) makes the most of his set up, with a block pedal for marking clave.


I got to meet Victor Murillo for the first time (seen here on guitar, with Lisa Lindsay, saxophone). The Ecuadorian multi-instrumentalist moved to Chapel Hill last year from Austin, TX and has been playing with Saludos Compay since August.

Victor retains some high-profile gigs as a sideman, touring with artists such as Mexican pop vocalist Christian Castro. He has his own series of New Age/Andean CDs, and provides music at various restaurants around Durham. You can find Victor at Blue Corn on Tuesday nights until 8:30 pm, and Tosca's on Wednesdays until 9 pm. Find out more at his myspace page.