Thursday, October 14, 2010

Salsa Saturday: Charanga Carolina & La Excelencia

Two big events make for a power-packed Salsa Saturday (10/16) in Durham:

Community Fiesta Latina, 6:30-9:30 pm at the Brumley Performing Arts Center, Durham Academy Lower School; and La Excelencia at Salsa4U's 10th Anniversary Party, Fred Astaire Dance Studio, at 10:30 pm.

Fiesta Latina features live performances starting at 7:30 pm with Colombian harpist Pavelid Castañeda; my Independent story on Pavelid in June links to performance videos and a closer look at his Camac Electroharp. Headliner UNC Charanga Carolina plays the last hour from 8:30-9:30 pm, and dancers will be encouraged to take to the open dancefloor. Foodtrucks will be onsite selling dinner options from 6:30 on.

Fiesta Latina is FREE and the public is invited. It will be the 5th year for this community celebration in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, which is not just an enrichment opportunity for DA students, but a serious bid for membership in the wider community.

BRING YOUR PROGRAM from Fiesta Latina to get a $5 door discount at LA EXCELENCIA. La Excelencia doors open at 9:30, and the first set won't start before 10:30 pm, so you will have plenty of time to make your way to official afterparty at Fred Astaire Studio.



Aggressive salsa dura, barrio-style, is what La Excelencia promises:
"Defiance and self-expression have become their hallmarks. In the beginning, salsa was a youth movement, energized by the rebelliousness of '70s pop culture; it's 2010, and La Excelencia wants a piece of that."

Read the whole story in my music feature on La Excelencia in this week's Independent.

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