Northwestern Latin Music Ensemble vocalist and Bienen and Weinberg junior Elena Oliveira has one piece of advice for anyone learning salsa.
“When in doubt, just move your hips,” she said.
NU’s Spanish Club hosted a live music and dance event featuring the Latin Music Ensemble in Harris Hall Wednesday.
In front of a crowd of about 50 people, the Latin Music Ensemble played 11 songs of different Latin genres, ranging from salsa to cumbia, a percussion-heavy style from Colombia.
Before the band started to play, band leader and SESP sophomore Misael Juárez and Weinberg sophomore Natalia Rene gave a five-minute Latin dance lesson.
Band members encouraged attendees to fill the room and dance throughout the evening performance.
“A big part of Latin dance is that it brings people together,” Rene said. “It’s like specific steps that you’re doing, and you can do them with anyone. As long as they know the type of dance, you can pair up.”
Indeed, many attendees who first paired up to dance salsa continued to do so for subsequent songs.
Attendee and Weinberg sophomore Sofia Castano said she tried Latin dance with Alianza, NU’s Latinx Student Alliance. But, experience did not matter for this event.
“They bring a great vibe into the event,” Castano said. “Everyone is up to dancing even if they’re not knowledgeable about the dancing.”
Spanish Prof. Jacob Brown said musical events garner the most interest. Last spring, the club invited Honduran percussionist Jonathan Alarcón to perform and teach students.
There, Brown met Juárez, whom he noticed playing Alarcón’s drums.
“He was just going to town, and I was amazed,” Brown said. “I reached out and got his contact and also asked if he would be willing to work with the Spanish Club. And he just happened to be the leader of this wonderful band.”
Juárez, who is also pursuing a minor in music, started the Latin Music Ensemble winter of his freshman year. He founded a similar band at his high school in his junior year.
After Alarcón’s visit to NU, Juárez met with him on Zoom to learn punta, a Belizean and Honduran music style.
Juárez then began playing punta for the Latin Music Ensemble. Following one performance, a classmate approached him and told him they came from a country that also listened to the genre.
“I knew exactly what he was feeling, because I felt that myself,” Juárez said. “He was just so happy to see his culture represented.”
For this reason, the band plays a variety of music styles from different countries at its performances, he said.
Latin Music Ensemble has grown from 18 members to 35, Juárez said. He said he currently supplies all of the instruments, ranging from trumpet to saxophone to conga and timbale.
The band held 10 performances last year, according to Juárez. It will next play at The Rock from 4 to 8 p.m. Saturday.
Brown said he hopes to see more interactive musical events.
“In Spanish Club, not everyone has to know Spanish in order to participate,” Brown said. “It’s also centered on culture and dance and food and things that are universal.”
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