“Salsa, Soul and Students” is among several events the Chicana/o Studies Department is sponsoring or co-sponsoring on campus during Latina/o Awareness Month. On Friday, Sept. 18, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. more than 100 Denver Public School students will converge at St. Cajetan’s Center for the event which is also open to Metro State students and the general public.

Below is the program for the day:

9 to 9:30 a.m. – Refreshments will be served.

9:30 to 10 a.m. – Welcome from Dean of the School of Letters, Arts and Sciences Joan Foster and representatives of KUVO radio station. In addition, Metro State History Professor Vincent C’ de Baca  will present a lecture on Latin American liberation struggles.

10 to 11:15 a.m. – Salsa historian Eileen Torres will give a multi-media presentation on the origins and development of Salsa music through the dance. Torres’ remarks will be punctuated with video and audio clips, mini demos and a step-by-step breakdown of each dance pattern. Volunteers from the audience will be asked to participate in a two-minute dance lesson for each style and then do a demonstration for the audience.

11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. – Lunch and live music by the Manny Lopez Quartet.

1:15 to 3 p.m. – Bobby Sanabria, a multiple Grammy-nominated drummer, percussionist, arranger, composer and bandleader, will present  “The Clave – The Key: A Rhythmic journey from Africa to the New World.” Through speaking and singing, he will demonstrate how the five-beat clave, with its roots in West Africa journeyed to Cuba and the U.S. and remains at the core of other musical styles such as funk, R & B, rock & roll, and hip hop. Through archival film footage he will demonstrate the impact that all Latin American music forms have had on U.S. culture followed by a lively Q & A session with the audience.

The event is being sponsored by Metropolitan State College of Denver, Chicana/Chicano Studies Department, University of Colorado Denver, Denver Public Schools and KUVO Public Radio.

To register for the free one-day event, visit http://www.kuvo.org/.

Next week’s @Metro will post more events the College is involved with during Latina/o Awareness Month.