Starts January 18. Registration Open Now!
(January 10, 2023) CreArte Latino Cultural Center is launching Nuestra Música, a Latin music workshop for Latino/Hispanic youth between 9 and 16 years old—with an emphasis on students who come from low-income families. The eight-week pilot program, mainly funded by the Manatee Community Foundation, will be taught in Spanish by two local professional musicians, Jairo Hernandez and Gian Carlos Cepeda Mantilla, and will explore folk music from the Caribbean, Central America, and South America. Participants will learn how to play the basics of one or several instruments of their choice, including percussion (bongo, conga, güira, maracas, marimba and timbal), strings (guitar, banjo, tiples, cuatro) and keyboard, to interpret traditional tunes. The Nuestra Música workshop is for 15 Spanish speakers. Classes begin Wednesday, January 18, 6-8 p.m., and continue through March 8, culminating in a performance open to the public. The cost is $185, and scholarships are available. To register and for more information, visit www.creartelatino.org.
Elvira Sanchez Blake, the director of education for CreArte Latino, explains that the objective of the program is to offer Latino youth opportunities to learn to play, interpret and explore their own creativity through the musical form.
“Each participant will learn how to play the basics of one or several instruments of their choice,” says Sanchez Blake. “Many of these children and young teens may not be familiar with traditional Latin rhythms and songs. There can be a lack of knowledge about their roots. We want to bolster their pride and give them a direct experience of their rich heritage. After participating in this workshop, we hope they’ll come away inspired to learn even more.” She adds that the goal is to create an ongoing program and ultimately form a Latin youth music ensemble that will perform throughout the Sarasota-Manatee area.
Where did the idea to create the program originate?
“The class was developed in response to area Latino/Hispanic parents who have been asking CreArte to create a music program,” says Sanchez Blake. “They’ve been attending our other performing arts programs and thought this would enrich our curriculum—and we agree!”
CreArte Latino Cultural Center’s schedule for 2023 includes the ongoing “Amigos Book Club” for adult Spanish speakers. In addition, there is an adult class in Spanish for English speakers called “Conversemos” and an adult class in English for Spanish speakers called “Let’s Talk in English.” Book clubs and language classes are all via the Zoom platform.
For more information about CreArte Latino Cultural Center, visit www.creartelatino.org or CreArte Latino on Facebook.
About CreArte Latino Cultural Center
CreArte Latino Cultural Center was founded in 2012 as a creative hub for the Latino/Hispanic community in Sarasota and Manatee Counties. The nonprofit organization seeks to forge a bilingual cultural exchange between Latinos/Hispanics and the community at large through the arts and education, including theater productions, book clubs, classes, workshops and collaborations with artists from the area and throughout Latin America. CreArte Latino Cultural Center is located at 8251 15th St. East, Sarasota. Visit www.creartelatino.org and CreArte Latino on Facebook.