Baila! A splash of infectious rhythm will be spicing up the Bowdoin music community when the Cimarrón Project, an Afro-Cuban all-star group specializing in rumba, danzón, and cha-cha, hits the scene today and tomorrow.
With instruments ranging from the Cuban tres to the saxophone, the Cimarrón Project features six highly sought-after Afro-Cuban musicians from the New York City area: Román Diaz, Yuniel Jimenez, Onel Mulet, Yunior Terry, Mauricio Herrera, and Stevie Insua. Diaz has partnered with renowned pop singer Merceditas Valdes and a well-known salsa group, Raices Profundas. He has also been one of the defining artists of the rumba sound.
The Cimarrón Project's performances aim to teach audiences about Afro-Cuban history. The music and dance workshops they will host today and tomorrow, respectively, will demonstrate how to play and dance to Afro-Cuban music.
You can't help but tap your feet to their beats and the members of Cimarrón are not shy about moving around onstage.
Assistant Professor of Music and resident ethnomusicologist Michael Birenbaum Quintero was responsible for bringing the group to campus.
Quintero said he was excited to expose students to a different kind of music than they typically hear and said, "Most of this stuff is never performed on stage; the abakuá stuff [a dance of the West African Ekpe society] is really difficult to find."
Cimarrón plays two rare genres of music, Pilón and Changü¡, that have ancestral roots in son music and salsa. Jimenez is personally responsible for their inclusion in the Cimarrón Project.
"We are hearing some really traditional stuff. Even in New York, there are few people who do it, but there are even fewer people who really come from tradition. That's these guys. They are the real deal," said Quintero.
He stated that the event will provide an international perspective on black North American and South American culture and delve into both the roots of Latino popular culture.
The event is sponsored by the music department and the theater and dance department. All Cimarrón Project events on campus are free of charge.
The Cimarrón Project will be hosting a music workshop in Room 101, Gibson Hall from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. today. They will also be performing tonight at 7:30 p.m. in Studzinski Hall. Their last event on campus will be the dance workshop that they will host in Room 601, Memorial Hall from 10:30 a.m. to noon tomorrow.
The group will also play at Space Gallery in Portland at 9:30 p.m. tomorrow. Tickets for this performance are $10 can be purchased on the Space Gallery website or at any Bull Moose location. Attendees must be at least 18 years old.