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Rhythm of the People
Ritmo de Pueblo
For Immediate Release
January 3, 2000
Contact Val Ramos at (860) 297-2383 or Jeffry Walker at (860) 297-2498
PUERTO RICAN MUSIC AND ARTS FESTIVAL FEB. 3-7
SPONSORED BY TRINITY COLLEGE AND GUAKIA
Celebrate the vibrant "Rhythm of the People" of Puerto Rico in a major
festival featuring concerts, films, exhibits, lectures and workshops to be
held on the Trinity College campus in Hartford, CT, February 3-7, 2000.
Sponsored by Trinity College and Guakia, Ritmo de Pueblo: A Festival of
Puerto Rican Music and Art will link the Trinity College campus and the
Hartford community in a lively and educational celebration while
highlighting the cultural and artistic contributions of Puerto Ricans. For
information, call (860) 297-2199 or visit www.trincoll.edu/events/prmusic/
All events take place on the Trinity College campus in Hartford, CT, and
many are free of charge. The festival will showcase two musical
traditions; musica jìbara (music of Puerto Rico's mountain region that has
strong Spanish influences), and the plena (the authentic Puerto Rican form
of African music and rhythm).
"The goals of this festival project are to highlight and celebrate Puerto
Rican musical traditions and culture in ways that inform, educate,
entertain, and engage Hartford Puerto Ricans and others, and to promote a
greater appreciation of this community's culture and of the many
contributions of Puerto Rican artists to this cultural heritage," says
Valeriano Ramos Jr., Trinity's director of community service and civic
engagement.
The highlight of the festival is two concerts featuring two of the finest
Puerto Rican musical ensembles:
LOS PLENEROS DE LA 21
Friday, Feb. 4, at 8 pm in the Austin Arts Center at Trinity College
NYC's preeminent ambassadors of Afro-Puerto Rican bomba and plena music,
with its vibrant sound and driving energy rooted in the barrios of the
island.
THE CUATRO PROJECT FEATURING YOMO TORO
Saturday, February 5 at 8 pm in the Austin Arts Center at Trinity College
Two of Puerto Rico's greatest cuatro masters - Yomo Toro and Alvin Medina -
in an unforgettable concert celebrating Puerto Rico's 10-string guitar-like
instrument. Opening the show for this collective of Puerto Rican cuatro
makers, musicians and teachers is the Orquesta Jíbara Antigua.
Admission to each of the above concerts is $12/$8/Free with Trinity ID.
For ticket info, contact the Austin Arts Center Box Office at (860)
297-2199.
Ritmo de Pueblo also features other exciting events, listed below, that
are FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. Unless noted otherwise, these events take
place on the campus of Trinity College in Hartford, CT.:
PHOTOGRAPHY EXHIBITION:
Puerto Ricans: Images of a Culture, Culture of a People by Juan Fuentes Vizcarrondo
February 3-18; Opening reception Thursday, Feb. 3 from 4pm-6pm
Mather ArtSpace Gallery (in the Mather Student Center on Summit Street)
Monday - Friday, 9am-8pm; Saturday 9am-6pm. Free admission.
This noted Puerto Rican photographer has documented Hartford's Puerto Rican
community for thirty years. Trinity Professor Pablo Delano will give an
informal talk during the opening reception.
WORKSHOPS/DEMONSTRATIONS
The cuatro by The Cuatro Project
Saturday, February 5, 11am-12:30pm
Mather Student Center, Washington Room
Bomba & plena by Los Pleneros de la 21
Saturday, February 5, 2pm-3:30pm
Mather Student Center, Washington Room
*Workshops exclusively for Hartford students and teachers will also take
place on Friday, Feb. 4 at Bulkeley High and Mary Hooker Middle School.
DOCUMENTARY FILM SCREENINGS
Saturday, February 5, 11am-3:30pm
Mather Student Center, Alumni Lounge
A variety of films on Puerto Rican history, culture and music.
Nuestro Cuatro,
Saturday, February 5, 4pm-5:30pm
Mather Student Center (Spanish film in the Rittenberg Lounge; English
version in the Terrace Room B)
This documentary film, produced by The Cuatro Project, explores the history
of the cuatro instrument in Puerto Rican music. Followed by an informal
talk by Trinity Professor Lise Waxer.
ROBERTO SIERRA, COMPOSER
Ritmo de Puebelo also celebrates the emergence of the Puerto Rican voice in
classical music that draws elements from bomba and plena music. Special
guest Roberto Sierra, Associate Professor of Music at Cornell University,
is one of Puerto Rico's finest classical composers.
Music 200 Composition Seminar
Monday, February 7, 1:15-3:55 pm
Austin Arts Center, Garmany Hall
Mr. Sierra joins Trinity Professor Douglas Johnson to discuss the
challenges of musical composition. Compositions by Sierra and by Jack
Delano will be performed by clarinettist Kathleen Jones of Orquesta
Sinfónica de Puerto Rico. Open to the public.
Talk and Performance
Monday, February 7, 6 pm
Austin Arts Center, Garmany Hall
Focuses on how Roberto Sierra's music explores a merge between contemporary
composition techniques and sounds that have their origin in the music of
Puerto Rico. Open to the public.
RITMO DE PUEBLO is sponsored by Trinity College, the Kellogg
Foundation/College Community Innovation Fund at Trinity College, Guakia, El
Extra Newspaper, Mary Hooker Elementary Public School, and Bulkeley High
School.
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