C.A.S.A. fundraiser and Harris remembered, Cole Porter cabaret, Teatro Santa Ana dances to Cuban rhythm, Madrigals bring magic to disabled kids

C.A.S.A. fundraiser and Harris remembered
By Elizabeth Harris (Mar 10, 2006)

Aileen Harris, British by birth and Canadian by adoption, first visited San Miguel de Allende as a guest of Beverly and David Silverman in the 1970s. She fell in love with the place and the country and spent her winters here every year until her health prevented her from making the trip from Toronto.Her last visit to San Miguel was in 2005. She died on May 16, 2005.

Aileen met Nadine Goodman, the founder and director of the Centro para Adolescentes de San Miguel de Allende (C.A.S.A.), shortly after arriving in town. Tremendously impressed by the work of this organization and the needs it was attempting to meet, Aileen suggested to some other Canadians a fundraising event to benefit C.A.S.A. "Canadians for C.A.S.A." was born. The first people to work on the project were Jackie Hampton, Beverly Silverman, Alison Gubelman, Lexie Miller and Reva Brooks. The event, a cocktail party and silent auction, became an annual one supported generously by San Miguel residents and visitors until a few years ago, when the party became a yearly fall event in Toronto.

This year the fundraiser-a cabaret performance by Canadian singer Dinah Christie, The Literary Cabaret, Toronto pianist Peter Donato and others-returns to San Miguel. Aileen's absence this year adds a poignant note to the group's work on behalf of the organization she believed in strongly in the city she loved.

Canadians for C.A.S.A. is also sponsoring an exhibition of paintings by Toronto painter Betty White, a close friend of Aileen and her family. The exhibit will be at the Museo Allende during the month of March. Artwork will be auctioned at the Dinah Christie Cabaret.

Cabaret fundraiser for C.A.S.A.
March 25, 7pm, La Carpa
500 pesos
Info 152-5376

Marianne Koerner presents an evening of Cole Porter's music and lyrics entitled "Let's Do It" on Saturday, March 11, at 7:30pm in the Bellas Artes auditorium. Koerner, a truly gifted performer in the cabaret genre, plays and sings stunning arrangements that Cole Porter himself would have loved! The show is a benefit for ANYEL, escuela de musica, which provides free music classes to the children of San Miguel de Allende.

Tickets are 100 pesos, available at Casa de Papel and La Tienda at the Biblioteca Pública, or by calling 152-3646.

Teatro Santa Ana dances to Cuban rhythm

Some of San Miguel's most talented musicians will team up to give a special Cubano concert at Teatro Santa Ana, this Thursday, March 16, at 8pm.

Guitarist Julián Arcos, who plays a wide range of music, will play a type of guitar called tres, an instrument used in Cuba and Puerto Rico. The tres is generally unknown among many otherwise knowledgeable fans and connoisseurs of fretted stringed instruments, yet it is a vital expressive tool that has shaped the sound of Latin American music since the last century.

Cuban tres players often call themselves treseros, whereas Puerto Ricans often call themselves tresistas.
The Cuban tres has three groups of two strings each, for a total of six strings. The Puerto Rican tres has three groups of three strings, for a total of nine.

Arcos will be joined by percussionist Mauricio Celis, who also sings, and Andrés Zárate on congas and campana. Aaron Romo plays bass, and Roland Torikien plays trumpet and flugelhorn.

The project is called "Rumba y Son" and the group's CD, titled "Rumba y Son, Soneros en San Miguel" includes some of the most representative examples of Cuban, Mexican and Latin jazz. The CD received very good reviews on the "Prensa Latina" website, and Jorge Petinaud presented the album on his weekly radio show in Havana.

The group will perform a medley of songs arranged by Arcos, along with Cuban standards and other tunes. Arcos will explain the music and the tres guitar to the audience in Spanish and English. Dance teachers in San Miguel have been invited to perform to some of the songs in the danzon and salsa styles.

Cuban music concert
Thursday, March 16, 8pm
Teatro Santa Ana, Reloj 50
80 pesos

Madrigals bring magic to disabled kids

The choral group Madrigals and More sing to raise funds for CEREKA (the Center of Rehabilitation and Applied Kinesiology).
The concert includes a wide selection of songs from Spain, the British Isles, Germany and the United States. The choir will sing in German, Latin, Spanish and Hebrew, as well as English.
Madrigals and More Benefit Concert for CEREKA

Sunday, March 19, 5pm
St. Paul's Church, Cardo 6
Free/donations welcome