Stop! In the Name of Love!
By Camie Sands May 23, 2008 San Miguel de Allende

Concert
The Sounds of the Supremes™
Patronato Pro Niños benefit
Thu, Jul 17, 8:30pm
El Alamo
Salida a Celaya
US$200/150/75

I’m stopped in my tracks. I don’t know about you. Just thinking about Motown’s number-one girl group with glittering gowns and outstretched arms, palms up signaling — “Stop!” — sends me back to 1965 and feeling groovy.

It makes me smile remembering all of the times I sang these iconic words with girlfriends through the years. I’m happy to be able to hear it all again, live on July 17. Best yet, is knowing that Patronato Pro Niños’ “The Sounds of the Supremes” gala evening is in support of providing medical and dental care to over 6,500 children in San Miguel and its rural communities. If that doesn’t sound like caring for niños “In the Name of Love,” what does? The evening is sure to be a platinum hit of shimmying, singing and dancing pleasure for everyone. 

Dig out your glittering gown if you want, but one way or another make plans to join Patronato Pro Niños at El Alamo, across from the entrance to Los Frailes. Self-parking is on the premises.

Tickets are available now in three categories: Platinum, Gold and Silver. Platinum and Gold preferred reservations include cocktails, seated dinner, wine and a fabulous auction of limited prizes before the performance at 8:30pm. Platinum and Gold ticket holders will be admitted at 6pm. Platinum tickets are US$200 per person for reserved seating at tables for 10; Gold tickets are US$150 each for nonreserved seats. 

Silver tickets at US$75 each are also available for the performance and dancing. People with Silver tickets will be admitted at 8pm. The Silver ticket holder is entitled to seating at a cabaret table for four, which will have one bottle of the table’s beverage choice and set-ups. Plus listening and dancing to some of the most memorable music ever!

All tickets must be purchased in advance. No tickets will be sold at the door!

Tickets are currently on sale in the Patronato Pro Niños office at San Francisco 1, second floor in the Development Office, or online at info@patronatoproninos.org. Or call Lily in PPN’s Development Office at 152-7796 to place an order and arrange to have the tickets delivered to you. MasterCard and Visa accepted over the phone.

Founded in 1970, Patronato Pro Niños provides dental and health care to the neediest children in the San Miguel de Allende area. All proceeds from the Summer Gala go toward providing the best medical care possible and the lives of some children will be changed dramatically.

Pages from the Great American Songbook

Concert
“The Great American Songbook”
Thur, May 29, 8pm
Teatro Ángela Peralta
Cnr Mesones & H. Macías
150, 100 & 80 pesos

The term “great American songbook” refers to the interrelated music of Broadway musical theater, the Hollywood musical and Tin Pan Alley, a period lasting roughly from the 1920s to around 1960 with the advent of rock and roll. Aside from the enduring popularity of this music in its original context, it also became (and remains) the central repertoire of jazz musicians.

 (In jazz, such tunes are simply referred to as “standards”). For its devotees, the Great American Songbook represents a level of musical and lyrical sophistication that has yet to be equalled.

The concert will be presented by the group San Miguel Jazz Cats, made up of vocalist Robert Kaplan, guitarist Ken Basman, bassist Antonio Lozoya and percussionist Victor Monterrubio.

The Jazz Cats will be joined by special guests Gabriel Hernández, an accomplished Cuban pianist, and jazz vocalist ’Dreah.

Among works of other composers the musicians will present songs by legends Harold Arlen, Cole Porter, Rodgers and Hart, Irving Berlin, George and Ira Gershwin, Duke Ellington and Jerome Kern.

Harp tradition in western Mexico
By Sergio Basurto & Gabriela Servin

Concert
Folklore harp and flamenco guitar
Sergio Basurto
Mon, May 26, 7:30pm
Sala Quetzal
Biblioteca Pública
Reloj 50 A
150 pesos, limited seating

Sergio Basurto’s sensitivity in interpreting folklore rhythms transports his audience on a magical tour of Latin America, from a Paraguayan polka to a Venezuelan joropo, Cuban habaneras to sones jarochos from Veracruz.

On the Spanish guitar, he will play “Milonga” (Uruguay), “Galopa” (Argentina), “Siboney” (Cuba), ending with a demonstration of his mastery and the strength of the flamenco with “Soleares, alegrias, tangos and buleria.”

On the harp, he will perform a selection of Latin American folk themes like “Concierto en la Llanura” (Venezuela), “Cascada” (Paraguay), “La Paloma” (Cuba) and “Cielito Lindo” (Mexico). 

The primary role of the harp was to provide bass lines by pulling octaves with the left hand. With the right hand, the harpist executed melodic lines or provided simple harmonic accompaniment. The harp helped establish the visual and acoustic aesthetic of the small ensemble, with its characteristic “booming” bass and its aggressive treble attacks.

In its traditional cultural context, the mariachi harp thrived because it was suited for the type of musical group in which it existed. Sones consisted of only the tonic, subdominant, and dominant seventh chords in one or two major keys. The harp, however, despite being diatonic could play a full range of notes without encountering the difficulties of complex harmonies and modulation. The harp could be heard easily over the entire group. Its size, weight and awkward bulkiness probably posed less of a burden on the rural harpist who did not have to transport his instrument long distances, as opposed to the highly mobile urban musicians. Consequently, the musical and non-musical circumstances surrounding the rural music culture allowed for the creation of a strong harp tradition in western Mexico. 

Basurto’s musical career started in Mexico City when, at 16, he studied the Andean quena flute. This expertise allowed him to join the most prestigious Latin American folklore groups of the seventies. He learned to play the multiple syncopated rhythms of Latin American folklore such as milongas, zamba, baladas, rumba and bossa nova. From this experience it wasn’t difficult for him to understand flamenco rhythms and interpret the most representative with mastery.