Although only through spirit and taped performances, Santana and Selena will be there. So will Gloria Estefan, Celia Cruz and Desi Arnaz Jr., among others.
“There” is the “American Sabor: Latinos in U.S. Popular Music” exhibit and its Family Day event Saturday at Seattle’s Experience Music Project.
And since the rainy, gray weather has returned, EMP public relations manager Maggie Skinner says she hopes families seeking weekend activities will consider being entertained indoors at this music-filled cultural event.
Upon arriving at EMP, visitors will be surrounded by displays and activities, including live musical performances, a maraca-making craft project and myriad ways to learn about the history and far reaches of Latino music, to show how the flavorful rhythms and sounds have come to influence music in the United States.
Some of the musical knowledge to be gained includes an explanation of the cha cha cha and how it was in songs by familiar artists such as Shania Twain and the Rolling Stones.
“American Sabor” has been in the works for two years, says Jasen Emmons, EMP’s director of curatorial affairs, and it started with three UW professors, who, having won a grant to present Latino music guest lecturers, invited him to attend a lecture session.
“They convinced me that it was time to create an exhibit to tell this story,” Emmons said, adding that it was a challenge to find ways to include the far reaches of the music’s influence, from one American coast to the other.
“We eventually decided to focus on the five major production centers of Latino music New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Antonio and Miami,” he said. “Imagine trying to create an exhibition on the history of rock ‘n’ roll, or the blues. You’d need an entire museum to do justice to such a huge topic. The same goes with … the history of Latino music; there are far too many artists, songs and ideas to convey.”
And as to the creation of the Family Days themselves, Skinner says, the staff was simply motivated to create special programming for families with children under age 10. She said these third-Saturday-of-the-month events, which began last February, always relate to the venue’s newest exhibit, and are intended to add another educational dimension to the museum’s programming.
Family Days are free with museum admission, and are designed to appeal to visitors of all ages. Toward that end, on Saturday, Recess Monkey, a group whose kid-friendly music is designed to inspire silly, high-energy fun through song and dance, will play at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., and members of Mariachi Fiesta Mexicana will play from noon to 3 p.m. throughout the building.
From 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Toi Sennhauser, a local artist who regularly leads such workshops, will show visitors how to make their own origami maracas.
In addition, for both adults’ and children’s viewing pleasure, several films will run throughout the day, including “They Call it Salsa,” on the development of salsa music in the 1970s; “The Palladium,” covering New York City’s Palladium dance hall and the showdown there to declare the top mambo band, and “Artists and Performances,” which features live performances such as Santana at Woodstock in 1969.
In order to make the exhibit and Saturday’s activities accessible to everyone, many aspects, from the text at information kiosks to the instructions at the craft tables, will be presented in both English and Spanish.
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