Song Festival celebrates Latin music, language

The second annual Spanish and Portuguese Song Festival will take place from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. today at the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center.

The event is a collaboration between seven IU departments, centers and committees, including the Department of Spanish and Portuguese, the Commission on Multi-Cultural Understanding and the Latin American Music Center.

Eight undergraduate students from Spanish or Portuguese classes, pre-selected through preliminary auditions, will sing before a jury. The first-place winner will be awarded $100, and the second-place winner will receive $75, with both receiving
trophies.
 
Festival organizer Israel Fernando Herrera said nine students participated last year, with a large turnout from IU students, faculty and community members.

“It is a festival where they can participate without being professional singers,” Herrera said. “They can have fun, they can practice Spanish and Portuguese.”

Auditions were open to any student taking a Spanish or Portuguese class, but Giselle Pedrosa, lecturer in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese, said upper-level students were the most likely to audition.

Pedrosa helped Herrera organize both festivals and works with the students who sing in Portuguese. She said she helps students find songs they want to perform and helps with their pronunciation.

“It’s incredible how much they learn, learning the lyrics,” Pedrosa said. “They have to be able to interpret the song. It’s a challenge.”

Allen Davis, director of the Basic Language Program in Spanish, said he was excited to get involved with the festival because it combines language and his love of music.

“Music is something that unifies us cross-culturally,” Davis said. “This is a way for students to get exposed to the language and the culture. It takes the classroom environment away for a little bit.”

Davis will judge Spanish pronunciation. Other faculty members on the panel will judge Portuguese pronunciation and music.

The event will feature a variety of special guests, including Jacobs School of Music students Daniel Duarte and Sergio Miranda, as well as Jiridon, a band from the Department of Folklore and Ethnomusicology.

Herrera worked with the Spanish department from Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Ind., to put on its first Spanish Song Festival.

Larry Savoy, the winner from Wabash’s festival, will also perform at tonight’s event.

“I have contacted teachers from other universities, and they showed an interest in organizing,” Herrera said. “I’m helping other universities to organize their festivals.”

Through Herrera’s coordination, the first annual statewide Spanish Song Festival will be at IU in fall 2012. He said the regional festival will be in addition to the spring IU festival.

Herrera emphasized that the festival is a fun way for students to practice another language, and that they do not need to be professionals.

“Sometimes (students) think that they need to be part of a band or a choir, but this is just for students who are enrolled in our classes,” Herrera said. “This is a different way to practice.”
Pedrosa also said the festival is a good learning experience for students studying Spanish and Portuguese.
“Learning songs and practicing will help them to learn more and be interested in the language,” she said.