Eleven students will compete in a song festival Friday for the chance to win $100.
Organized by the IU Department of Spanish and Portuguese, the ninth Annual Spanish and Portuguese Song Festival draws talent from Spanish and Portuguese majors and minors, as well as Bloomington community members. The event begins at 6 p.m. March 29 at the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center and is open to everyone.
It will also feature special guest performances from mariachi bands and local community programs.
Lindsay Giacomino, co-organizer, said the main component of the festival will be the undergraduate competition, with 11 students competing this year.
“Most people do it because they really love the language, they love the music,” Giacomino said.
The festival allows students to take their skills outside the classroom and engage with their knowledge in a different way, Giacomino said.
Giacomino said parents, IU students and children have been working on the community project “La Escuelita para Todos,” which means “The School for Everyone.” They will sing songs and participate in the festival.
She said the appreciation and celebration of the different cultures is beautiful.
Israel Herrera, co-organizer and founder, said the show will feature faculty from the Latin American Music Center in the Jacobs School of Music. The chair of the Spanish and Portuguese department, Steven Wagschal, will also be singing with the Mariachi Perla del Medio Oeste, a group from the center.
Attendees have an opportunity to vote for a fan favorite, Herrera said, and there are special prizes for those chosen few.
Herrera said these kind of events are impossible without the support of the university and the various branches within it.
“They have been very supportive of the festival for many, many years,” Herrera said.
