The Adams State University 2015 Hilos Summer Institute will feature free concerts for the San Luis Valley Community. The events are co-sponsored by Adams State University Title V Grant and Hilos Culturales.
The musical duo, Los Trinos of Albuquerque, N.M., will perform a musical bouquet of regional folk and popular compositions of Latin America at 7 p.m. Sunday July 19, in the Adams State Leon Memorial Hall. Featuring Jesús "Chuy" Martínez and Otilio "Oti" Ruiz, through narrative and ballad, their repertoire highlights the cultural landscape of the Americas; including the tropical coastline regions of Mexico, the Caribbean, and the vast and diverse musical panoramas of South America.
Together, Los Trinos portray lyrical and instrumental musical forms rooted in the community life of the past and present, sharing a glimpse into the folklore of timeless expressions. Using string instruments such as harp, requinto and jarana guitars, Martinez and Ruiz will showcase a program of live music expressing the sentiments of nostalgia, love and celebration.
Their recordings, "Pa’ Uste’" and "Hoy Soñé Con Mi Pueblo" will be available at the concert. Donations will be accepted.
An evening of Serenata Music will be presented to the San Luis Valley community at 7 p.m. Monday, July 20, in the Adams State Leon Memorial Hall. The concert will feature Colorado Springs musical recording artist, Michelle Hernández Abeyta. Her range of music styles include popular Romantic Bolero, Ranchera, rural-country, and Huapango, regional Huastecan, eastern Gulf of Mexico.
A versatile musician, Abeyta has been invited twice to perform at the Smithsonian Institution Annual Festival of American Folklife in Washington, D.C., where her contributions in folk music of the upper Río Grande region are recorded in the Smithsonian Archives. She has produced three significant recordings during her career; Palomita Mensajera, Con Sabor a Latino America and In Another Place. She was recently recognized in Enduring Legacies, An Anthology of Ethnic Histories and Cultures of Colorado, "Ay Que Lindo Es Colorado": Chicana Musical Performance From the Colorado Borderlands." University Press of Colorado.
In 2010, Abeyta was the recipient of the "Premio Hilos Culturales – Traditional Folk Artist Award." She will be accompanied on stage by fellow musician, Martín Cruz, also of Colorado Springs. Donations will be accepted.
Los Comanches de la Serna, a group of singers and dancers from Ranchos de Taos, N.M., is directed by Francisco Gonzales. This multi-generational group of family members and native Genízaro descendents of the Taos community will perform at 7 p.m. Tuesday, July 21, in the Amphitheater, located on the east side of the Adams State University Music Building.
Known throughout the Taos Valley as keepers of the Comanche language, their music and dances, Los Comanches de la Serna annually dance and sing from sunrise to sunset on New Year’s Day, commemorated as Emanuel’s Day and St. Paul’s Day on January 25. On these two days, drummers, singers and dancers go from house to house throughout Talpa, Ranchos de Taos and Llano Quemado, sharing long existing ritual and festive traditions with their community. Donations will be accepted.
