La Pen~a

2009-02-01T10:41:00.000-08:00

Sonidos Suaves participated in another Pena on Saturday January 31st at Grace Episcopal Church. Here are some clips. La Pena is a community music series organized by Centro Hispano and Community Action on Latin America.

obamicon

2009-01-20T19:42:00.000-08:00

nicole just created obamacons of me and our dog percy.

Fiesta Hispana

2008-07-29T19:56:00.000-07:00

Sonidos Suaves was PRESENTE at Fiesta Hispana 2008. We had a great time playing and enjoying music with friends. It was great to share the stage and feel the support of a growing community of artists from groups like Brisas del Peru, Son Mudanza, El Clan Destino, Mariachi Sol Latino, Boliviamanta and Fuego Latino. The weather was perfect for a change. In the past few years Fiesta Hispana has either been 100 degrees and humid or pouring down rain. This year it was about 80 degrees and sunny. We had so much fun we decided to add a second song with the accordion. You can see Kent wandering the park practicing in the picture.

Sonidos Suaves at Centro Pantry

2008-06-04T15:20:00.000-07:00

Sonidos Suaves had a great time playing at Centro Hispano's food pantry. It felt more like a party than a food pantry. Kent was especially excited to debut his new accordion (as seen in the video) . Peter Munoz did the band the favor of video taping some of the songs. If this is your first time hearing the group we would like to say that this is a pretty loose performance. We are competing with a lawn mower at one point and there is a food pantry going on in front of us. But it does give you a taste of what we're about. Hope you enjoy!

Sonidos Suaves at Bratfest (cooking Bratwurst, not playing)

2008-05-23T15:36:00.000-07:00

Sonidos Suaves does it all! Jorge and Kent can sing a beautiful Ranchera and also grill a mean Brat. Actually we are helping out at Bratfest because Centro Hispano is one of the sponsored agencies. I ate 3, Jorge at 2. We also had ice cream. Bruce, waving behind us, had 3, at least. There was another guy who at 9 but he didn't look to good and I think they made him leave.

Cinco de Mayo at UW-Madison: Mas que una fiesta!

2008-05-12T09:20:00.000-07:00

On May 5^th, 1862 Mexican forces under General Ignacio Zaragoza Seguín defeated the occupying forces of then world superpower France in the Battle of Puebla. Mexico’s defiance of the forces of empire was celebrated this past Sunday by UW students, families and community members with music and dancing at the Memorial Union Terrace on the UW-Madison campus.

The event, which was enjoyed by hundreds of people, was co-sponsored by a broad coalition of student organization including Movimiento Estudantil Chicano de Aztlan (MECHA), Latino Men’s Group, the Chicano/a Latino/a Studies Department, Wisconsin Experience Fund, Pathways-CCAS, Wisconsin Union Directorate, Wisconsin Latina/o Student Psychological Association, (LTA) Lambda Theta Alpha, Educating Leading Ladies Association (ELLA) and Kappa Delta Chi (KDCHI)

The celebration featured music and dance throughout the day celebrating Mexican culture and art. In the afternoon there was a student led discussion of the significance of Cinco de Mayo with free food, followed by a two hour presentation from fantastic Milwaukee based Mariachi Real Azteca.

In the evening crowds were entertained on the beautiful UW Madison Terrace by Madison based Ballet Folklorico de Los Hermanos Avila. The traditional dance, dress and intricate coordination of Los Hermanos Avila always pleases crowds. The backdrop of sunset on Lake Mendota certainly added to the experience.

Following Los Hermanos Avila was a group new to the Madison arts scene that has made quite an impact in their short time here. Son Mudanza is bringing the traditional music of Veracruz to Madison through their excellent Son Jarocho ensemble. Vocalists Jorge Rodriguez and Esmeralda Rodriguez add to the presentation by educating audiences throughout the performance of the true significance of Son Jarocho as a music of the people, a music of resistance.

Showing there versatility, Son Mudanza later provided accompaniment to two outsanding Latino spoken word artists. Eric Mata and Rosalilia Mendoza inspired the audience with their original, deeply personal poetry.

To wrap up the evening, Chicago based group Reyno, left the diverse audience of students, families and community members moving to a steady beat of extremely well played Banda music.

Steve Pereira, one of the student organizers for the event, said that compared to past events the festive outdoor feel is what made this event different. Quoting Steve, “It was great to have all of the groups in visible venues so that everyone could enjoy the music and dancing and learn something about Mexican culture. Latino students haven’t ever organized any event this big at UW since I have been here and we hope to do it again soon. It was definitely a success!”

The student led efforts that made this event a success did not go unnoticed by the those in attendance who enjoyed well organized event.

Viva la música.

Cinco de Mayo en el UW-Madison, Mas que una Fiesta

Kent Craig, Subdirector, Centro Hispano of Dane County

En el 5 de mayo, 1862 fuerzas mexicanas bajo el General Ignacio Zaragoza Seguín derrotaron las fuerzas ocupantes del súper poder mundial Francia en la Batalla de Puebla. El desafío del imperio Frances por México fue celebrado este domingo pasado por estudiantes de la Universidad de Wisconsin en Madison, familias y otra gente de la comunidad con música y baile en el Memorial Union en el campus de la UW-Madison.

El evento, que fue disfrutado de por cientos de personas, fue patrocinado por una amplia coalición de organizaciones estudiantiles incluyendo el Movimiento Estudantil Chicano de Aztlan (MECHA), el Grupo de Hombres Latinos, el Departamento de Estudios Latino/as Chicano/as, el Wisconsin Experience Fund, Pathways-CCAS, Wisconsin Union Directorate, la Asociación Latino/a de Estudiantes de Psicológica, (LTA) Lambda Theta Alpha, Educating Leading Ladies Association (ELLA) and Kappa Delta Chi (KDCHI)

La celebración representó música y baile a través del día que celebra la cultura y el arte Mexicana. Por la tarde hubo una discusión dirigida por los estudiantes sobre el significado del Cinco de Mayo con alimento gratis, seguido por una presentación en la plaza frente de la biblioteca del grupo fantástico Mariachi Real Azteca con base en Milwaukee.

Por la tarde multitudes fueron entretenidas en la bella terraza de UW Madison por el Ballet Folklorico de Los Hermanos Avila. El baile tradicional, el vestido y coordinación compleja de Los Hermanos Avila siempre complace a la audiencia. El fondo de puesta del sol en el Lago Mendota ciertamente añadió un toque especial a la experiencia.

Después de Los Hermanos Avila se presentó Son Muduanza un grupo nuevo a la escena de artes de Madison que ha hecho un significativo impacto en su corto tiempo aquí. Son Mudanza trae la música tradicional de Veracruz a Madison por su excelente conjunto de Son Jarocho. Los vocalistas Jorge Rodriguez y Esmeralda Rodriguez añaden a la presentación educando las audiencias a través del significado profundo del Son Jarocho como una música de la gente campesina, una música de la resistencia.

Mostrando su facilitad en adaptar, Son Mudanza proporcionó luego acompañamiento a dos poetas latinos impresionantes. Eric Mata y Rosalilia Mendoza inspiraron la audiencia con su poesía original y profundamente personal.

Para finalizar la tarde, el grupo Reyno con base en Chicago, dejó a la audiencia con un ritmo claro que hizo mover a todos los presentes.

Steve Pereira, uno de los organizadores del evento, dijo que comparado a eventos pasados el hecho de tener la fiesta al aire libre es lo que hizo este acontecimiento diferente. "fue increíble tener todos los grupos en lugares visibles para que todos pudieran disfrutar de la música, baile y a aprender algo acerca de la cultura mexicana. Los estudiantes latinos no han organizado jamás ningún acontecimiento de esta magnitud en UW en los últimos años y esperamos hacerlo otra vez pronto. ¡Fue definitivamente un éxito"! dijo Steve.

Los esfuerzos de los estudiantes que hicieron este acontecimiento un éxito no fueron inadvertidos por los asistentes que disfrutaron de un evento muy bien organizado.

¡Viva la música!

Sonidos Suaves

2008-04-03T13:12:00.000-07:00

Love musica Latina? Want to hear a Rancheras and Boleros in Madison, WI? Then check out Sonidos Suaves! We sound great and love to play. You can contact us via email at wisonsinvyoder@gmail.com