Submitted
Mark your calendar for next Sunday’s concert at The Gardens on Anderton, when the salsa, Cuban and Latin group Luzna presents its exciting show with a new lineup, between 2-4 p.m.
This is a special event to which dancers and diners as well as lovers of Latin music (those folk who wish to bring their dancing shoes, picnics and blankets) are invited.
After Armi Grano’s wonderful jazz vocal concert a week-and-a-half ago, there’s still one more outdoor event remaining in the 2014 Summer Music Season, jointly hosted by the Georgia Straight Jazz Society and The Anderton Therapeutic Garden Society.
Luzna, now a sextet, includes Oscar Robles Diaz (from Mexico) on vocals and conga; Britt Bowman on the fretless bass; Jim (Juancito) Papp on vocals, timbales and bongo; Kelly Thomas on keyboard; Michael (Miguelito) Johnson on trumpet, trombone, guitar, Cuban tres and vocals, and Jake Masri on trumpet, flugelhorn and clave.
The band’s repertoire includes Mexican and Cuban boleros, as well as cha-cha, Latin jazz and salsa, although the main musical focus is Cuban-style son – a style that originated in Cuba and in the 1930s gained worldwide popularity. Luzna’s main influences include Miguel Matamoros, Omara Portuondo, Ibrahim Ferrer, Celia Cruz and Poncho Sanchez.
Luzna (the name is a combination of two Spanish words, luz and luna) was conceived in the Comox Valley in 2008 as an acoustic Latin trio. After a short time, Luzna grew exponentially in members, as well as followers, and quickly became known as Luzna Latin-soul Orchestra.
The band has shared the stage with Victoria’s Son de Cuba band, as well as internationally-acclaimed percussionist from Mexico, Candido Hernandez, and participated in festivals such as the first-ever Comox Valley Latin Caribbean Festival (presented at the late Cabana de Marcos), Tofino’s Pacific Rim Whale Festival, Campbell River’s Latin Festival and Cumberland’s Big Time Out. Band members have performed in Taiwan as part of Keelung City’s Ghost Festival celebrations, and in a variety of festivals in the Mexican Republic.
This is your opportunity to meet friends, sit back with a picnic and your favourite exotic drink, and enjoy great live music in a wonderful garden setting, and to tour the gardens before or after the show.
Refreshments will be on sale at the venue.
For the sun-shy, shade will be provided by large marquis.
Ample parking will be available. Look for the Music Today sign on the roadside, and people offering parking assistance when you pull into the parking area at Anderton Nursery at 2012 Anderton Rd.
Gates open at 1 p.m. and will remain open until 5.
Admission is $10. Children under 14 are free.
