The UNM community can get a taste of internationally-renown Cuban folklore in an unlikely corner of campus this week.
The Student Organization of Latin American Studies is sponsoring a performance by Omo Oddara, an Afro-Cuban music and dance ensemble, Wednesday at 3 p.m. in Room 101 of Clark Hall, which is also known as the Chemistry Building.
"This is just an amazing thing for our group," said M¢nica X. Delgado, a graduate student and president of the student organization. "These performers have Grammy nominations and weren't even planning on stopping in Albuquerque. We are so fortunate to have such an amazing performance on campus."
The First Day Project, a Montana-based nonprofit organization, is sponsoring Omo Oddara's U.S. tour, and the group had not planned to stop in Albuquerque. Delgado's friend Pilar Leto saw the group in Phoenix, Ariz., and convinced the First Day Project to bring the group to Albuquerque.
Omo Oddara will offer drum and dance lessons and will perform at the South Broadway Cultural Center with tickets costing $10 in advance and $12 at the door.
"They wanted to do a UNM event, so we jumped at the chance and are providing this great performance for free on campus," Delgado said. "Now poorer college students who couldn't afford it before will be able to see some of the best performers from Cuba for free. I hope people can come because it is going to be great."
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
Delgado said the performance is in the Chemistry Building because it was the only space where Omo Oddara could play its drums without interrupting classes.
The Latin American Studies organization also is sponsoring the final fall semester installment of its Brown Lecture Series, which features a lecture and question and answer session by Tim Kraft, president of Avanti Ltd., a political consulting firm. Kraft was the national campaign manager for the 1980 Jimmy Carter presidential campaign.
His lecture is titled, "Presidential Politics in Nicaragua: The Bush Campaign," and will cover the recent Nicaraguan elections and the U.S. ambassador's push for the non-Sandinista candidate, who eventually won the election.
"This talk will be about Tim Kraft's observations during the elections and his thoughts on U.S. intervention there," Delgado said.
The event will be at noon Friday in the Latin American and Iberian Institute, 801 Yale Rd. NE.
He is one of dozens of speakers the Student Organization of Latin American Studies has brought to UNM this semester.
Delgado said the group's goal is to create a forum for debate and information for students and those in the community interested in Latin America. The organization has existed at UNM since the 1980s and Delgado says its membership has always been about 150 people.
She added that the group's listserv is much larger and that people help occasionally with topics that interest them.
"We've done a lot on globalization and free trade this year because that's what people seem to want," she said. "I think it has a lot to do with the terrorist attacks earlier this year and the fact that people are just paying more attention to what is going on in the world around them."
The speakers have ranged from local experts on international issues to those from around the world.
"Our members are good at talking to each other and their friends to help bring in interesting speakers," Delgado said. "I get a lot of suggestions and am always interested in more feedback."
In addition to the speakers and performances, the student organization sponsors a film festival each semester and has held several debates about globalization and other issues affecting Latin America.
One of its more unique projects involved securing a grant for an art student who used the funding to lead a workshop to create D°a de los Muertos altars on campus in November.
"It was really nice that we could secure the materials so that students could participate in a cultural celebration and make their own altars," Delgado said. "It's just one of the great things about being in this group. It's a lot of hard work, but also is a very rewarding experience."
For more information about the Student Organization for Latin American Studies, e-mail noticias@unm.edu, visit its Web site at www.unm.edu/~noticias or call 277-6847.
