Our Favorite Son

You gotta love Fidel Castro. Although it might not outweigh his prodigious wrongdoing, what he has done for South Florida is unmatched by any other individual. The people, the food, the entertainment -- it’s a revolution he never intended, a positive one. One of the many cultural contributions that may not have affected the region without Castro’s influence is the music called son, a venerable dance rhythm at the root of salsa. Son, which began in the late Nineteenth Century in Oriente, is thought to be the first popular style to use bare-hand drumming. As part of its “Two Shores” series, Miami Dade College will shine the spotlight on son with a Spanish-language lecture-performance by musicologist Eduardo Blanco. He will talk about the genre’s beginnings among the rural working class of mountainous eastern Cuba and its influence on Latin music generally, as well as perform a number of selections. “The Musical Style of Cuban Son” takes place at 6:30 p.m. at the Tower Theater. Admission is free. Call 305-643-8706.
Thu., June 22