2008 Woodie Awards
Group brings Latin love, music to BMU
La Sonora Dinamita wants students to look past Colombia's drug history, wars to see rich culture
By: Natalia Ferruggia
Issue date: 10/1/08 Section: Entertainment
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See video of La Sonora Dinamita at the bottom of this page
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The dynamite Afro-Colombian sound from La Sonora Dinamita blasted through Bell Memorial Union on Friday night.
The group attracted more than 600 music lovers of all ages, many traveling from faraway.
The university was able to tap into the stream of Latino entertainment with the help of the Latino-based Nu Alpha Kappa fraternity.
Heriberto Coronel, president of the fraternity, wanted people to experience the music and culture of the Latino community, he said.
"An event like this is extremely rare to our campus," Coronel said. "They are a band that started in the late 1960s and it's popular with the older crowd - but still popular with the younger crowd."
Gloria De La Cerda, from Yuba City, attended the event with her daughter Maribel, a 21-year-old communications and music student.
Gloria De La Cerda came from Mexico to the United States at age 6, and said listening to the music of La Sonora Dinamita made her feel like she was back in Mexico.
Audio slideshow
Audio slideshow by Erik Aguilar
Though the band is from Colombia, they are credited with popularizing cumbia music throughout Mexico and Latin America.
"It's great to know our students are bringing our culture to its forefront," said Gloria De La Cerda. "We need our culture and our music."
Maribel De La Cerda loved the performance and Vilma Diaz, the lead singer, who has played with original band members since 1989.
"She'd ask questions and wait for the answers, then respond," said Maribel De La Cerda. "She really wanted to know us in Chico."
Diaz would frequently imitate Latino voices, such as those of people who live in Mexico City, and the crowd fed into her comedic approach.
"She has an excellent voice and is a great entertainer - combine those two and you have the greatest entertainer in Chico this semester," Maribel De La Cerda said.
This was the first visit to the university by La Sonora Dinamita. By the second song, most of the women had removed their shoes because they were dancing so hard.
Sonora Dinamita - Escandalo - Vilma Diaz
Video from YouTube
Jaime Caicedo, a former salsa singer, is learning about stage presence - especially how to keep Latin women entertained, he said. He accompanied Diaz as a backup singer.
When the song "Capullo y Soruyo" was being performed, the women went crazy for Caicedo as he flirted with the audience.
Caicedo loves how cumbia allows him to play more with the crowd, he said.
Diaz's 9-year-old son Efrain Vargas played percussion the entire show.
In 1993, the hit "Escandalo" jump-started the band's career and Diaz has since been named the diva of cumbia.
Diaz wants students to learn more about Colombia and the fine arts it offers, she said.
La Sonora Dinamita demonstrates the music and dialects that come from Colombia and doesn't want students to focus on the drug problem and the wars troubling the country - but rather learn about the culture, she said.
Diaz would say she is onstage "por los hispanos" - for the Hispanic people - and she unified the entire crowd by calling out each country in Latin America so everyone could show pride in their countries.
Natalia Ferruggia can be reached at
nferruggia@theorion.com
Video by Eder Diego
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
Eric Ramos
posted 10/01/08 @ 1:03 PM PST
Great article about a positive event that reinforces our culture.
Nay
posted 10/02/08 @ 6:50 AM PST
It's good to see that a "Greek" organization is actually trying to do something for the campus more than just once a year. I don't know how these guys did it because they probably don't have the funds "Traditional" Greeks have, which is why I have to agree with Mr. (Continued…)
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