Tertulia Talks with Sal Ferreras

**NEW DATE JUNE 8th**

This is a FREE online event.

Join Zoom Meeting at  7pm on June 8th: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83247109851?pwd=UGlpVHBvQW9vVlcyQXhzYzFrTWNOdz09
Meeting ID: 832 4710 9851
Password: navaja

“Pedro Navaja”, the popular hit song by Rubén Blades uses what is considered to be a classic version of a “salsa” song arrangement. What is not so obvious is the way in which the author develops the content of the song by reconstructing images, the times, sounds, idioms, literary quotes and a defiant and somewhat existential New York of the time. Sociologist Angel Quintero Rivera indicates in his renowned book “Salsa, sabor y control”, that the greatest contribution of Latin America to the world is joy. The recording by Blades is perhaps one of the most effective exemplars of how our Latin American musical culture, being one of our most accessible mediums, managed to sustain a certain dignity and optimism through or more appropriately in spite of, the challenges of our collective lives. During the talk, Sal Ferreras will present recordings and other materials that will expand knowledge around the theme.

A tertulia (Spanish: [teɾˈtulja], Portuguese: tertúlia [tɨɾˈtuliɐ]) is a social gathering with literary or artistic overtones, especially in Latin America. Tertulia also means an informal meeting of people to talk about current affairs, arts, etc.

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Sal Ferreras has enjoyed a varied and diverse career performing artist, producer, educator, and educated administrator. Sal is a cultural catalyst and collaborator whose artistic sensibility has infused all his professional musical, educational and administrative work. His work encompasses a range of activities advocating for renewal, innovation and integration within diverse cultural and educational institutions and agencies. He has, over the past forty years, collaborated in almost every musical genre on the Canadian music scene. His music, dance, theatre endeavours in classical and world music, jazz, new music, indigenous, improvisation, folk, children’s music have taken him to the Czech Republic, Germany, Japan, Hong Kong, the UK, Portugal, Taiwan, China, Australia, the USA, and throughout Canada. He is a former principal percussionist of the CBC Vancouver Orchestra under maestro Mario Bernardi and has toured and recorded as a member of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, the Victoria Symphony Orchestra, Viveza and the World Drums Percussion Orchestra. During the 2010 Vancouver Olympic and Paralympic Games he was the artistic director of the highly successful Four Host First Nations Aboriginal Pavilion. Sal has nurtured excellence throughout a professional career that has included national and international events, tours, and multiple awards. He was named a member of the BC Entertainment Hall of Fame in 2002 and was awarded the City of Vancouver’s Mayor’s Award for Music in 2010. He has performed on Juno and Grammy-winning recordings with diverse artists, including k.d. lang, Chicago, Robbie Robertson, Raffi, Colin James and Viveza. He also earned a Ph.D. in Ethnomusicology from the University of British Columbia in 2005.