Saturday, June 11, 2022, 8:00 pm University of Connecticut School of Fine Arts Alain Frogley, Interim Dean Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts Rodney Rock, Director presents
LATIN DANCE CABARET ORLANDO ORTIZ & KARIBE MAMBO ORCHESTRA with SPECIAL GUEST DJ NERVIOSO
Co-Presented with UConn Puerto Rican / Latin American Cultural Center
Media Sponsors Rebecca McDonagh (813) 484-7864 soneandoyo@yahoo.com
Welcome to our special Latin Dance Cabaret! Thank you for joining us for this special evening of music, dance, and merriment, celebrating UConn Puerto Rican / Latin American Cultural Center's (PRLACC) 50th anniversary. Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts and PRLACC are so thrilled to be collaborating once again on live in-person events. In addition to the long-awaited return of Jorgensen cabarets, we come together and celebrate this important milestone for PRLACC and the University of Connecticut. In 1972, UConn PRLACC (then Puerto Rican Student Movement) was founded in response to the civil and economic turmoil experienced by many communities and campuses across the United States. Here at the University of Connecticut, the reactive Puerto Rican Student Movement (PRSM) was spearheaded by four Latinx students with the goal of drawing the University’s attention to the injustices faced by Latinx populations at UConn and across the United States. Jorgensen and PRLACC, together with this evening’s audience, celebrate the passion and resilience of the Puerto Rican and Latin American communities on the UConn campuses, as well as PRLACC’s overall mission of promoting “awareness, understanding, and appreciation of the richness and diversity of Latinx individuals and Latin American cultures.” You are in for a fun-filled evening of delicious food and drink, dancing, and vibrant music performed by Orlando Ortiz & Karibe Mambo Orchestra, along with special guest DJ Nervioso. Thank you for coming out to celebrate with us! Have a most wonderful evening! Sincerely, Rodney Rock, Jorgensen Director Fany Hannon, PRLACC Director
ORLANDO ORTIZ & KARIBE MAMBO ORCHESTRA Though he never formally studied music, rhythm was in Orlando Ortiz’s blood since his first heartbeat. Born in Carolina, Puerto Rico, his family later migrated to the South Bronx where his family’s apartment shared the block with the main concert spot for Latino performers – the famed Teatro Puerto Rico. The Latino musicians attracted by the Teatro Puerto Rico are the same musicians that shaped the Latino music scene of New York today. Upon returning to Puerto Rico, Orlando once again found himself surrouned by musical influences. One of his childhood friends was the son of the salsa legend Cheo Feliciano. He spent many lazy afternoons listening to Cheo practice his music, blissfully unaware he was in the midst of a musical great who would later become one of his idols. As fate would also have it, that same Carolina neighborhood was also home to numerous other Latino music celebrities such as Jose Nogueras and Edgardo Morales of El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico. Orlando moved to the United States in search of a better future and started his music career in Texas. In 2005, he formed a salsa band by the name of Karibe Mambo. The ten-piece Latin band Orlando Ortiz & Karibe Mambo Orchestra has been setting the tri-state area on fire with their unique sound for almost 20 years. The band is an ensemble of seasoned musicians who have played in some of the best musical groups in the nation and abroad. As a dance band, they project a powerful and energetic sound, specializing in Caribbean music — Salsa, Cha-Cha-Cha, and Son Montuno. He is also a member of the Grammy-nominated band The New Swing Sextet, where he sings lead vocals. He has traveled the world performing in countries such as Croatia, Colombia, Canda, Belgium, Bulgaria and Mexico. Orlando has also collaborated with talented producers, directors and artists including Willy Torres, Marcos ‘Kilo’ Torres, Henry Knowles, Bobby Allende, and Richie Bastar, and will be recording a new single with NSS in June 2022.
DJ NERVIOSO
Alex Merced spent his childhood in Puerto Rico where he discovered a variety of Latin music. He grew up admiring DJ Tony Touch and how he mixed songs in different ways. Merced moved to Connecticut in the early 2000's. DJ Cowboy showed him the ropes and basic techniques to DJing, leading to the birth of DJ Alex. DJ Alex DJed at private parties and weekly at the local bar "Mi Bar." In 2008, DJ Alex became DJ Nervioso. DJ Nervioso represents two things: the natural euphoria of a crowd or just one person reacting to the story one tells while DJing and being able to take a label or a unflattering personality trait of yourself and taking full ownership of who you are so no one has that power over you. With special thanks to Frankie Lopez and salsa instructor Joey Huertas, DJ Nervioso started to DJ salsa nights, such as long term gigs for Salsa Sundays at Hot Tomatoes in Downtown and Salsa Sundays at Casa Mia Hawthorne in Berlin Turnpike with salsa instructor Willie Rios. Today, he DJs all types of events, including Vibe on Sundays for Salsa Haven with salsa instructor Jeff Hudson.
UCONN PUERTO RICAN / LATIN AMERICAN CULTURAL CENTER UN SENTIDEO DE PERTENENCIA In 1970, three UConn students drafted and submitted a constitution to form the Puerto Rican Student Movement. Carmen Castro '73 (CLAS), Ana Isabel Lopez '75 (CLAS), and Isonel (Ino) Rios '71 (CLAS) planned to celebrate Puerto Rican history, culture, and literature and to recruit students to UConn. After months of protests and sit-ins at the President's office, the University gave us a building. La Casa Borinqueña opened on December 10, 1971, and became our home away from home. In the interveing 50 years, the Puerto Rican / Latin American Cultural Center has changed locations, but never our focus. Today, PRLACC welcomes and empowers Latinx/a/o students who come from diverese ethnic backgrounds; who could be the first in their families to go to college; who speak English, Spanish, and Brazilian Portuguese; and who long for a sense of belonging at UConn. But this is only the beginning. If you'd like to contribute to the Center's future, please visit latinx.uconn.edu or call at (860) 486-1135. "PRLACC really creates a sense of belonging for us at the University. We all bond over our shared ethnicity, but we all learn about each other's cultures at the same time." - Marissa Naclerio '22 (CANHR) MISSION STATEMENT Our mission is to improve the status of Latinx students and to promote awareness, understanding, and appreciation of the richness and diversity of Latinx individuals and Latin American cultures. ---
Celebrating
50th Anniversary
of UConn’s Puerto Rican/ Latin American Cultural Center Partnership Enjoy tonight’s performance of Orlando Ortiz & Karibe Mambo Orchestra
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ThePianoGuys return to Jorgensen! Fri, Sep 16, 8 pm
After two show-stopping engagements on the Jorgensen stage, international musical superstars and Internet sensation The Piano Guys return with their innovative mash-ups of classical and pop music performed on piano and cello.
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