Calle Sur
Fiesta!
Latin dance music: cumbias, sambas, merengues, etc.
BIOGRAPHY
Calle Sur is what happens when you combine man and woman, Black and White, urban and rural.
Hearing Calle Sur gives you that gorgeous feeling that something just left you breathless and tingling, but you can’t say exactly why. Seeing Calle Sur is living proof that the terms “Hispanic” and “Latino” can’t be summarized.
Ed East is Panamanian. His upbringing in Panama City meant noise, hustle, bustle, and those chaotic smells and sights so characteristic of any Third World metropolis. It also meant a fierce need for individuality and lots of musical innovation and creativity, as expressed in the work of his compatriot, Rubén Blades.
Karin Stein, his Colombian partner, brings to the music of Calle Sur the perspective of her rural upbringing. Very rural, that is. She is a cowgirl from the eastern Llanos or plains of Colombia. No kidding.
While he rode buses and watched TV, she rode horses and watched the red ibis stalk across emerald green rice fields. There was no TV in her neck of the woods. No electricity for that matter. Only a small transistor radio which sometimes worked, and from which she gleaned tidbits of an outer world.
His veins were filled with the fusion of world beats converging in a big city. Her soul harbored haunting cowboy tunes from her traditional Llanero culture, a fascinating people whose music remains one of Latin America’s best kept secrets.
Calle Sur (Kah-yeh SOOR), Spanish for “South Street,” has traveled nation-wide and internationally, has been featured on a variety of TV shows, and has provided the film score for three documentaries. Calle Sur’s lively concerts are sprinkled with anecdotes and humor, which will make you remember these charismatic and talented Latin musicians for years to come.
Calle Sur offers two progam styles: “Latin Collage” and “Latin Fiesta.”
Latin Collage: Diverse musical styles from many Latin cultures, using many instruments.
Latin Fiesta: energetic, entertaining Latin dance music.
In addition to concerts, Calle Sur offers many educational services. They are described on the ensemble’s web site: www.callesur.com.
Latin: Cumbia