1st Spanish, Portuguese Song Festival At IN Univ.

 BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Indiana University's first Spanish and Portuguese Song Festival will be presented Friday (April 1) from 5-7 p.m. at the Frangipani Room in the Indiana Memorial Union. The event is free and open to the public.

The festival is the result of a collaboration between the IU Spanish and Portuguese Department, the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies, Latino Studies, La Casa, and the International Latin American and Spanish Student Association.

Nine IU students, selected after an internal audition in the IU Spanish and Portuguese Department, will perform a solo or duet in either Spanish or Portuguese before an experienced jury that will choose the three best performances. The festival also will include special music performances by students and professors from the Latin American Music Center and the Department of Folklore and Ethnomusicology.

Festival organizer Israel Fernando Herrera, a lecturer in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese, said the event was created to offer IU students a space to practice Spanish and Portuguese through singing.

"I decided to create this event after realizing that many of my students were involved with bands and had skills in singing or playing music instruments," Herrera said. "I am very passionate about music, so I just thought about combining all these details and adding the Spanish ingredient."

Herrera said he received an overwhelmingly positive response upon asking his classes if anyone would be interested in singing in Spanish before an audience. He plans to promote the concept at other universities in Indiana and throughout the Midwest with the eventual goal of a regional festival.

"I am really delighted with all of the support and response by both faculty and students," Herrera said.