Get down to the music of Ruben “Beny” Esguerra and his band at the dinner and dance in celebration of the 40th anniversary of the founding of the Latin American & Caribbean Studies Program (LACS) at York.
The event will take place Thursday, Jan. 31, from 6 to 10pm, at Founders College Assembly Hall, Keele campus. There will also be authentic Caribbean food prepared by The Islands Caribbean Restaurant.
LACS’s beginnings at York started in a tiny committee room in Founders College in 1973.
Born in Colombia, Ruben ‘Beny’ Esguerra is a multi-instrumentalist who leads the New Tradition band, working with some of the best known musicians in Toronto. He has written original scores for the CBC, City Life Film, Amnesty International and the National Film Board of Canada, and has presented his spoken-word pieces in festivals in Canada, Cuba, Venezuela, Colombia and Chile. Esguerra has taught music at York University and currently teaches at the Palisades Media Arts Academy based at Jane and Finch.
The event is sponsored by LACS, Founders College, the Centre for Research on Latin America & the Caribbean (CERLAC) and International Development Studies in the Department of Social Science.
For more information, visit the CERLAC website or contact Professor Judy Hellman, coordinator of LACS, at jhellman@yorku.ca, or Mary Rizzo, administrator of LACS, at rizzom@yorku.ca.