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Show U T A H S T A T E OF T H E A R TS HISPANIC BANDS Utah's estimated 100,000 Hispanics come from various cultural traditions and music, particularly dance music,which helps define each community. Waltzes from the Spanish colonial towns of the New Mexico-Colorado border, ballads and corridas of old Mexico and Latino cumbias, salsas and merengues from the Caribbean and South America are all regularly heard in Utah dance halls and bars. Styles range from the very traditional to original compositions that border on jazz or rock'n' roll. Latin bands like Salsa Brava; Mexican bands, including Los Mercenarios and Fuego Tropical; and New-Mexican style bands like James Romero y los Amigos contribute to this vibrant music scene with performances for both local and regional audiences. FESTIVAL SCENE! PHOTO BY PATRICK CONE Folk arts are not those forms adopted through formal education or training. They encompass many forms of artistic expression and typically originate within groups whose members share ethnicity or national origin, occupation, religion, geography, or sometimes simply a way of life. Whether defined as folk or ethnic arts, all of these art forms are grounded in tradition-in information that has been handed down, adapted and refined over generations. Some folk arts have flourished over time as part of continuous, community-based activities pursued as part of traditional community life. Many home-taught needleworkers, Indian crafts workers and musicians who learned to play "by ear" are part of this group. Other folk arts are learned and practiced as part of a conscious revival of traditional skills with the goal of re-creating a historical performance or artifact. Many talented craftspeople and performers are fascinated by the tools, techniques and products of the past, and they reproduce pioneer-style furniture or revive old-time music to regain and keep alive the knowledge and repertory of earlier times. Yet other traditional art forms- especially ethnic arts-are embraced and mastered by artists who are members of the ethnic culture and by those who simply have great appreciation for the traditions. The art forms perpetuated by Utah's many folkloric dance troupes and ethnic bands symbolize ethnic heritage and identity and through their performance these groups reinforce and validate the values of the traditional culture. PRECEDING PAGE: CROATION DANCERS AND FESTIVAL CHILDREN! PHOTO BY PATRICK CONE 132 |