Spanish and Portuguese Song Festival to challenge musicians

Participants and guest performers alike will gather from 5-7 p.m. Monday for the upcoming Spanish and Portuguese Song Festival at the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center.

Israel Herrera, director and original creator of the show, said the festival was created to give students taking classes in the Spanish and Portuguese department an opportunity to perform with the language they were studying.

“It was something that came up,” he said. “Just asking, and trying to see if the students were interested.”

Herrera said his music festival is different. Unlike other festivals at IU, the competition will focus on the language used in songs, as well as the music itself.

“The requirement would be that the student at least knows the Spanish,” Herrera said.

“An upper level,” guest performer Anna Lynch said.

This year will be Lynch’s first time singing in the festival, as well as in the Neal-Marshall venue.

Lynch will perform two songs she wrote, as well as perform in a trio.

She, as well as Bruno Sandes, Tomas Lozano, Nicholas Andres Mariscal and Rebecca Clay will perform as to inspire the participants. Lynch said she wanted to show the performers what a non-native speaker could do.

“What I offer them is showing that you can take a second language, and you can do something artistic with it that’s valuable,” she said.

This year’s festival will also include the newly formed high school category, Herrera said.

It will allow students from Bloomington High School North, Bloomington High School South and Bloomington New Tech High School the opportunity to compete with IU’s undergraduates for the prize.

Herrera said he is happy with the new addition.

“To open the festival to the community, to the students who will be potentially students at IU, this is an opportunity to be involved in something they will remember,” Herrera said.