Miami Dade College’s (MDC) Koubek Center, su casa de cultura, hosts the Little Havana Social Club social dance series season finale with Herencia de Timbiqui – direct from Colombia, at 8 p.m., Saturday, April 22.

Hailed as “one of the most exciting tropical music acts out of Colombia in recent years” by World Music Central, and “Pound for pound, the best band of the Colombian Pacific” by Carlos Vives, Herencia de Timbiqui is an Afro-descendent group from the Pacific coast of Colombia, that combines ancestral and modern instruments for an irresistible sound that is folkloric and contemporary.

“Our musical richness is the fruit of many afternoons spent on the banks of the Timbiquí, River, in the middle of the Colombian Pacific jungle, when the marimba made from the chonta tree and traditional drums overtake the silence. That is our heritage”!

Timbiquí is a small town on the Colombian Pacific Ocean coast, surrounded by jungle and rivers. In the early aughts, composer Begner Vásquez and four other friends were forced to abandon their hometown due to the violence generated by illegal groups that controlled the area’s gold mines as well as the serious danger posed by paramilitary groups to Afro Colombian communities. They moved to Cali, the largest city on the Colombian Pacific coast, founded the band, and began to develop their unique take on their folkloric-rooted grooves, which are played with marimba made from the chonta tree, deer-hide drums called cununus and seed-filled percussion instruments called guasá–fused with contemporary instruments such as the electrical guitar, drums, trumpet and sax. An eleven member band, Herencia also added to the mix the salsa of Colombian dance halls as well as an exploration of funk, jazz and reggae. It is said that each concert is an explosion of energy, flavor and rhyhms that force audience members up from the seats.

Luckily, the Little Havana Social Club series–dedicated to celebrating Latin American heritage through music and dance–provides a dance floor for such an occasion. Intent on promoting community and engagement, the evening featuries a pre-concert dance lesson, DJ set, and local vendors selling specialty food and cocktails. Situated in the lush gardens of the historic Koubek Center mansion, the audience has plenty of opportunity to mix and mingle, learn and engage.

About Herencia de Timbiqui
The folkloric ensemble honors traditional regional music styles and maintain a strong commitment to social issues, offering workshops and outreach to benefit underserved populations in Colombia. Their compositions harken back to ancestral roots – instruments, vocals, call and response, and rhythm – all the while being completely contemporary.

In 2006, Herencia de Timbiquí won first place in the Free Form Category in the renowned “Petronio Álvarez Pacific Music Festival”, the largest gathering of the music of the Afro-Colombian Pacific Coast. In 2010, their first international performance brought them to the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland, and that same year, they were featured in the Colombia episode of PBS’s “Music Voyager”. In 2011, they performed two official showcases at SXSW to rave reviews. They’ve been awarded the ‘Gaviota de Plata’ award for Best Folkloric Song at the International Festival Viña del Mar in Chile, and the Colombian Shock Prize for Best Recording of the Year for their single “Amanece”. The band has performed in the closing ceremony of the World Games in Cali along with Colombian superstar Carlos Vives, and were selected to participate in the projects created by Vives as USAID’s first “Inclusion Ambassador.”

Their most recent album, “This is Gozar!”, bears the mark of renowned British producer William Holland (aka “Quantic”) and features two tunes deeply steeped in the band’s African roots: “Negrito”, which is a currulao (ancestral song and dance) and “A tu manera”, a fusion of reggae with aguabajo (traditional chants based on two vocalists). The album also features “Afrika”, a song composed during Herencia’s tour throughout Zambia y Zimbabwe, featuring Ghanaian guitarist, bandleader and living legend Ebo Taylor.

Herencia de Timbiquí has toured extensively thoughout Central and South America, Eurpoe, Africa and the US, and have also completed a series of 30 concerts in Dubai. This show marks their South Florida debut.

About The Koubek Center
The Koubek Center–su casa de cultura– is an intellectual, cultural, and community hub in the heart of Little Havana. A historic landmark in South Florida, the revitalized mansion remains true to its pioneering heritage–celebrating its multicultural community with workshops, art exhibitions, theater performances, literary readings, concerts and more. In addition to the mansion, the iconic space includes glorious gardens, the Koubek theater, the ArtSpace gallery, classrooms, and mini performance spaces.

The programs of Koubek Center are made possible with the generous support of: Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council; the Miami-Dade County Mayor and Board of County Commissionaires; the State of Florida, Department of State , Division of Cultural Affairs and the Florida Council on Arts and Culture; Southern Exposure: Performing Arts of Latin America, a program of Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation made possible through the generous support of the National Endowment for the Arts; and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

WHAT: Koubek Center Presents Little Havana Social Club: Herencia de Timbiqui

WHEN: Saturday, Apr. 22, at 8 p.m.
WHERE: Koubek Center
2705 SW Third St, Miami

Tickets are $15 in advance/ $20 Day-of/ $10 MDC Students with valid ID
For more information, visit koubekcenter.org