Miami Dade College’s (MDC) Koubek Center continues its beloved bilingual family series, Playtime: Días de las Familias with a joyous celebration of Mexican culture from noon – 4 p.m. on Saturday, Mar. 31, presenting Son Jarocho! This event is free and open to the public.

Son Jarocho is a regional folk music and dance style from the Veracruz, Mexico. It carries with it a culture of community, celebration and participation. Koubek Center offers up a fun-filled day with participation by Miami’s own Ameyal Mexican Cultural Organization, whose mission is to cultivate an appreciation for Mexican traditional culture through inventive and immersive presentations, and Chicago’s Ida y Vuelta folkloric ensemble, who bring to life 300 year old traditional Mexican folk music on jaranas (8 string small guitars), requinto (lead 4 string guitar), leona (acoustic bass), zapateado (percussive foot tapping) and the cajon (wood Peruvian box).
The festivities will include craft-making, music and dance (zapateado) workshops; a story time; a theater performance by the Ida y Vuelta folkloric ensemble; and Balaju: a puppet odyssey/ play, and they day will culminate with a parade of mojigangas (giant head puppets specific to San Miguel de Allende and Oaxaca) in the gardens.

The Playtime series provides parents an engaging (and free!) way for their children to learn and practice Spanish. The fun and interactive family days highlight the diverse arts, crafts, literary histories, and music and dance of the city’s many Hispanic cultures. Children will be invited to sing, dance, create and speak together en español. The Playtime series will continue with Earth Day: Rumba Flora led by educator and Grammy-nominated singer Rita Rosa on Saturday, Apr. 28.

ABOUT THE KOUBEK CENTER
The Koubek Center 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 venue includes glorious gardens, the Koubek Theater, the ArtSpace, classrooms, and mini performance spaces.

The programs of Koubek Center are made possible with the generous support of: Miami Dade College; 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 PLAYTIME: Son Jarocho!
WHEN: Saturday, Mar 31, from noon – 4 p.m.
WHERE: Koubek Center 2705 SW Third St, Miami
For more information, visit koubekcenter.org