Photograph by Jacqueline Ramseyer
Youngsters of all ages joined the Latin-American band Grupo Germinal in a sing-a-long at the Sunnyvale Public Library during their Cinco de Mayo celebration performance.
Group celebrates at library
Latin American folk entertainers perform for some 150 locals
By Jana Seshadri
The Sunnyvale Public Library resonated with music and laughter on May 2 as more than 150 people gathered in the program room to celebrate Cinco de Mayo. The Latin American folk band Grupo Germinal kept the audience engaged and entertained with a variety of folk songs, interspersed with humorous stories and jokes.
"We've seen them before--they're great," said Gabriela Garcia, a Sunnyvale resident for 14 years, who attended the event with her husband and child.
The group's repertoire is alternative, noncommercial music for Latin people, said Victor Hugo Santos, lead guitarist and director. Santos, who has been a Sunnyvale resident for 15 years, said he started the band eight years ago in his house and the group has been touring and entertaining families ever since.
"We play music that originated from different Latin countries," Santos said. "We try to preserve the cultural tradition of the common people."
Besides the guitar, flute, bass and drums, other interesting musical instruments were used as accompaniments--the maracas, the charango--made from the shell of an armadillo--the cuatro from Venezuela, tres Cubano from Cuba and the bombo leguero from Argentina.
With songs originating from Peru, Chile, Cuba, Bolivia, Mexico and El Salvador, the six-member band encouraged audience participation. The songs were interspersed with English and Spanish, which made it easier for some people to repeat them and sing along. A few songs pertained to the love of books and the pleasure one can obtain from reading. Some children sat on the floor and clapped to the beat, while others swayed and danced to the lively music.
"I love this group," said Maria Laluz Leon, a resident of Sunnyvale for 33 years.
Arnaldo Rodriguex, who has been teaching Spanish at Saratoga High School for 29 years, brought 52 junior and senior advanced placement Spanish students to the show.
"They have to attend six cultural events a year and this is one of them," Rodriguex said.
The students demonstrated their language skills by responding to the band members' requests, answering questions and singing along in Spanish. Santos would ask the questions or sing in Spanish, while Heather Bridger, one of the lead singers, translated them into English.
In the midst of all the song and dance, Santos recounted a little history and dispelled the widely believed myth that Cinco de Mayo is a Mexican Independence Day. Mexico owed a lot of money to France but couldn't pay it back, Santos explained. The French Army decided to take Mexico into its possession. The French Army, which invaded Mexico in 1847, was considered very powerful. However, the Mexican people rose to the occasion and defeated the French, with a bare minimum of weapons, at the battle of Pueblo. This historic win by the Mexicans is celebrated with festivities and rejoicing every year on May 5--Cinco de Mayo.
To preserve and advance Latin American culture, the band members have also started La Peña Juchit Ireta, a cultural event filled with drama, poetry and music.
Sunnyvale's population is at 132,000, according to the May 2001 U.S. Census, out of which 15.5 percent is Hispanic--which translates to about 22,000 people.
Grupo Germinal certainly plays Latin American folk music but not all of its band members are Latin Americans. Sue Ellen Porter and her husband, David Bogdanoff--Sunnyvale residents for 13 years--have been members of the band ever since its inception. Of Russian heritage, Porter and Bogdanoff joined the band after becoming familiar with Latin American culture.
"It's a wonderful culture," Porter said. "Everyone is so warm and accepting."
There's a wonderful spirit of participation--of growth and giving, she said.
"It's been an honor to be a part of this band," Porter said.
Sunnyvale, California Since 1994
