Portsmouth Hispanic Society

October's meeting is another musical extravaganza with a totally different vibe. Yamir Gaitero is a professional artist with more than 20 year's experience in the interpretation and composition of Afro-Caribbean music, especially in the Gaitas and drum format of the Colombian Atlantic coast. He is the founding member of the successful Bogatá Luthiería company "Párajo Cantor" and has made musical tours, recordings, and workshops in Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Panama, and England.

Yamir's musical skills also include the design and construction of musical instruments typical to his style, for example Gaitas, Tambor Alegre, Tambora, Tambor Llamador, Maracas, and Millo flute.

Yamir's wife, Janneth Rey, is a Latin American dance teacher who will give a short workshop teaching some basic steps in the rhythms of Cumbia, Puya, and Colombian Salsa.

The evening starts at 7pm with a tapas buffet before Yamir and Jenneth kick off their packed schedule:

• DJ set of exquisite musical selections from different typical Afro-Colombian styles and rhythms.
• Music demonstration featuring some typical Colombian musical instruments, e.g. Gaitas, Caña de Millo, Maracas.
• Colombian dance workshop teaching some basic steps in the rhythms of Cumbia, Puya, and Colombian Salsa.

November's meeting features a History of Cuba, presented by Cuban national Boris Martinez. Cuba is an island country located in the Caribbean, south of Florida and east of the Yucatàn Peninsula. Cuba has been inhabited for over 6,000 years experiencing a troubled history of colonisation, slavery, and revolution. After the collapse of the Soviet Union Cuba experienced severe economic issues, which still persist according to 2023 study by the Cuban Observatory of Human Rights.

Full details about the society's Christmas Party will be posted in the near future.

Well-travelled birdwatcher, Keith Betton has made over 30 trips to Central and South America in search of birds, and he will tell us about some of the more interesting ones, and the amazing places that he has explored to find them.

Frigiliana is a town situated about 71 kilometers east of Málaga with a long history. The name Frigiliana is thought to have Roman or Greek origins. In 711 the Muslim conquest began, bringing the region under Islamic rule and the introduction of agricultural innovations, including hydraulic systems of irrigation channels and reservoirs still in use today, as well as new crops like sugarcane. In 1569 Frigiliana was taken by Christian forces during the Reconquista and repopulated with Old Christians from Granada and Valencia.

For four days at the end of August each year, Frigiliana hosts the Festival of the Three Cultures (Festival de las Tres Culturas), celebrating the region's historic confluence and co-existence of Christian, Muslim and Jewish traditions. Jan's presentation will give you a flavour of this festival drawing on her personal experience of visiting the area during the event.

Details of this evening's presentation will be posted in the near future.