Salsa y Salsas features food, song, dance

The sounds of banda and salsa and the aroma of gorditas and tamales will waft through Carson City on Sunday.

The sixth annual Salsa Y Salsas! Festival will take place from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Legislative Plaza Amphitheater on Carson Street. And it won't cost a peso to watch and enjoy, but food and drinks will cost a modest amount.

Traditional mariachi music will be everywhere. This music dates back to before the arrival of Cortes when Mexican music was played on rattles, drums, reeds and clay flutes and conch-shell horns. Those instruments gave way to Spanish violins, guitars and harps, brass horns and woodwinds. Today, the mariachi music is a version of Spanish theatrical music from the 19th century.

The festival will feature two musical groups, Los Casadores De Nevada and Estrella De Jalisco.

Singers Rosella Nu-ez and Karla will offer traditional and more contemporary music at the plaza.

A salsa dance contest will begin at 2:45 p.m. with a disc jockey furnishing the tunes.

For a more professional dancing display, the Ballet Folklorico and Latin Energy Dancers will display dash and color. The folklorico has preformed all over the West. Latin Energy is a local group sponsored by the Nevada Hispanic Services. They will be dancing along with the Tahoe Dance Family, another colorful local organization.

For those with an acute sense of taste, there is the Salsa Tasting Contest. Tasters may select from livid, hot or mild, red or green, and take a chance on a taste delight.

The festival is sponsored by Nevada Hispanic Services, a nonprofit agency serving the Hispanic popular of Carson Country.

Funding comes from the Greater Nevada Credit Union, Carson Tahoe Hospital, Carson Nugget Casino, Carson Station/Pi-on Plaza/Station Grill, Nevada Arts Council, Carson City Redevelopment, Nevada Commission on Tourism, and Carson City Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Breakout

What: Sixth Annual Salsa Y Salsas Festival

When: Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Where: Legislative Plaza on Carson Street

Information: 885-1055