Workshop: Charanga Del Norte

Sue Miller and members of the band lead a bonus Latin music workshop ahead of their Lincoln debut gig at Southside.

Singers, instrumentalists and percussionists welcome.

Refreshments included.

Times: 14:30 - 16:30

Parking: On-site parking available on a first come first served basis. Other unrestricted car parking available on South Park Avenue, South Common, and the streets surrounding the venue. If you require a disabled parking space on-site, please book in advance by emailing hello@southsidelincs.com

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More information about the band:

A 12 piece Cuban band bringing fusion of European musical styles and instrumentation with African rhythms and percussion instruments!

“Charanga del Norte” (Charanga from the North) was set up in 1998 in Leeds by the bandleader/flautist Sue Miller. They are a 12 piece group of Leeds and London musicians who play classic Cuban dance music (son, mambo, cha cha cha) in the classic "charanga" style featuring flute, violins/viola/cello, piano, bass, congas, timbales, hand percussion and vocalists.

For those unfamiliar with "charanga", it's a fusion of European musical styles and instrumentation with African rhythms and percussion instruments. Charanga's roots are in "danzon" music which evolved in the 19th century in Havana. In the 1940s, danzon and charanga were modernised and gave birth to the "mambo" and by the 1950s, charanga would spread to New York, taking the mambo and it's slower cousin the cha-cha-cha to the Big Apple. Charanga became hugely popular there with the Latin American diaspora communities as well as the non-Latin mambo dancing crowd and a New York variant of charanga called "pachanga" became popular at this time. Charanga del Norte plays both styles.

“Top-notch music from one of England’s leading Latin combos and the only 100 per cent genuine charanga and pachanga band in the land.” (The Beat)

“Pachanga Time manages to bottle the fun and liveliness of a genre with tongue in cheek flair. It’s all here: piano, timbales, congas, guiro, strings deployed on a New York charanga repertoire that had the city sizzling back in the day. With its gorgeous retro covert, Pachanga Time feels like a grate-digger’s rare find.” (Jane Cornwell, Songlines)