MEDIA ADVISORY: Master Afro-Cuban Batá Drummer to Give Free Public Performance at Mission San Luis

Thursday evening event to feature live music, dance, and discussion

Tallahassee, Florida –

The Florida Department of State’s Division of Historical Resources invites the public to Mission San Luis in Tallahassee for an Afro-Cuban Batá Drumming and Orisha Dance performance. Sponsored by the Florida Folklife Program and the Florida State University Center for Music of the Americas, the program will feature a musical performance and presentation by Ezequiel Torres, a master Afro-Cuban batá drummer and drum-maker who has lived in Miami since 1980.

DATE:           Thursday, September 6, 2012
TIME:            7:00 p.m.
LOCATION:   Mission San Luis
                     2100 W. Tennessee Street
                     Tallahassee, FL

About Ezequiel Torres

Ezequiel Torres is one of the state’s most highly regarded traditional musicians. He was presented with a Florida Folk Heritage Award in 2008 for his significant contributions to Florida’s folk cultural heritage through his outstanding achievements as a performer and maker of Afro-Cuban batá drums. In 2010, Mr. Torres received a National Heritage Award from the National Endowment for the Arts, which is the country’s highest honor in folk and traditional arts. He will be joined onstage at Mission San Luis by other drummers, a dancer and a singer. Together they will highlight the various components of Afro-Cuban batá drumming, especially with regards to the relationship between drumming, dancing, and Orisha religious traditions. While Mr. Torres is in Tallahassee, he will visit Ruediger Elementary School to perform at a school assembly and work with students who are learning various cultural drumming traditions. He will also offer an instructional workshop to the Florida State University’s graduate student drumming ensemble.

About the Florida Folklife Program

The Florida Folklife Program, a component of the Florida Department of State's Division of Historical Resources, documents and presents Florida’s folklife, folklore and folk arts. The program coordinates a wide range of activities and projects designed to increase the awareness of Floridians and visitors alike about Florida’s traditional culture. Established in 1979 by the legislature to document and present Florida folklife, this program is one of the oldest state folk arts programs in the nation. For more information about Florida folklife, visit www.flheritage.com/preservation/folklife/.

About the Center for Music of the Americas

The Florida State University Center for Music of the Americas promotes the scholarship, performance, and dissemination of musics found in the American Hemisphere. It facilitates initiatives within the College of Music, across the university, and throughout the north Florida community. The Center’s purpose is in part to facilitate the study of music through scholarly research. Although the Center’s role within the College of Music is not confined to any specific area, its aims align closely with the primary objectives of both the Musicology program and the Multicultural Music Education curriculum. For more information about the Center, visit www.music.fsu.edu/Music-Research-Centers/Center-for-Music-of-the-Americas.