Salsa From Iowa

The second salsa dance of the semester was held in Marty’s Oct. 24 with Iowa salsa band Orquesta Alto Maiz. Compared to the attendance at the previous salsa dance of the semester, there were very few people, however, more people showed up as time went on.

“The attendance was about 200, as opposed to 350 [at the first dance],” SAC Diversity Co-chair Chad Sonka said.

The reasons for this dance’s lower turnout can only be speculated upon.

“It could have been because we already had one salsa dance before or because we just got back from break and people were getting their stuff together this weekend,” Sonka said.

Members of the band noticed the drop in attendance as well.

“Tonight’s show was a little difficult for us because we were competing with the Iowa game, and many people must have been glued to their TVs,” Orquesta Alto Maiz’s Percussionist Ed East said. “However, that does not make any difference to us, because we still give the same energy. We love people listening to us and we give them the best we can.”

For the musicians, the enjoyment in performing is just seeing people have a good time.

“It’s a healthy environment,” East said. “Music and dancing are good for you physically, and it is introducing them to a style of music that some of them may not have been exposed to—Latin American music.”

Orquesta Alto Maiz is a popular band of 11 musicians hailing from Iowa. They have been performing regionally and internationally since 1986. Their resonant and passionate music surprises people who think Iowa does not have good Latin music.

“People from Miami, Florida and New York think we are not from Iowa, and we say, ‘well, we are from Iowa and we play like that,’” East said.

The band was discovered by some Luther students in Atlanta six years ago, and since then the band has been coming here every year.

“The first time we came, this place was full of people, and so was the next time and almost every year has been a great big success,” East said.

Orquesta Alto Maiz is a returning performance for multiple reasons.

“We’ve always been happy to work with them,” Sonka said. “They’ve been easy to work with, they play music fantastically and people really like them.”

The band usually comes around Hispanic Heritage month, which is held in September because many Latin American countries have their independence days in September.

“It’s just an important reminder that we have really great music that comes from Latin America, and that music is very joyous and that makes you really dance and have a good time,” East said. “We’re celebrating Hispanic heritage, which is my heritage...how can you better celebrate than with music and dance.”

Even though there were not many people at the dance, those that were present found it hard to keep their feet still.

“I think that the people that came were really engaged in the music and were enjoying the dance,” Aida Dominguez Ortiz (‘11) said. “It was really nice to have people from different clubs there. I saw some people from swing dance really enjoying the salsa.”

The group mostly played salsa pieces, but there were also some pieces that people recognized from pop culture.

“The music was so much better than the previous group’s,” Ortiz said. “I was kind of surprised actually. Half of the musicians seemed to be Americans. It was just like being back home, enjoying the music. The traditional pieces that they played are the ones that people are usually familiar with at home.”

At the end, people were asking for more songs, saying ‘otra,’ or ‘one more,’ in Spanish. Orquesta Alto Maiz struck a common chord with the audience.

“Orquesta Alto Maiz is extremely proud to come to Luther College year after year and to be able to do what we do,” East said. “This is one of our favorite performances of the year because we see everybody enjoying and genuinely having a good time.”