Free Event Celebrating Hispanic Heritage To Feature Esperanza Azteca, Hijos De Sr. De Muruhuay, Quimbara Announced At NJPAC

Community Engagement event in collaboration with Latino Advisory Committee, and NJPAC Latin ERG, Las Jardineras. collectively present a special celebration in recognition of National Hispanic Heritage Month on Thursday, October 13, from 6 PM to 8 PM, with special guest performances representing different parts of Latin America.

During this month, extra awareness is given to the histories, cultures, and contributions of Americans whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America. At New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC), there is no better way to pay tribute to and celebrate the Latin culture than the powerful experience of live music and dance. The line-up is as follows:

Esperanza Azteca Mexico: Is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to supporting and celebrating the Latin community in Newark. Its mission is to preserve the culture and traditions of Mexico. They serve the community through arts and education programs.

Hijos de Sr. de Muruhuay: Peru was established in 1989 to promote, preserve and pass on Peruvian cultural traditions. "Chonguinada "is a traditional dance from the central Peruvian Andes belonging to the Junin region. Chonguinada derives from the word chunga, which means mockery, imitation, or satire. The dance is characterized by the cadence and elegance of the steps that satirize the minuet and the quadrille, danced by Spanish colonists."

Quimbara - Colombia:
Quimbara Dance Studio is a proudly owned, family-oriented, small business. They've been performing for seven years and have won many awards and recognitions. They proudly serve all communities, and many of their members are Latino communities, specifically from the Colombian diaspora. Quimbara has participated in one of the most famous American TV shows: America's Got Talent and participated in many local and national competitions throughout the USA. The director and teachers have been dancing since a young age; they are renowned professionals.

San Jose de Newark - Ecuador
The Dance group San Jose de Newark was founded in 2012; through Ecuadorian folk music and dance, they share and preserve their tradition and culture here in New Jersey, as they pass them along to their children.


Tango Carolina Jaurena & Carlos Urrego- Argentina
Carolina Jaurena was bound early to follow a desire to perform. She has been teaching and performing for over 20 years; the height of her professional career is marked by her role as a primary dancer in the feature film Random Hearts, directed by Sidney Pollack. Throughout her career as a dancer and performer, she has been part of performances including "Eternal Tango" with Hector Del Curto, The Show "Tanguero," "Tango! Soul and Heart" with the Choral Arts Society of Washington at Kennedy Center, and the off-Broadway Show "Tango House" produced by Juan Fabbri. She has also performed for several seasons at the Thalia Spanish Theater in New York.

Carlos Urrego, a native of Colombia, has traveled around the US, Colombia, and Argentina, teaches, competes, and performs while continuing to study with many different tango masters. He has produced tango shows in the city of New Orleans and, in New York, performed at the Thalia Spanish Theater. One of his most significant accomplishments includes being an exceptional guest performer in the mythical Salon Canning and Maldita Milonga in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He was the founder of the first Medellin Tango Marathon in Medellin, Colombia, and in 2018 he won first place for Tango de Pista at the ATUSA Championship in San Francisco, California. His teaching style brings positive energy and explicit instruction to the classroom for those looking to improve their dance for the social dance floor and those looking to teach, perform or compete.