My Standing Date with Salsa

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Our Westchester Campus hosts more than 12,000 events a year. I should probably be diplomatic about having favorites, but Salsa Fest makes that difficult.

Salsa Fest has become one of my annual rituals, and I have plenty of company. It remains among the five most attended events on campus. That’s quite a following for a party thrown by a college radio station. Last year, I met people who had traveled from the East Coast to be there. That puts a certain amount of pressure on those still debating the drive across Los Angeles.

This Sunday, Oct. 18, Alma del Barrio’s Salsa Fest IX returns to Lawton Plaza from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., and I hope you’ll join me.

A neighborhood on the dial

Back in April, I wrote about KXLU’s remarkable reach from our blufftops. Alma del Barrio began in 1973, when LMU students Enrique “Kiki” Soto and Raul Villa created a one-hour program to share the Latin music they loved. It grew into a weekend institution, with generations of listeners making it part of their lives.

The hosts took that relationship seriously. In LMU Magazine’s history of the program, early host Hector Resendez recalls visiting health clinics in Venice, Gardena and Inglewood, then sharing information about their services on the air. The clinics later reported that people were walking in because they’d heard about them on Alma.

I love that detail. Somewhere between the records, someone heard something that helped them get care. That’s a very practical kind of public service, delivered by people their neighbors had come to trust.

Alma del Barrio means “soul of the neighborhood.” It’s a name the program has spent more than half a century living up to.

Salsa Fest gives that neighborhood a place to gather. And it reminds me that you can belong to a university’s community without ever having enrolled. Sometimes the relationship begins with a song on the radio.

Come over on Sunday

This year’s live performances begin with Brazilian forró from the Natália Spadini Trio, whose set includes dance lessons. Even the dance floor comes with a lesson plan.

Orquesta Ritmo Alegre brings Cuban charanga, while Invasión Latina’s repertoire spans salsa, merengue, bachata and cumbia. Yari Moré Latin Band headlines the afternoon. Alma del Barrio’s DJs will keep things moving between performances.

The festival will also honor Tom Schnabel, KCRW’s first music director and former host of Morning Becomes Eclectic on KCRW. In 2013, he wrote about enjoying Alma del Barrio’s weekend tribute to Celia Cruz. I like knowing that one of L.A.’s great radio voices was listening to ours.

I’m especially grateful to Lydia Ammossow ’94, a longtime Lion, dear friend, and our director of LMU Radio. She and the KXLU team, along with the Alma del Barrio hosts and volunteers, make this possible. A free festival for thousands takes a great deal of work. So does keeping a radio program worth returning to, week after week.

There will be food trucks and local vendors. Admission and parking are free, but you do need to register in advance for an Eventbrite e-ticket and bring it with you. All ages are welcome.

Bring someone who has never been to LMU. I’d love for their first visit to be this one.

See you tomorrow (Sunday).

John

P.S. You don’t have to wait for the festival to make Alma part of your weekend. Listen Saturdays and Sundays from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on KXLU 88.9 FM or through the free KXLU app. And if you’d like to help keep the music playing, you can support KXLU here. Our generous listeners keep this freeform, non-commercial, student- and community-driven passion for radio alive.