New York, NY (Top40 Charts/ Uma Nota) Uma Nota announces its first annual festival of "Tropical Urban Expression", which will run from November 18 to 20, 2011 in Toronto. The festival marks the expansion of the event from a successful bi-monthly music series (once every two months at the Gladstone Hotel, from summer 2007 to present) to a full-fledged three-day festival incorporating not only live and DJ musical performances but also workshops, a talk series, film screenings and food and drink.
Uma Nota is a reference point for world citizens and lovers of music & culture. It is a unique event series focusing on Afro-Brazilian, Latin, Caribbean, Funk and Soul music provided by both live acts and DJs. Unpretentious, open-minded, lively and fun, Uma Nota is where locals, intellectuals, artists and trendsetters come together and dance to the polyrhythmic tropical vibe. Live musical performances frequently feature the city's heaviest-sounding Brazilian percussion troupes, a popular and thrilling spectacle that remains a key piece of the Uma Nota experience. The DJ roster boasts the city's finest groove-seeking crate diggers and vinyl selectors who prove it takes more than an iPod to excite and challenge the dance floor.
Confirmed musical acts include: a special ensemble performance on Friday, Nov. 18 from percussion troupe Samba Elégua with guitarist/arranger/composer
David Arcus (Aline Morales Band) and the
Kensington Horns featuring Richard Underhill; Montreal-based MC Boogat, who raps in French and Spanish, accompanied by live keyboards, DJ and percussion; DJs eLman and Linterna of the popular Funkete Latin-electro parties; DJs Jason Palma and Uma Nota resident General Eclectic of the Footprints event series; Rio de Janeiro-born, Toronto-based singer-songwriter Luanda Jones; and from the nascent Fedora Upside-Down collective, forro band
Maria Bonita and The Band (forro is a popular couples dance from Brazil, with songs played on fiddle, triangle, bass drum and accordion) and the booming Afro-Brazilian percussion crew Maracatu Mar Aberto.
Uma Nota will also co-present, along with AluCine Festival of Latin Film and Media, an evening of Brazilian short films at the Revue Cinema, followed by the AluCine Festival awards ceremony and wrap party with Uma Nota and Funkete at the El Mocambo on Saturday, Nov. 19.
On Sunday, Nov. 20, Uma Nota presents a Community Cultural Fair at Lula Lounge. A series of short talks will include topics like Art and Business from Lula owner and artist Jose
Ortega and Artists and New Media with NextMedia's Mark Greenspan. AluCine will present short film screenings, and Maracatu Mar Aberto will lead a dance workshop (with drums and songs) in the northeastern Brazilian "Coco de Roda" style.
Custom decorations will transform Lula into an indoor fair, and Brazilian food and drink will be on offer with a caipirinha-making workshop by Pitú cachaça (Brazilian firewater). The fair will begin on Sunday afternoon and musical performances will take place as the evening sets in.
Take a trip into Toronto's underground tropical scene this November at the first annual Uma Nota Festival. https://UmaNota.ca
