Salsa dance class that Miguel Periche and Emily Peck were teaching at the East Street Studios in Hadley, MA. Their class was unique to this area in that they taught authentic, folkloric rumba as the foundation of modern Cuban Salsa.

Percussionist Richard Adams showed up at the Cuban Salsa class with the intention of refining his dance steps. But after discovering that so much of the class was rooted in rumba, he offered to provide live rhythmic accompaniment for the rumba. Soon, Richard’s congas had replaced the boom box in the class. To take things to the next level, Richard invited percussionist Brandon Marger to join him as an accompanist.

Grupo Folklórico Palo Santo is a group in the Pioneer Valley region of Western Massachusetts that is dedicated to the study, performance and teaching of Afro-Cuban folkloric dance and music.

The formation of Palo Santo began in 2006 in the Cuban

Richard and Brandon had previously played together in a variety of groups over a period of about 15 years. With the depth and breadth of knowledge of Afro-Cuban folkloric music and culture that Brandon brought into the Salsa class, it wasn’t long before both the dancers and the drummers began dreaming about expanding the limited scope of the Salsa class to include the broader subject of Afro-Cuban folkloric dance.

The group decided to terminate the Cuban Salsa class in Hadley at the end of the spring of 2006. During that summer Miguel, Brandon and Richard began developing a repertoire for an Afro-Cuban folkloric dance class. Late that summer they invited Hannia González to join them. Hannia had played in several groups with Brandon and Richard on and off over the period of about 10 years.

In September of 2006 the new Afro-Cuban Folkloric Dance Class was inaugurated at the Northeast American School Of Dance in Northampton. The class has been ongoing at the NEA studio ever since. Soon after the Afro-Cuban Dance class began the accompanists were augmented by Christine Buchholz, who had previously performed with Miguel. The latest addition to the battery of musicians has been Jeff Hinrichs, who joined the group in the spring of 2007.

Dancers

Miguel Periche                                 

Miguel Periche is from Holguín, Cuba, where he grew up immersed in Afro-Cuban culture and dance; and performed with the Conjunto Folklórico Okú. Since arriving in the US Miguel has performed with the SonRisa ensemble in New York; and has taught Latin Dance in the Smith College Dance Department, at the Northampton Country Club, and at the East Street Studios in Hadley.

Musicians

Brandon Marger                                

Brandon Marger is Grupo Folklórico Palo Santo’s musical director. During his twenty year musical career Brandon has gigged with dozens of New England region bands; and was the director of Grupo Sofrito and the Academia de Samba Quilombo. He is also currently the musical director of Los Callejeros, a group which performs Puerto Rican Plena and Bomba. Brandon has studied at the Conjunto Folklórico Nacional de Cuba in La Habana and the Balé Folclórico da Bahia in Salvador, Brazil.

Hannia González                                 

Hannia Gonzalez passed her early years surrounded by the sounds of Afro-Cuban music that filled her neighborhood in Miami, Florida. As an adult she has continued her love affair with Afro-Latin music, playing both Afro-Cuban and Afro-Brazilian percussion. Long before joining Grupo Folklórico Palo Santo, Hannia performed with Sofrito Folklórico and Samba do Sol.

Christine Buchholz                          

Christine Buchholz has experienced many different aspects of Afro-Latin music over the past decade. In Cuba she studied with percussionists from Los Muñequitos de Matanzas, Cubanismo and Ballet Folklórico Cutumba. Closer to home, Christine performed Afro-Caribbean music with Roots, Rhythm and Rapture; and also performed Afro-Brazilian music with Augusto Soledade’s Brazz Dance Theater. These days, Christine can frequently be found sitting in with her husband’s Haitian bands.

Richard Adams                                   

Richard Adams is a sambista from the San Francisco Bay Area. After playing with Guilherme Franco’s Pé de Boi in New York, Richard moved to the Pioneer Valley, where he has played in Samba groups with Hannia and Brandon on and off for the past fifteen years.

Jeff Hinrichs                                       

Jeff Hinrichs is the senior member of Palo Santo, playing everyplace between Boston and New York for more decades than anybody wants to count. Jeff’s connections to Afro-Cuban music extend through Pablo Landrum in New York; and through several masters from the Conjunto Folklórico Nacional de Cuba.

Alumni

Emily Peck                                            

While earning a degree in Latin American Studies from UMass Boston, Emily Peck studied with folkloric groups in Cuba such as Los Muñequitos de Matanzas and Grupo Afro Cuba de Matanzas; in addition to studies in the department of Folkloric Dance at the Instituto Superior de Arte in La Habana. Emily is also a teacher of Salsa Dance and Movement Improvisation.

Maxine Sinnott                                   

Maxine Sinnott has a background in West African Dance. Throughout 2007 she was a consistant presence in the Afro-Cuban dance class; and an enthusiastic contributor to the coro of Grupo Folklórico Palo Santo.