It isn’t often in Southern Illinois that a person can celebrate the Christmas season with a south of the border dinner set to the soft sounds of a Latin American band, but this year people will have such a chance.

Holiday Revue, a dinner and concert sponsored by Student Center Special Programs tonight and Friday in the Student Center Ballrooms, will serve traditional Latin American dishes as the group Khenany performs.

Khenany is an excellent group that we were really lucky to get, Joanne Yantis, University Programming Coordinator said. Everyone who hears them raves about them and their music. People say that you just can’t go wrong with this band.

Advertisement

Khenany was formed in Mexico in 1981, and has recorded five albums. Much of the music they play has a Spanish influence, but they also occasionally sing in Yaqui and in Quechua, which is a Native American language from the Inca Empire.

The group’s name is from a legend about a Peruvian princess and her lover who were turned into a bamboo shoot and an armadillo by the bird god Lambayeque in order to escape danger. Part of this legend becomes apparent in their music because some of the group’s dozens of instruments include bamboo and the charango, an instrument made from the shell of an armadillo.

Khenany is going to play traditional music from the Caribbean and Central America, as well as some more familiar Christmas songs from America, Yantis said.

Holiday Revue is a three-year-old tradition at the Student Center, and according to Yantis, this year is different because Student Programming was able to get Khenany.

For the past performances we scheduled bands from the surrounding areas to play, she said. This year we wanted to do something a little different that offers a little variety to Christmas.

I think this is a unique experience for Southern Illinois, and I am really excited about it, Yantis said. This band is utterly delightful, and people who miss their performance really regret it later. It isn’t often that things were just meant to be, but the pieces really fit into place when booking this band. I am really excited about this performance.

Holiday Revue featuring Khenany is scheduled for 7 p.m. tonight and tomorrow in the SIUC Student Center Ballrooms. Admission will be $15, $12.50 for students and $10 for children. Ticket Reservations are available at the Student Central ticket office. For more information call 453-3493.

Advertisement*