For one night this week our beloved Black Box Theatre will transform into la Club Caja Negra, where attendees can dance the night away in support of fellow Edmonds Community College students. The festivities will be held Friday, Feb. 15, so you might just be able to get away with it as a late Valentine’s Day date. Alternatively, spend the night with your friends, or go by yourself to make some new ones!

The evening will commence at 7 p.m. with an hour long Salsa lesson, followed by a live music session where you can dance your heart out to the music of the EdCC Salsa Band. Tickets are just $12 at the door, or you can get $2 off if you preorder online through the Black Box website, http://www.blackboxedcc.org. The proceeds from ticket sales and the silent auction happening during the night will go towards the Edmonds Community College Jazz and Salsa Band’s trip to Puerto Rico.

The Salsa was popularized in the mid-20th century, and has its roots in New York City. However, the genre is a fusion of several genres of music from various cultures. It takes inspiration from latin jazz, Afro-Cuban music and the Puerto Rican bomba, among others. It truly is a music genre for everyone.

The director of the jazz and salsa bands, John Sanders, fell in love with the art of Salsa, and following a stint in Puerto Rico, he made it his mission to bring the same joy Salsa gave him to the greater Edmonds community. Following his sabbatical just under five years ago, Sanders started the Salsa band from the ground up, and has been able to bring the Salsa band’s vibrant latin jazz music to the ears of audiences all across the Pacific Northwest. In less than three years Sanders was able to take the band on a trip to Cuba, which was aided by a lift in United States’ Cuban travel restrictions.

“On May 3, we will hold a fundraiser for our January 2020 trip to San Juan, Puerto Rico,” said Sanders. “This will also be in the Black Box Theatre and will feature the salsa band as well as some performances by myself and some friends in the local Latino music scene.”

In less than one year Sanders will be bringing the current jazz band students to Puerto Rico in order to bring them closer to the culture and music genre that they are taking inspiration from and representing. Club Caja Negra is just one of several fundraisers that the band holds in order to fundraise for their trip. The May 3 event will also include food and drinks for attendees.

Unless you are a member of the Jazz and Salsa Band, you probably will not be traveling to Puerto Rico anytime soon, but Friday’s Salsa night might as well be as a great as the real thing. Salsa nights are hosted twice a year, so if you cannot make it to this one, there will likely be another one in the fall. Even if you are unable to make it to these fundraising events, there are many other ways to support the band. Sanders would also be incredibly grateful for any donations of items for the silent auction, and requests that anyone wishing to donate contact him.