¡Tiempo de Fiesta!

The Vet’s Club Ballroom will celebrate its annual Cinco de Mayo bash on Thursday, May 5, and it should be a night to remember. The headlining act this year is El Combo de la Salsa, an eight-piece salsa band that cut its teeth locally, both here in Eugene and up in Portland. The band contains elements that remain essential to the composition and flavor of authentic Latin music: guitar, trumpet, baby bass, trombone, congas, timbales, saxophone and, of course, high-energy vocalization. El Combo is renowned for its ability to get people swingin’, so for those who love to dance this is a part of the night well worth checking out.



Other attractions at the fiesta include free dance lessons, a silent auction, appearances from DJ Mario Mora between performance sets, Salsa performances by the Eugene Casineros — a locally based social dance and demonstrative group — and further dance displays by Javier and Adha of Gemini Salsa in Portland.

Aside from being a raging party, the night aims to be a boon for the community: All proceeds will go toward benefitting the work that the folks at Centro LatinoAmericano have strived to perform since 1972. Centro is a not-for-profit agency that works tirelessly with its advocacy of Latino empowerment across Lane County, as well as providing human services to benefit not only the Latino community but also the Lane County community as a whole.

So whether your goal is just to dance, or if it’s to help the community you live in, the annual Cinco de Mayo celebration at the Vet’s Club Ballroom is a must visit. Olé!

The celebration kicks off 8 pm Thursday, May 5, at the Vet’s Club Ballroom; $10.

EW 5/5