Gina Chavez Presented by UARK MP3 at U of A Faulkner Center, Nov. 13

Photo provided by Gina Chavez

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The University of Arkansas student organization UARK MP3 will present Gina Chavez, a multi-ethnic Latin pop songstress, at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 13, in the Jim and Joyce Faulkner Performing Arts Center.

Celebrating diversity and inclusion, this award-winning artist blends the sounds of the Americas. Students with UARK MP3, which is short for Music Performers, Producers, and Professionals, will oversee production with Faulkner Center staff guidance and oversight.

Chavez’s passionate collection of bilingual songs take audiences on a journey through the Americas. Her Spanish-language anthem, “Siete-D” took home the Grand Prize in the 2014 John Lennon Songwriting Contest. It tells the story of her experience volunteering in a gang-dominated suburb of San Salvador, where she and her partner founded Niñas Arriba, a college fund for young Latinas. The fund celebrated its first two college graduates in 2016.

Chavez and her band have performed in eight countries, touring as cultural ambassadors with the U.S. State Department.

In addition to the performance, the Faulkner Center will host a free event, ‘Let it Out with Gina Chavez,’ at La Huerta restaurant, 1860 N. Crossover Road in Fayetteville at 6 p.m. Monday, Nov. 12. Chavez will discuss her life experiences as a Latina Catholic, the love she found with her wife, and other influences that have a direct effect on her message and her music. This event is free to the public and appetizers will be provided.

Chavez, presented by UARK MP3, is free to all area students. Tickets are $10-20 for all others and can be purchased at the Faukner Center website. For questions or more information about other performances and events, visit the website,  call 479-575-5387, or stop by the box office at 453 N. Garland Avenue on the University of Arkansas campus, open 1:30–5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

This performance is in association with International Education Week and made possible by the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Music, the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, the Faulkner Center, and the Graduate School and International Education.

About Gina Chavez: Chavez is a nine-time Austin Music Award winner — including 2015 Musician of the Year and Album of the Year for her sophomore release, Up.Rooted. Her independent album topped the Amazon and Latin iTunes charts following a national feature on NPR’s All Things Considered, and has been hailed by The Boston Globe, USA Today, Texas Monthly and the Austin Chronicle. Her band’s Tiny Desk concert made NPR’s top 15 of 2015. Her new album, Lightbeam, released in September 2018, is a sonic departure for Chavez, who is known for her signature style of bilingual Latin folk-pop.

About the UARK MP3: The registered student organization exists to unite students who are passionate about the music industry and elements of musicianship that are now required for success in the industry, such as recording, self-marketing and entrepreneurship. The RSO offers opportunities to learn and grow in these areas. Last year, the club hosted several local guest speakers in the music industry, a workshop from Jay Leach, guitarist from American Idol’s live shows, and a workshop at Haxton Road Studios in Bentonville. This year through the production of the Gina Chavez show, the club will provide an opportunity for students to become immersed in the music business by directly working on all aspects of the production.

About the Jim and Joyce Faulkner Performing Arts Center: The newest performing arts center at the University of Arkansas — a renovation of the old Field House — is named the Jim and Joyce Faulkner Performing Arts Center, in honor of the couple’s major gift to the project. Completed in September 2017, this world-class performance venue is 39,400 square feet, with seating for 587, and a stage that can accommodate as many as 250 performers. The center is the main performance venue for the university’s J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences Department of Music and hosts guest musical activities for the university and Northwest Arkansas community.

About the University of Arkansas: The University of Arkansas provides an internationally competitive education for undergraduate and graduate students in more than 200 academic programs.