BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//wp-events-plugin.com//7.2.3.1//EN TZID:America/Detroit X-WR-TIMEZONE:America/Detroit BEGIN:VEVENT UID:35042@arabamerica.com DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20250907T170000 DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20250907T210000 DTSTAMP:20250828T020050Z URL:https://www.arabamerica.com/events/arts-in-solidarity-benefit-concert- for-an-immigrant-legal-defense-fund/ SUMMARY:“ARTS IN SOLIDARITY" Benefit Concert for an Immigrant Legal Defen se Fund DESCRIPTION:“ARTS IN SOLIDARITY"\n\nA Benefit Concert for Immigrant Legal Defense\n\nSunday\, September 7\, 2025\n\n5:00 PM - 9:00 PM\n\nAlhambra P alace Restaurant\n\n1240 W. Randolph St.\, Chicago\, IL 60607\n\n$25 sugge sted donation/ no one turned away\n\nABOUT THE EVENT\n\nAn ad-hoc voluntee r collective of local arts presenters and advocates has come together to r aise funds for legal defense and to speak out against the ongoing persecut ion of our family\, friends\, and neighbors by law enforcement agencies— often without due process. This group has curated a powerful event featuri ng cultural voices from across the community. All proceeds will support le gal expenses resulting from detentions and prosecutions.\n\nThe event will take place in the beautiful Alhambra Palace Restaurant in downtown Chicag o.\n\nParticipating artists confirmed to date are:\n\nCARPACHO Y SU SUPER COMBO\n\nLOS PLENEROS DE DON SEGUNDO\n\nSURABHI ENSEMBLE\n\nAFROCOLOMBIAN BAND “EPA!”\n\nDAMON LOCKS\n\nLUIS TUBENS - Emcee\n\nSpeakers confirme d to date::\n\nAISLINN PULLEY\n\nALEJANDRA OLIVA\n\nIl. STATE SENATOR GRAC IELA GUZMÁN\n\nJORGE MUJICA\n\nABOUT THE ARTISTS\n\nLOS PLENEROS DE DON S EGUNDO\n\nBorn at the Segundo Ruiz Belvis Cultural Center (SRBCC)\, Los Pl eneros de Don Segundo have been performing original plena music in Chicago since 2016. They have become one of the city’s most sought-after Afro-P uerto Rican folkloric groups\, known for their commitment to advancing the genre through original compositions and arrangements\, and a celebration of plena as music of resistance.\n\nSURABHI ENSEMBLEThe Surabhi Ensemble i s a Chicago-based world music collective that blends diverse musical tradi tions\, including Indian\, Arabic\, African\, and Spanish flamenco. Founde d by Saraswathi Ranganathan (veena) and Carlo Basile (guitar) and featurin g Ronnie Malley (oud) and Bob Garrett (percussion) along with special gues ts\, the ensemble tastefully fosters cross-cultural connections through mu sic and dance. The ensemble often incorporates traditional dance forms fro m various cultures into their music performances.\n\nCARPACHO Y SU SUPER C OMBO\n\nCarpacho y su Super Combo is a fun\, high-energy group specializin g in Colombian Salsa and other Tropical dance styles like Cumbia\, Merengu e\, Latin Jazz\, and Cha Cha. Carpacho y su Super Combo started in 1986 wi th a main idea of integrating the band with musicians and sounds from vari ous Latin American countries including Puerto Rico\, Ecuador\, and Colombi a.\n\nAFROCOLOMBIAN BAND “EPA!”\n\nEcos del Pacifico Afrocolombia is a Chicago-based group formed in 2006 by Julio Cesar Montaño Montenegro and steeped in the Afro-Colombian music and dance traditions of the Pacific c oast of Colombia.\n\nThe group features members of the Montaño Arboleda f amily and a diverse complement of Chicago musicians of various ethnicities performing on traditional Afro-Colombian percussion\, marimba\, guitar\, clarinet\, and bass. Ecos del Pacifico focuses on the Pacific cost sounds of Currulao\, one of the most African influenced-styles in all of Colombia \, The music is centered around a drum known as a "cununo"\, which superfi cially resembles the "alegre" drum (used in Cumbia)\, and a shaker known i n parts of Colombia as a "guasá" or "guache"\, and Colombian marimba\, a wooden xylophone which resembles the African balafon.\n\nDAMON LOCKS featu red DJ\n\nDamon Locks is a Chicago-based visual artist\, educator\, vocali st/musician and DJ. He attended the Art Institute of Chicago where he rece ived his BFA in fine arts. Since 2014 he has been working with the Prisons and Neighborhood Arts Project at Stateville Correctional Center teaching art. He is a 2025 recipient of the Creative Capital Award. In 2017 he beca me a Soros Justice Media Fellow. He received a Helen Coburn Meier and Tim Meier Achievement Award in the Arts in 2015. In 2019\, he became a 3Arts A wardee. He spent 4 years as an artist in residence as a part of the Museum of Contemporary Arts’ SPACE Program\, introducing civically engaged art into the curriculum at Sarah E. Goode STEM Academy High School. He teache s Improvisation in the Sound Department at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Damon leads the Black Monument Ensemble\, is a member of New Future City Radio\, Exploding Star Orchestra and co-founded the band The E ternals.\n\nEMCEE: LUIS TUBENS\n\nLuis Tubens\, a.k.a “Logan Lu”\, was born in Chicago’s West Town neighborhood and raised in Logan Square. In 2014\, he earned a B.A. in Communications\, media and theater from Northe astern Illinois University. Luis has performed poetry across the United St ates including with the GUILD COMPLEX\, Tia Chucha Press\, and the Nationa l Museum of Mexican Art.\n\nABOUT THE SPEAKERS\n\nALEJANDRA OLIVA\, MIBF B OARD CO-VICE PRESIDENT\n\nAlejandra Oliva is the Co-Vice President of the Midwest Immigration Bond Fund\, as well as the author of the book Rivermou th: A Chronicle of Language\, Faith and Migration.\n\nAISLINN PULLEY\n\nAi slinn Pulley is a co-executive director of the Chicago Torture Justice Cen ter founded out of the historic 2015 reparations ordinance for survivors o f Chicago police torture. Aislinn is also the co-founder of Black Lives Ma tter Chicago.\n\nIl. STATE SENATOR GRACIELA GUZMÁN\n\nGraciela Guzmán (s he/her/ella) serves as the state senator for District 20 and as an organiz er for the Chicago Teachers Union. Before becoming state senator\, she ser ved as chief of staff for Senator Cristina Pacione-Zayas and political dir ector for her and Senator Omar Aquino.\n\nJORGE MUJICA\n\nJorge Mujica emi grated to the United States from Mexico in 1987. He currently works as lea d strategic campaigns organizer for Arise Chicago\, a non-profit organizat ion addressing the needs of low-wage workers\, particularly stolen wages. He is also a Congressman in the Méxiccan Chamber of Deputies\, representi ng Mexicans abroad.\n\nABOUT THE RECIPIENT\n\nThe Midwest Immigration Bond Fund was formed through a coalition in 2020 and began paying out immigrat ion bonds for IL\, IN\, WI\, and KY residents as funds allow in February 2 021.\n\nThe Midwest Immigration Bond Fund facilitates a revolving immigrat ion bond fund to pay immigration bonds that frees individuals from ICE cus tody and gathers community to advocate for the abolition of immigration de tention and surveillance.\n\nABOUT THE EVENT ORGANIZERS\n\nA broad array o f community based NGO’s\, solidarity organizations\, religious congregat ions\, peace activists and others\, are joining the organizers and support ing this event with outreach and volunteer efforts.\n\nThe ad-hoc voluntee r committee organizing this event are:\n\nPresented by host committee: Mar guerite Horberg\, Jaime Garza\, Juan Dies\, Nan Warshaw\, Omar Torres-Kort right\, Shawn Lent\, Elsie Hernandez\, and Brian Keigher\n\nThis group rep resents many seasoned arts administrators who have enjoyed collaborating o n building community-based projects over the years.\n\nHotHouse is an awar d-winning non-profit arts and education institution in Chicago that has pr ogrammed international events for 39 years.\n\nSegundo Ruiz Belvis Cultura l Center (SRBCC) is the longest-standing Latiné cultural center in Chicag o. Established in 1971\, it was named in honor of Segundo Ruiz Belvis\, a Puerto Rican patriot and member of a secret abolitionist society that free d children who had been enslaved under Spanish rule. In that spirit\, SRBC C realizes its mission to preserve and promote appreciation of the culture and arts of Puerto Rico and Latin America\, with a focus on its African h eritage. ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.arabamerica.com/wp-content/uploads/2 025/08/IMG_0432.jpeg LOCATION:Alhambra Palace Restaurant\, 1240 W Randolph St\, Chicago\, Illino is\, 60607\, United States GEO:41.8846194;-87.65822800000001 X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=1240 W Randolph St\, Chicag o\, Illinois\, 60607\, United States;X-APPLE-RADIUS=100;X-TITLE=Alhambra P alace Restaurant:geo:41.8846194,-87.65822800000001 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:America/Chicago X-LIC-LOCATION:America/Chicago BEGIN:DAYLIGHT DTSTART:20250309T030000 TZOFFSETFROM:-0600 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 TZNAME:CDT END:DAYLIGHT END:VTIMEZONE END:VCALENDAR