Salsa beat flavors Resounding Joy fundraiser

SOLANA BEACH — A nonprofit group that uses music to help adults and children with special needs will hold a benefit dinner and concert from 6 to 9 p.m. May 2 featuring Mexican cuisine, live Cuban music and lots of room to dance.
The fundraiser at Calvary Lutheran Church, 424 Via de la Valle, just north of the Del Mar fairgrounds, will begin at 6 p.m. with a dinner of fajitas, tacos, tamales, chips and salsa, plus beverages. Music and dancing will go from 7 to 9 p.m., with a short live auction at 7:45 p.m., and dessert and coffee will be served at 8 p.m..
Luna Llena, a local six-piece band that specializes in music for salsa, will perform at the Cinco de Mayo event to raise funds for Resounding Joy Inc.
Luna Llena dishes up hot salsa music that will put a warm smile on your face and make you want to move,” Lou Shook, chairman of the event, said. “Their music will defy you to sit still. Bring your dancing shoes.”
“We play Son Cubano,” said Ricky Carrido of Vista, who sings, plays percussion and leads the band. “In San Diego, we’re the only band that does it in that style — traditional stuff.”
Carrido’s father, Romeo Carrido of Vista, also plays percussion and sings for Luna Llena, which means full moon in Spanish. The other band members are Jimmy Woodard of Encinitas, guitar; Joaquin Gonzalez of Tijuana, guitar; Elizabeth Meeker of San Diego, trumpet; and Jeff “Sly” Simon of Oceanside, bass.
Tax-deductible donations of $50 per person are requested, and tickets can be ordered online at www.resoundingjoyinc.eventbrite.com/.
Resounding Joy uses music to promote the emotional, mental, physical and spiritual well-being of people throughout San Diego County, from nursing home residents, elder day-care clients and babies and toddlers of teen parents to people who are homeless or have HIV/AIDS.
It trains a network of volunteers in the principles of music therapy and partnerships with many faith-based and community-based organizations, including the Encinitas Nursing & Rehabilitation Center, Redwood Elderlink in San Marcos, and the Third Avenue Charitable Organization and four high schools in San Diego.
Luna Llena has performed at many venues in the county, including the World Beat Center in Balboa Park, the Adams Avenue Street Fair in San Diego, Sunshine Brooks Theater in Oceanside and Calavera Hills Park in Carlsbad. The band has also played live for KSDS Radio and appears regularly at local restaurants.
Barbara Reuer of Carmel Valley, a music therapist and executive director of Resounding Joy, said proceeds from the dinner and concert will be used to support the programs in place and to expand outreach in San Diego County.