Salsa Brava, Salt Lake's percussion-driven Latin-groove combo, beat out six other local bands this week to earn a spot at the 1996 South by Southwest contest in Austin, Texas.
Salsa Brava will fly to Austin in March to compete against 500 other bands and vie for the attention of record company executives.Monday night's contest, held at the Zephyr, included ska, thrash, blues, funk and fusion, as well as the award-winning salsa-merengue sound. Bands included Sweet Loretta, the Sun Masons, Honest Engine, Jezus Drives a Rik'sha and Stretch Armstrong.
Salsa Brava, together almost three years, has been a local club and festival favorite. Members of the 11-piece pan-American band include natives of Venezuela, Honduras, Peru, Mexico, the Dominican Republic and the United States, including one with "a Cuban heart," says front man Tony Saint Hilaire.
Although South by Southwest has historically been a rock venue - and Salt Lake is not exactly known for its cultural diversity - Saint Hilaire hopes Salsa Brava will change all that.
"We want to be a cultural bridge between the Latin and American com-munities," says Hilaire. "We're very appreciative of the support from both sides of the bridge. And when we get rich, we'll pass the money around."