Sunday afternoons are just the best time for doing all manner of lovely things. Like walking aimlessly, enjoying nature. Or curling up cosily on your sofa with a good book. Watching Sunday afternoon footy, either at the game or on telly. Catching a cheeky wave or two, or immersing yourself  in a round of golf. Meeting up with friends at a cafe or pub for a languorous, long lunch.
Or for doing not much at all. 
Listening to live music is certainly one of my favourite things to do, at any given time. The sheer joy of rounding off the weekend with an inspiring musical experience, now that’s the best activity of all in my humble opinion. 
And so last Sunday afternoon in Gerringong, I joined many other grownups introducing their children and grandchildren to an exceptional presentation, brought to us by the wonderful  Gerringong Music  Club. 
Four members of the band Sonido treated us to an hour’s musical journey through South America. And what a treat it was.
Sonido is the Spanish word for ” sound”, and that is exactly what we got. Glorious, South American sound, performed by four very talented musicians, Eddy, Cesar, Stephen and Marco, playing traditional instruments, and also giving us delightful snippets of Latin musical  information along the way. 
We were introduced to the gorgeous sounds and rhythms of the traditional flute of the Andes. Then there was the Bombo, the Latin American bass drum; the charango, the lute -like stringed instrument of the Andes strongly resembling a uke. And my favourite, the panpipes, or zampona, made of cane tubes, mostly bamboo, emitting the archetypal sound of the Andes. 
Throughout the show we the audience were invited to speak Spanish, to tap our feet and clap our hands, to dance, to share in moving to the sheer rhythmic delights of music from the Andes, Peru , Chile. We engaged, we learned, we interacted. All of us, from age 2 to , well…my age . It was a fabulous, fun hour of intoxicating Latin music where the children were invited to join in, to play some percussion, to have the pleasure of an interactive and joyous musical experience. Well done Sonido!
The very best news is that they will be back to Gerringong in March 2026, this time with a 7 piece band , to bring us more  vibrant , fabulous, hip wiggling music . Don’t miss them!