Nationally Known Folksinger Jesus ‘Chuy’ Negrete to Perform Tuesday

Juan Guzman
UNK Office of Multicultural Affairs director, 308.865.8127

Jesus ‘Chuy’ Negrete, nationally recognized entertainer and scholar, will be performing in Ponderosa Room A and B of the Nebraskan Student Union at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 4.

Negrete uses his harmonica and guitar to relate the poetry and oral history of Mexican and Mexican-American history from the days of Columbus to the present. He has been called “the Chicano Woody Guthrie” by historian and radio host Studs Terkel.

The founder and director of the Mexican Cultural Institute, Negrete has lectured, performed and taught in numerous universities across the nation. He holds degrees from the University of Illinois at Chicago and Chicago State University with specialties in educational anthropology and ethnomusicology, which is the comparative study of music of different cultures.

As a 1998 Bannerman Fellow, he was given $15,000 to take a sabbatical in order to research non-Spanish-speakig indigenous immigrants from Mexico. He has also researched and developed multimedia programs on “Images of Mexican Labor” and “Mexican Women and Their Music” as a Smithsonian Fellow.

Negrete was born in San Luis Potosi, Mexico and grew up in South Chicago. He now lives with his wife and children in Chicago.

This event is sponsored by the Hispanic Student Association along with the Office of Multicultural Affairs as part of the events for Hispanic Heritage Month. It will be free and open to all students, faculty, staff and the public. Refreshments will be served.