Eichardt’s hosts Cinco de Mayo fundraiser for Music Bridges Borders

By Reader Staff

Get May underway with the fifth-annual Cinco de Mayo Community Celebration and Fundraiser, set for Saturday, May 6 at noon, hosted by Eichardt’s Pub and Music Bridges Borders.

Music Bridges Borders is the international exchange program that brings young musicians from Mexico to Sandpoint, where they perform and offer instruction to local kids — sharing their musical talents but also introducing them to their culture.

This year’s fundraiser follows a successful year for Music Bridges Borders, which grew its program in 2022 with the help of the Church of Jesus Christ Latter-day Saints and music teacher Ryan Dignan, who hosted a complimentary Musical Exploration Camp that jumped from more than 20 participants in 2021 to 32 last year.

Every exchange student took part in a master class and attended the Spokane Youth Symphony Orchestra’s summer camp, and offered numerous community performances throughout Sandpoint. The program culminated for the third year in a row with a community performance at the Jacklin Arts and Cultural Center.

The 2023 program is made possible by sponsors including Ziply Fiber, Bonner County Human Rights Task Force, The Believe in Me Foundation for Kids and Eichardt’s Pub.

“The beauty of Music Bridges Borders is the international relationships, which are built and nurtured by the reciprocal ebb and flow of giving and receiving between communities,” stated Music Bridges Borders Board Member Sandi Nizzoli. “Like music, the program continues to be a language of deepening human connection.”

The event May 6 — technically seis de Mayo — will be a family event celebrating local Mexican-American culture with a taco feed, margaritas and cerveza provided by Eichardt’s. Agua de Jamaica and flan will be provided by Music Bridges Borders. Also as a feature of the event will be a fiesta costume contest, piñata, silent auction, salsa dance lessons and general merriment.

Eichardt’s is located at 212 Cedar St. in downtown Sandpoint.

By Marcia Pilgeram Reader Columnist

In 1977, I went to Bogota, Colombia, and fell in love — with the architecture, the people, the food and the vibrant culture, especially the cumbia (lively music and traditional folk dance). I made two repeat trips before marriage and children became the focus of my life. After that, my adventures in South America became fond memories. Though I vowed to go back, life continued to guide me elsewhere.

Last week I had the opportunity to return to South America, albeit this trip was farther south, to Buenos Aires, Argentina. It was a quick trip to a travel show with speed-dating style appointments, learning about Central and South American destinations. I spent the evenings in magnificent historic venues, entertained with live tango shows and feasting on savory and spicy empanadas encased in rich, flaky crusts, tender beef and spicy chorizo cooked over open flames.

The food was delicious, and though it was my first visit to Buenos Aires, it was not my first introduction to the cuisine. For years, I frequented an Argentinian steakhouse in Chicago that served melt-in-your-mouth asado with piquant chimichurri sauce and my favorite cheese dish, provoleta — a provolone-style cheese, grilled over open flames, then baked.

I’ve made provoleta for years (even preparing it for a malbec wine pairing tasting at I Saw Something Shiny). It’s a great first course or vegetarian