Eighty or so adventurous souls braved bad weather and worse roads to spend a couple of hours in a more tropical state of mind at the Boulder Jewish Community Center Saturday night at Menorah’s “Celebrating the Jews of Cuba” event.  The evening began with a short film about the Jews of Cuba, followed by a discussion led by Carlos Zarur about Cuba’s rich history of Jewish life, which began shortly after the  expulsion from Spain in 1492.

The evening proceeded to a full-course homemade Cuban meal prepared by Rena Segal and Paula Erez, sisters who grew up in Cuba, with assistance by master chef Carlos Zarur. The dinner began with tostones and Sangria, and included a vegetarian picadillo, rice, beans and plantains. After dinner, patrons moved into the adjoining Community Room for home-made flan and hand-made rum drinks.

The evening ended with dancing to Charanga Siboney, a quartet specializing in performing the 1940′s style of Cuban dance music, the Danzon. Based in Denver, the all-star group consists of top musicians in the local salsa and world music arenas: Kailin Yong (violin), Victor Mestas (piano), Armando Santoyo (bass) and Brett Bowen (percussion). Dance instruction was enthusiastically provided by Judy Kreith.

Here are more pictures from the evening: