The AMLA Latin School of the Arts

Latin Beat Magazine, Feb, 2003 by Rudy Mangual

125 Philadelphia Latin musicians from 13 different working bands founded the Asociación de Músicos Latino Americanos (AMLA) in 1982. Its mission was to promote the development, dissemination and understanding of Latin music in the Philadelphia/Delaware Valley Region with ah emphasis on youth. The association was also a vehicle necessary to pass along Latino culture and its history to the community.

In 1984, José Luis Prieto, a native of Puerto Rico, started teaching music at the Lighthouse on 2nd and Somerset in Philadelphia as part of the AMLA program and at LULAC, a Mexican educational organization. However, these early attempts were short-lived because of space and budget constraints. The AMLA Latin School of the Arts was officially founded in 1986. Open only on Saturdays, the school began with approximately 50 students per semester held in the third floor and basement of the Taller Puertorriqueño, a visual arts organization located in the heart of the Latino community. Claudio Tripputi, an Argentinean guitarist, was the school's first director.

In 1990, AMLA moved to 5th and Somerset where the school operated for ten years. The student body of the school increased to 300 pupils per semester plus 150 each summer season, for a high total of 650 per year. New classes were added in bass, trumpet, piano, salsa dancing and music theory, together with many new teachers to meet the school's increasing demands.

In January 2000, AMLA moved again to a larger facility. The present home of AMLA is a former firehouse located on 6th and Lehigh, which nearly doubles the size of its previous home. Currently being offered at this location are private and group classes in classical piano, Latin jazz piano, guitar, cuatro, saxophone, vocal instruction, music initiation for children, theory and solfeggio, bass, violin, Latin and Brazilian percussions, plus dance classes for adults and children in salsa, flamenco, and Afro-Caribbean dances. Enhancing the school's program are special projects such as the creation of a youth percussion ensemble call Los Rumberitos (The Little Rumba Players), which perform at local community functions and other special events. There are also two school recitals per semester to give students the opportunity to show their talents and new abilities.

AMLA has already produced three bicultural instrumental curricula, Guitar, Percussion, and Piano. All three of these curricula blend classically based written technical pedagogy with traditional songs, melodies and rhythms of the culture that are a part of the students' daily lives. The school is in session from 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday and all day Saturday, providing learning opportunities for children and adults in bilingual arts education with an emphasis on traditional Latin music, dance and culture.

Currently AMLA is in a growth mode, preparatory to the construction of a state of the art performance / banquet facility and music school slated for completion by the end of 2003. Contact information for AMLA is website: www.amla.org or call 215-223-3060.