The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has announced Luz de las Naciones — a celebration of Hispanic culture — on Saturday, 13 November 2004, at the Conference Center in Salt Lake City.
From 6:00 to 7:00 p.m., artists and performers representing different Latin American countries will present traditional music, songs and dances in the Conference Center lobbies. At 7:30 the program Luz de las Naciones will be presented in the Conference Center auditorium. This will be an inspirational program of music, dance and narration — presented entirely in Spanish.
The central religious message will be given by a general authority of the Church.
"We are inviting the entire Hispanic community and anyone else interested in becoming better acquainted with the Church while enjoying an artistic and inspirational program," says Elder Merrill J. Bateman, member of the Presidency of the Seventy and supervisor of the Utah Salt Lake City, Utah North and Utah South Areas of the Church.
The event is free to the public but tickets are required. Tickets will be available beginning Tuesday, 28 September 2004, and may be obtained online at www.lds.org/events or by calling the Conference Center ticket office at 801-240-0080 (toll-free at 1-866-537-8457). Spanish-speaking representatives will be available to take calls from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Thursday. Tickets also may be obtained in person at the ticket office — located at Door 4 of the Conference Center. The ticket office is open from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.
"We are getting the word out to Hispanic congregations of the Church along the Wasatch Front," says Jorge Becerra, event spokesman. "But we want to emphasize that Luz de las Naciones is for everyone in the Hispanic community — not just Latter-day Saints."
Event organizers say that people who attend are welcome to wear traditional clothing from their native countries but they should feel no obligation to do so. Luz de las Naciones will not be broadcast via satellite nor transmitted via the Internet. At the Conference Center, headsets will not be provided to hear the program in languages other than Spanish.