CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED BRYAN VARGAS & YA ESTA TO PERFORM AFRO LATINO SOUL AT ST. JOSEPHS COLLEGE. Concert is Free and Open to the Public.

Press Release announcing free outdoor concert on Brooklyn campus of St. Joseph's College.

BROOKLYN, NY (PRWEB) August 27, 2003 -- Kicking off a yearlong series of cultural events taking place at St. Joseph's College, the celebrated Bryan Vargas and his band Ya Esta will perform at the Colleges Brooklyn campus. The event will take place on Thursday, September 4, 2003 at 6:30 p.m. outside on the St. Joseph's College Mall (236 Clinton Avenue between DeKalb and Washington Avenues).

In case of rain, the event will be held in the College Auditorium at 245 Clinton Avenue. The performance is free and open to the public. Limited seating will be provided and attendees are encouraged to bring their own chairs and blankets, picnics are welcome.

For the past three years, the Brooklyn-based Bryan Vargas & Ya Esta have been at the forefront of modern music in New York City, playing what bandleader Vargas describes as Afro Latino Soul Music." Born in South Williamsburg, Brooklyn and currently a resident of Fort Greene, Vargas has been playing guitar since age 12.

After graduating from New York University in 1997, Vargas naturally gravitated towards the Latin rhythms of his Puerto Rican ancestry. Since their inception Bryan Vargas & Ya Esta have been invited to perform at some of the most important stages, festivals and events in the New York City metro area.

Celebrate Brooklyn, CMJ Music Marathon, the Texaco New York Jazz Festival, AIDS Walk 2002 and the Newark Symphony Hall are just a few of the venues at which the band as performed. The band is also featured on a regular basis at some of New Yorks hippest clubs like SOBs, the Tonic, Galapagos and The Knitting Factory.

In addition to gaining popularity through their widely attended performances, the band has recently released a new CD titled Ya Esta -- Afro Latino Soul" that has been recommended by Time Out New York magazine and has received air play by various New York radio stations.

The St. Joseph's College Council for the Arts is co-sponsoring the Ya Esta performance with Tillies of Brooklyn, a local coffee shop. Tillies refreshments will be available for purchase at the concert. For more information about the Bryan Vargas & Ya Esta performance or other upcoming cultural events at the College's Brooklyn campus, please call (718) 783-0374 or go to www.sjcny.edu.

About the St. Josephs College Council for the Arts
Founded by Sister Elizabeth A. Hill, CSJ, president, the Council for the Arts is a coalition of students, faculty members and staff who serve as a focal point for St. Josephs Colleges educational and community outreach programming in the arts. By expanding and integrating campus arts activities, the Council seeks to enhance the public image of the College as a cultural center in Brooklyn and aims to make arts and cultural events more accessible to its students and area neighbors.

About St. Joseph's College
St. Josephs College, founded in 1916, is a four-year, liberal arts institution of higher learning with two campuses: one in the Clinton Hill area of Brooklyn, New York, and a Suffolk County campus in Patchogue, Long Island. Both campuses offer a wide variety of undergraduate study options through the School of Arts and Sciences, including traditional liberal arts majors and pre-professional programs.

St. Josephs College also features a School of Adult and Professional Education as well as graduate degrees, including a Master of Science in Management and a Master of Arts in Infant/Toddler Therapeutic Education. Additionally, St. Josephs Colleges Brooklyn campus is home to the Dillon Child Study Center, one of the first college preschools on the East Coast.