On Sunday, First Presbyterian Church, 1111 Fifth Ave. N., is bringing Latin American influences to its Christmas special, “A Colorful Latin American Christmas,” directed by Gabriel Alves.

Live music and a social hour with snacks will start at 9:20 a.m. and the service will begin at 10 a.m. For the most part, it will be a regular church service — it will just feature a few more songs than normal, Alves said.

“I arranged well-known carols and songs into Latin American styles,” said Alves, the church’s director of music ministry.

This is the second year Alves has directed a Christmas special at the church. Last year, he created and arranged a “Have Yourself a Jazzy Jesus Christmas” service.

-Messenger photo by Kelby Wingert
Gabriel Alves, director of music ministry at First Presbyterian Church, is directing "A Colorful Latin American Christmas" service on Sunday morning. The service will feature an array of Christmas music in several different Latin American musical styles.

Sunday’s music will fall into Latin American musical styles from Brazil, Cuba, Argentina and Uruguay.

“I’m originally from Brazil and I always felt like God was always in me, no matter where I went,” Alves said. “So that’s where I had the idea of focusing and emphasizing that no matter where you are, God is always with you, because the Holy Spirit lives inside each one of us. It doesn’t matter which country you’re from or what language you speak.”

In the southern hemisphere, Christmas is in the middle of summer and is a much more vibrant celebration, Alves wrote on the FPCFD Facebook page. The FPC Christian Life Center will be decorated in bright yellow, green and red colors — colors frequently found on the flags of many Latin American countries.

Alves will direct the chancel choir and a band featuring many local musicians, including Tiffany Wurth and Steve Nelson on saxophone; Jan Moeller on strings keyboard; Mary Jo Laupp on piano; Alex Trevino on bass; and Isac Jamba and Jake Merritt on drums and percussion.

They’ll be playing a mix of Latin American Christmas music, as well as a selection of traditional American tunes rearranged into musical styles like samba, bossa nova, baiao, salsa, rhumba and tango.

“Latin American music is very vibrant, it’s very syncopated, it’s very upbeat,” Alves said. “And people here really aren’t used to it, so I thought that I could use all those different styles to teach people about Latin American music and to make them experience something that they don’t experience all the time here.”

The church’s chancel choir has been preparing for this service since September, Alves said.

There will be an insert in the church bulletin that explains the different musical styles and their backgrounds and origins, Alves said. At the start of each song, a screen will show where that song came from.

“The idea of a journey is embedded in this whole thing,” he said. “It’s through music that we’re taking them through a journey.”

The service will also be streamed live on the First Presbyterian Church Fort Dodge Facebook and YouTube pages.