The Columbia community is bursting with hidden talents. Learn more about some of the other employees around campus whose artistic abilities shine—either during or after working hours.

• Jay Corcoran, Documentary Filmmaker
• Marigrace Dineen, Rock Musician
• Ching Gonzalez, Dancer, Singer
• Dennis Green, Lyricist
• Victor Mercedes, Salsa Band Leader
• Allison Scola, Singer, Songwriter

It may not be obvious to everyone who eats there, but there's a Latin beat at the heart of Ferris Booth Commons at Lerner Hall.

During the weekday, Victor Mercedes, the food hall's ever-present system manager, ensures that the cafeteria's lines don't snake and students find what they need. But he has a second life as the leader of a Latin music band called Tu Mambo.

For the last three years, the group, which plays everything from merengue to salsa, has been booked from Friday through Sunday nights at Tasca do Pedras, a nightclub in Newark. As the weekend approaches, "Columbia gives me the chance to close this place at five o'clock to go home and get ready," says Mercedes. Four hours later, the 43-year-old father of eight is on stage with his five other band mates, dressed in matching white suits with red shirts, dancing and singing.

Victor Mercedes performs at Tasca do Pedras, a nightclub in Newark, New Jersey.

"I got it in the blood," says Mercedes of the music that fills almost every waking hour that he's not at his full-time job. In fact, Mercedes has been singing and dancing since long before he came to Columbia 14 years ago, where he first started working in the kitchens.

It was in his hometown of Sosua, on the northern shores of the Dominican Republic, where Mercedes taught himself to perform and play instruments including the trumpet and drums. (He came to this country in 1986.) Since those formative years he has played in various bands, recorded two CDs—and even won the University's Columbia Idol contest a few years ago.

With such a passion for music, it's no wonder the art form seeps into his day job. During the University's annual Latino Heritage Month in October, Mercedes is regularly invited to perform with his band for Latino Taste, an evening of food and dance at John Jay Dining Hall. This past year, he also organized a Christmas party for the 20 or so colleagues at Ferris Booth Commons, even inviting workers from the other cafeterias. "We made a big party and sang for them," he recalls.

But Mercedes is looking for even more ways to share his love of Latin music with the University community. "My goal is to teach over here, free of charge for the students," he says, hoping he and a few others from the Housing and Dining staff can help give merengue and bachata dance lessons on Sundays. He doesn't do it for the fame or the money, he explains. "I do it from my heart."

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