Thangs Taken

The Free Land Project presented the 4th annual Thangs Taken: Rethinking Thanksgiving on the Sunday before Thanksgiving. It was an eye opening event that asked us to explore and reevaluate our ideas of Thanksgiving and the plight of the often overlooked and underrepresented Native Americans.

The night brought together both Native and non-Native artists to speak, deliver spoken word and hip hop, and perform live music and song. There was a lot of entertainment and a lot of information flowing that night about social and environmental justice. The key point to take away though was that there are a lot of ways that we all can get involved to make our community a better place and one that we can be truly thankful for.

The night concluded with a performance that brought the house to it’s feet by the hip hop group BRWN BFLO .

Beloved: A Requiem for Our Dead

As the final night to the Hecho en Califas Festival, the queer and trans people of color performance crew, Mangos with Chili, presented the work Beloved. It was a night  to honor and remember those that were lost and a celebration of survival and healing.

The night featured many different performers in a wide range of acts from dancing to story telling and spoken word, to cabaret and music and singing.

Video also played a key part in the performance both as a backdrop and as a featured medium to tell their story. It was a powerful night filled with deep emotions and performers who held nothing back.

Cypher

If you’ve walked out on Shattuck on a Monday night you’ve probably heard the pumping bass of deep house and hip hop that the dj’s are spinning at La Peña. Every Monday night from 9-11 pm, La Peña holds an open session for street dancers of all styles to freestyle and build community.

Come by early and you’ll find some of the dancers practicing and teaching each other moves. It’s a supportive environment and just a cool place to hang out. So come on out and learn a new step or just have fun and move!

Los Cojolites

Los Cojolites performed to a packed house Friday night. On tour all the way from Veracruz, they brought the lively music and singing style, son jarocho. Many of their songs had the audience singing along or even dancing in the aisles. It was quite a thing to hear a chorus of heels hitting the hardwood floor to the music. The excitement kept building and then the audience erupted when Los Cojolites ripped into their version of “La Bamba”, perhaps one of the most famous son jarocho songs.

Celtic Flamenco Concert

As soon as this show appeared on the calendar I was very intrigued. Celtic flamenco? How is this going to work out? Actually surprisingly well as I’m sure the packed room would agree! It was cool to see such an unexpected fusion come together.

The night saw many performers playing separately and together in various combinations. Fanny Ara brought on some fiery flamenco dancing accompanied by, yes, Celtic music. Daniel Torres was featured on flamenco guitar and the Puerto Rican cuatro.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Diáspora Negra – The African Legacy in Latin America

Gabriela Shiroma, the artistic director of the program, said “We are all part of the African culture, the Diaspora. Not only has [it] enriched the Americas but their legacy has taught us to honor our ancestors, to sing without fear, to dance from our hearts, to connect with our internal rhythm, to have a sense of community and gathering, and to laugh about life, but most importantly it has made us aware about our connection and unity. We are all a part of humanity: learning from the struggle for freedom and equality”.

Last Saturday was the second of two performances which gathered an amazing collection of artists together. All of the performers were so talented and passionate and brought their own unique styles to the show.

Kicking the night off was Sandy Perez y su Lade demonstrating Afro-Cuban music and dance. Powerful drumming accompanied some absolutely fierce dancing. It was a sight to see the machete wielding dancer running down the aisle in the audience.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More photos on the next page…

De Rompe y Raja Cultural Association

The performance by De Rompe y Raja Cultural Association last Saturday had the audience captivated and clapping along with the rhythms of the music. The dancers even brought some of the audience members on stage to shake their thang during the final piece.

Their concert Guitarra y Cajón! featured Grammy Award Winner David Pinto and Peruvian singer, Andres Alejandro (aka Andy). More photos on the next page…

A message from Vukani Mawethu Choir

We were so pleased that COSAS (Committee for
South African Solidarity) decided to have the
reception for Vukani Mawethu at La Pena. La
Peña is like “home” to us; we’ve had such a
long warm relationship with you all at La Peña.
It was great to be hosted and celebrated there.

Thanks again for all your support.

~Pat Jameson-Amwele of Vukani Mawethu Choir

A shout out from a La Peña community parent

I am a parent of one of the Guarangitos, the La
Peña Afro Peruvian La Peña Afro Peruvian Youth
ensemble. My daughter was born in the United
States but strongly identifies herself as a
Peruvian. At 8 years old she lives away from her
mother’s country so we as parents struggle to
find ways to keep her attached to her cultural
roots. She craves information about Peru and her
mother’s country, in fact she developed her own
saying, “How do you know who you are, if you
don’t know your before?”

La Peña wants your feedback!

Check it: we want to hear from our community! That means you! That means feedback on shows, comments on our space, good or bad experiences you had, programs you loved, programs you want to see..

Don’t be intimidated by the beauty of our new blog!  Just click on “Leave a comment” and the rest is history…

~con amor