Canto A Puerto Rico – A Benefit Concert, Art Sale and Dance Party

$15 Advance / $20 Door / $15 Seniors and Students with ID at the Door

You are warmly invited to join this multicultural benefit concert, art sale and dance party to aid grassroots organizations stepping in to do the hard work in Puerto Rico.

The event features local artists who will perform a selection of Puerto-Rican Trova, Aguinaldo and bomba as well as World Music from the Middle East, Europe, and the Americas. There will be an art sale by local Puerto-Rican and Bay Area artists/artisans organized by Rebeca Garcia-Gonzalez. The evening ends with a special set by DJ Jose Ruiz from 10pm-11pm! So bring your dancing shoes!

Live music include includes sets by World Harmony Ensemble, Madelina y Los Carpinteros with guest artists José Roberto Hernández and Pedro Pastrana, Marìa José Montijo with Denis Solis and Julia Cepeda and Duamuxa’s Marci Manriqurez and Ricardo Valdivieso.

There will also be an art sale by local Puertorican and Bay Area artists/artisans organized by Rebeca Garcia-Gonzalez. For donations, please email Rebeca at rebeca@garcia-gonzalez.com.

Funds will go to:
-Comedores Sociales de Puerto Rico. Donate thru PAYPAL at cdpecpr@gmail.com.
–www.habitat.org/hurricanes-Maria
–www.mariafund.org
–www.gofundme.com/rise-pr-puertorico-se-levanta

If you can’t make the event we still encourage you to donate to organizations listed above. Thank you!

About the Musicians:

World Harmony Ensemble sings stunning arrangements of a cappella traditional music from the Middle East, Europe, the Americas, and beyond. Betsy Blakeslee, Director, Singers: Tawfic Halaby, Michelle Gorthy, Sydney Lea, David Stern, Brian Walker, and Julie Wu.

Madelina y Los Carpinteros is a multicultural Latin American ensemble following the tradition of the Nueva Canción and Nueva Trova – movements that came out of the Americas’ liberation struggles to freshly embody the folk roots with an enriched lyricism – The group sings original compositions as well as unique interpretations of music from South American and the Andes, from Cuba and Puerto Rico to Mexico and the US. The group features the vocal interpretations of Madelina Zayas (Puerto Rico) and the richly layered and deeply rooted acoustic performance by Fernando Feña Torres (Chile), Denis Schmidt (France), Brandon Vance(US) and Craig Thomas (US). With special guest José Roberto Hernández and Pedro Pastrana.

María Josè Montijo (Puerto Rico) writes hypnotic, haunting songs for harp and voice that incorporate her eclectic musical interests. Her songs grow out of an intuitive process of deep listening and the condition of being fully human in a confusing world. Her lyrics speak of paradoxes: mystery and certainty; doubt and faith; love and solitude; sorrow and connection; exile and feeling at home. Her music is informed by the images and rhythms of the natural world in all its vastness. Joining María Josè Montijo is Denis Solis y Julia Cepeda from Taller Bombalele.

Duamuxa’s music is based on poetry with the use of a diverse sense of style not just in the writing but also in the use of a variety of rhythms and sounds from South to North America. Duamuxa’s music is an unwavering call for Love, Understanding and Acceptance between people. With lead singer-songwriter and instrumentalist Marci Manriquez and singer and instrumentalist Ricardo Valdivieso.