Blog - La Peña Cultural Center

June 5, 2017

You’re Invited to Celebrate La Peña’s 42 Year Anniversary!

La Peña turns 42 in June! We will be celebrating all month long with a variety of programming representing the many communities that make La Peña the East Bay’s beacon of intersectional Latinx culture and beyond!

Save the date for Saturday, June 24 for our official birthday party, featuring the “cumbiacentric” rythms of Pasto Seco Band and a special set by Monreal Latin Jazz lead by jazz guitarist Sebastian Monreal – who will be performing new versions of some Victor Jara songs in honor of La Peña’s 42 years!

La Peña Anniversary Month Events:

June 2 – SABOR Internacional Dance Party with DJ Jose Ruiz
June 4 – La Peña Chorus Cuba Trip Concert
June 9 – Berkeley World Music Festival Kick Off Party
June 10 – Floreando Nuevas Fronteras – Son Jarocho Concert and pre-show
June 11 – Batey Boricua – Puerto Rican Song & Dance Jam
June 24 – Pasto Seco Band & Monreal Latin Jazz – Official birthday PARTY!

(Click here for ALL EVENTS in June)

We hope to see you this month at La Peña!

May 31, 2017

La Peña Kicks Off the Berkeley World Music Festival

The 14th Annual Berkeley World Music Festival is Friday to Sunday, June 9-11, 2017 in various locations citywide. La Peña Cultural Center opens the festival Friday, June 9 at 8pm with a FREE Kick Off Party!

The Kick Off party at La Peña features the cross-cultural exchange between Spain, Peru and Cuba, with an all-star cast of percussionists and musicologists:

Afro-Peruvian master percussionist Peta Robles leads multi-textured drumming of the Cajon. Accompanied by Afro-Peruvian music & dance educator Gabriela Shiroma.

Percussionists John Santos and Hector Lugo, along with special guests will give context to African-diaspora expressions in Cuba through congas, bongos and other percussive instruments.

La Mandanga (video below) headlines with passionate Spanish Rumba – dance music that fuses the elements of Afro-Peruvian Cajon and Afro-Cuban rhythms with flamenco music. The genre originated in the 19th century in Andalusia, southern Spain, where Cuban music first reached Spain through traveling Flamenco musicians. It was not until the 1970s that the great flamenco guitarist Paco de Lucia incorporated the Afro-Peruvian cajon into Flamenco music – and it is now an integral part of both Flamenco and Rumba Flamenca (Spanish Rumba). Don’t miss this awesome Kick Off Party June 9 at 8pm! This event is FREE! Donations of any size are encouraged to help support La Peña and the Berkeley World Music Festival!

Don’t miss Berkeley World Music Festival’s two full days of world-class entertainment June 10 & 11!

The festival’s headlining concert is Saturday, June 10 noon to 6pm in Downtown Berkeley’s Civic Center Park – FREE!

There is also a FREE concert Sunday, June 11 at People’s Park 1pm-6pm, as well as music in Telegraph Ave. venues noon to 9pm.

For more information on the live music schedules visit: berkeleyworldmusicfestival.org Follow the festival on Facebook!

Vendor Spots Available for $50 for Saturday and Sunday, email: bworldmusic@comcast.net

May 3, 2017

DJ Dave Nada Mixes in Activism for La Peña into Moombahton Tour

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – MAY 3, 2017

Oakland, CA – “There’s a lot of magic in the club world. I believe that parties in general are a form of activism,” declares Los Angeles-based DJ and producer Dave Nada, best know for the fusion genre of house music and reggaeton known as Moombahton.

Nada is currently on his Real Moombahton Hours tour that supports local charities and non-profit organizations in each town he visits. “Moombahton has always been a family affair, so I’m using my platform to help others and to raise awareness for groups and institutions that need it. The world needs to party together some more and nothing brings a dance floor together like moombahton.”

Thursday, May 18, 2017 Nada will bring that magic and activism to ERA Bar & Lounge for TROPIGLO, a benefit event hosted by the art collective Global Barrio in support of the East Bay’s beacon of intersectional Latinx culture and beyond, La Peña Cultural Center. Nada will be joined by Turbo Sonidero, a producer from San Jose, CA who blends Rap/Hip-Hop with Mexican Cumbia Sonidera to create a new sound he calls “Tumbia”. The event will also feature UV mural paintings, body painters, art installation. A photo booth, drink specials, and $2 tacos make this an all-night affair.

Global Barrio is a monthly celebration of community at Era Art Bar & Lounge in downtown Oakland, which features a collective of artists, musicians, producers, performers and organizers for the cause. Proceeds from the night go to La Peña, a non-profit community cultural center with a global vision that has promoted social justice through the arts since 1975.

Nada, born in Maryland to Ecuadorian parents, grew up surrounded by the sounds of folkloric music, cumbia, salsa, merengue, and reggaeton. In 2009 he created moombahton, the fusion genre of house music and reggaeton. Moombahton’s explosive popularity brought Nada to an international audience. He has gone on to remix, produce, and tour with artists including Skrillex, Bomba Estéreo, and Celia Cruz. Nada is making ripples not just in the music world, but in communities across the country.

His visit to Oakland is dedicated to La Peña, a pillar of the Bay Area community for over 40 years. The night supports the vision of both Global Barrio and La Peña by creating a space for artistic expression and community building, rooted in a strong sense of social justice.

La Peña’s mission is to encourage creativity, promote dialogue, share knowledge, and build community capacity for social and economic change. From musical performances to children’s classes to political education, La Peña champions interconnectedness among cultures, cooperative efforts, innovations of new arts expressions, and solidarity among activists.

Events like TROPIGLO provide a space for the East Bay community to come together and be inspired by music that transcends borders. Movements for social justice don’t just exist in the political sphere; they imbue every aspect of our lives, including nightlife. “If you can bridge that gap between your usual social gatherings and community activism, then I think that can take the experience to a new level. You get to raise awareness, money and communication. Everyone benefits even more,” said Nada.