La Peña Community Stories is a new digital program of short documentaries produced by La Peña Cultural Center. Each episode aims to capture the magic, the strength, and the resilience of the amazing communities that work with La Peña sustaining & promoting Latin American and Caribbean cultural traditions in the Bay Area.
This is the beginning of long-term investments at La Peña that will allow us to offer digital programming along with hybrid and in-person events, so that we expand our ways of being together, grow our audience, and develop high-quality video resources for the communities that we serve. We are thrilled to present this to you and we really hope you enjoy each story! WATCH THE EPISODES BELOW:
Please join us on this journey of our “Rotating Mural Program” at La Peña! An idea started by Inez “Mama” Muralista in 2015, followed by “Los Pobres Artistas” in 2021, and now continued by Lauryn Marshall, Kahalla, and Angélica López, under the mentorship of muralist Cece Carpio. Big thank you to all of these artists, not only for trusting us, but for being so graceful and generous with their art and the art of your colleagues. Cheers to more painted walls in our cities! SEE FULL LENGTH VIDEO BELOW:
Directed by Clara Pérez Medina; Produced by Corey Raynor; Edited by Carlos Pino; Co-written by Clara Pérez, Corey Raynor, and Carlos Pino.
“Batey Boricua in the Pandemic” is the pilot episode, in which we hear testimonies from cultural workers of Puerto Rican Bomba 15 months after La Peña—and most cultural venues in the world—had to physically close its doors due to the pandemic. The protagonists, Shefali Shah, Héctor Lugo, and Ito Carrillo are pillars of the Puerto Rican culture in the Bay Area. Lugo & Shah co-founded the Bay Area Bomba y Plena Workshop years ago, and have been gathering and collaborating at La Peña to serve the community with classes, workshops, community jams, performances, fundraisers and more.
The focus of this short film is the energy of the Batey Boricua Community Jam, which has been held at La Peña for many years. The intention is to honor this community-lead gathering practice which brings together Bomba practitioners, teaching artists, students, families, and enthusiasts to celebrate and preserve this over 400 hundred year old Puerto Rican tradition.
Watch the TRAILER (left) and the FULL LENGTH VIDEO (right):
Presented by La Peña Cultura Center; Produced by Jeremy Allen and Bianca Torres.
Special thanks to: Aguacero – Bomba y Plena Workshop; Gavin Jones, Duvateen Sound; Raul Varela, camera; Marina Romani, photography; Bethanie Hines, photography; Preservation Park, Oakland; William & Flora Hewlett Foundation.
“Fandango Jarocho in the Pandemic” features the amazing work of the musicians from DíaPaSón, an ensemble that has been crucial in the task of maintaining the Mexican tradition of Son Jarocho alive in the Bay Area through performances, fandangos, community meetings, and education.
María de la Rosa, DíaPaSón’s artistic director, is a key cultural bearer in the Bay Area whose constant exchange with Veracruz (México) had to shut down in March of 2020, along with the many events & community jams that she’d continuously held at La Peña. In this short documentary, we explore the creative ways in which a historical & cultural tradition like Son Jarocho —specifically its Fandangos— can adapt to current challenges, re-thinking the power of physical gathering and finding new ways to build community while we take care of ourselves. All while we listen to beautiful sones and witness amazing dance performances!
Watch the TRAILER (left) and the FULL LENGTH VIDEO (right):
Presented by La Peña Cultural Center; Produced by Jeremy Allen, Consuelo Tupper, and Bianca Torres.
Special thanks to: La Peña Cultural Center Staff; DíaPaSón, Gavin Jones, Duvateen Sound; Raul Varela, camera; Guillermo Rivas, photography; Bethanie Hines, photography; Preservation Park, Oakland; William & Flora Hewlett Foundation.