Welcome to La Peña! Promoting social justice & intercultural understanding through the arts since 1975.
Attention Salsa Dancers (beginners encouraged)! Every last Monday of the month, the Josh Jones Orchestra brings the raw power of salsa dura to La Peña’s stage. Every last Monday in 2016! The band will perform songs from your favorite salsa artists including Eddie Palmieri, Beny Moré, the Spanish Harlem Orchestra, El Canario, Celia Cruz and […]
Friday, April 1, 2016, 3:00-5:00 PM FREE and open to the community! Please join community leaders and fellow residents at a Community Event for the Berkeley Resilience Strategy on Friday, April 1, 2016. At the event, you will learn about the actions that the City of Berkeley and many other organizations are taking to enhance preparedness and build […]
Following rave reviews and a successful sell-out run in New York and San Francisco, 3 Lopez Productions brings a new version of the one woman play, “What is the Scandal? - The ignored cry of an Immigrant” performed by Eliana Lopez. What is the Scandal? is a one-woman show that explores what it means to be an immigrant woman of color in the […]
JAZZ SEARCH WEST, The Bay Area’s Annual Jazz Talent Search: March 10 – April 19, 2016 • Thursday, April 7: La Pena, Berkeley, 7-10 pm • Tuesday, April 12: SEMI-FINAL – Freight and Salvage, 7-10 PM • Tuesday, April 19: GRAND FINALE – Yoshi’s Oakland, 8-10 PM To Sign up or for more info: jazzsearchwest.com […]
$10 Advance Jason Wright Guitarrista's debut performance at La Peña Cultural Center in Berkeley California is a show that will be a fusion of flamenco, contemporary Spanish classical, with a dash of Arabic guitar stylings. Recently signed on to Floating Records Label by Don Zimmer of Mill Valley, Jason Wright Guitarrista's new album "Mendocino" is set […]
Join us for an unparalleled evening of Chilean Canto, if your schedule allows come early for the reception held in the community room at 7PM or the concert beginning at 8PM. Tickets are available in advance for: $17 Regular Admission, or $32 Premium Tickets (Early admission 7PM, drinks and hors d'ouevres in the community room) Or purchase tickets […]
Tickets: Student/Senior (online only) $17.50 General Advance $20, or $25 at door Children under 2 years do not need admission ticket. Diaspora Arts Connection proudly presents: A Celebration of Spring with Songs of Pardis, featuring Hani Niroo, who will be performing beautiful Songs for Children along with Ava Nazar, Yahya Alkhansa Drums and Martin Shamoonpour. Pardis […]
Sunday, April 10 at 6pm $5 at the door (suggested donation for event costs) Lori Berenson's reflections on political imprisonment and the omitted voices of collective remembrance in post-conflict Peru. Lori Berenson was a political prisoner in Peru for 20 years on charges of collaborating with an insurgent organization, the Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement (MRTA). She recently completed […]
Bay Area Skeptics Presents: Accepting the Absurd with Leonard Tramiel Our current understanding of the universe tells us things that are difficult to accept, some have called them absurd. The vast majority of the universe is so mysterious we call it "dark" and so poorly understood we just call it "matter" or "energy"? These extraordinary […]
FREE - Donations of any size are welcome and greatly appreciated! Enjoy a lively evening of son jarocho music, dancing, and zapateado– bring your dance shoes and instruments, or just come and enjoy the music and dance! There is no entrance fee, but any monetary donations are accepted in support of programming at La Peña. Son […]
8-11 pm, $15 advance, $18 door Join us for an evening of music and dance within and beyond the boundaries of the Middle East. Mira Betz has been performing Traditional and Contemporary forms of Middle Eastern dance for 20 years. Her work has been instrumental in the emergence of a new style known all around […]
Join Food First every third Wednesday of each month for their community meeting. This meeting is open to everyone who wants to learn or help with food injustices on a local and global level. This month's topic is Dismantling Racism in the Food System. Food First is a nonprofit organization based in Oakland. Founded in 1975 by Frances […]
$15 Advance, $20 Door If you're looking for a new Latin sound that makes you rethink the possibilities of music and still keeps you moving and grooving on the dance floor, Dos Four may be what you've been craving and don't even know it! With his distinct blend of reggaeton, hip hop, salsa, […]
La Peña Artists-In-Residence DANCE MONKS present: TLAOLI PERFORMANCE & INSTALLATION - One weekend only! June 24-26, 2016 at 8pm Tickets: Tel. 510.849.2568 $15 Advance / $20 Door The internationally renowned dance troupe DANCE MONKS, will be transforming La Peña into a mythical world of tlaoli ( Nahuatl for corn). The audience will be immersed by […]
Jacqueline Castro Ravelo and Essential Women Drawing on a rich tapestry of rhythms and genres from Latin America including cueca, tonada, polka, joropo and zamba, Castro Revelo performs a wide variety of protest music known as Nueva Canción. A singer, songwriter, and storyteller, Castro Revelo masterfully weaves these arts into a powerful performance. Her inspiration comes from Latin American […]
Scholarship Fundraiser for Undocumented Students Join Gamma Zeta Alpha as they bring live Banda music to Berkeley to raise funds for undocumented students through the AB 540 Scholarship program. For many of you that are unfamiliar with Pachanga, alisten sus Tejanas y desenpolven sus botas! The event that WILL leave its ongoing legacy being talked […]
Seeds of Awareness presents their 1st Annual Symposium that explores how Mindfulness can transform and enrich the lives of young people, educators, mental health professionals, parents and anyone working within the community. A full day of expert speakers and panelists to: -Explore how mindfulness decreases stress and anxiety. -Learn trauma-informed practices and techniques for teaching mindfulness to […]
Come to this FREE film screening of Beyond Measure, a film challenging the assumptions of our current education system. More about the film: Every day we hear stories about America’s troubled education system. And we’re told that in order to fix what’s broken, we need to narrow our curricula, standardize our classrooms, and find new […]
$10 Advance, $12 Door DJ Spinning at 8pm / Bands at 9pm Come dance to the funky Brazilian grooves and positive message of Namorados da Lua, who are known for their high-energy and community-oriented shows. Namorados Da Lua unites Brazilian and North American musicians with a common love of creating positive music with a message. NDL showcases […]
Attention Salsa Dancers (beginners encouraged)! Every last Monday of the month, the Josh Jones Orchestra brings the raw power of salsa dura to La Peña’s stage. Every last Monday in 2016! The band will perform songs from your favorite salsa artists including Eddie Palmieri, Beny Moré, the Spanish Harlem Orchestra, El Canario, Celia Cruz and […]
Afro-Peruvian Cajón event starts at 9am at Ashby Bart and makes it way to La Peña for a jam and class with Peruvian cajón champion, Peta Robles.
Come shake your groove thing at La Pena. Leave it to Diva is a motown, R&B, funk & rock band. They’ll be joined by Jean Fineberg, an excelllent saxophone player. They’ll play 2 hours of tunes to make you dance. And come back for encores. Like to dance? You won't be able to leave the dance floor. Like to listen? Leave it […]