La Peña Cultural Center

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Puerto Rico: Building a Social and Solidarity Economy

Doors open 6pm / Event begins 6:30pm

By invitation of Vamos Puerto Rico! Eric Leenson traveled to the island November 7 – 13th this year. While there he visited a number of community-based organizations including Boricuá Agroecologico, start up cooperatives and mutual aid centers as well as Nuestra Escuela. Additionally he  met with several mayors and business leaders.

The purposes of the La Peña event are to give an update on community economic development after the first year anniversary of Hurricane Maria and to engage in a conversation with Bay Area residents interested and active in solidarity with Puerto Rico.

Eric is coordinator of the project Caribbean North American Laboratory of Social Economy (CANAL). CANAL’s mission is to stimulate a regional approach to the implementation of social economy initiatives through information transfers and transnational collaborative projects.  CANAL includes among its participants, social economy organizations from Canada, Costa Rica, Cuba, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and the United States.

La Peña Book Salon

Doors open 6pm / Event starts 6:30pm

Join us on November 14th for a lively evening of food and active discussion on the controversial new book….

Winners Take All: The Elite Charade of Changing the World 

By Anand Giridharadas

In a recent New York Times review Joseph Stiglitz wrote,” prepare for a new genre: books gently and politely skewering the corporate titans who claim to be solving such (social) problems. It’s an elite that, rather than pushing for systemic change, only reinforces our lopsided economic reality — all while hobnobbing on the conference circuit and trafficking in platitudes”. www.nytimes.com/2018/08/20/books/review/winners-take-all-anand-giridharadas.html

This book challenges many of our assumptions about what we do and why we do it. We think this book should and will become a flash point of reflection and deep introspection in our community. More than a “gentle “skewering,” Winners Take All is an inflammatory broadside researched and written by a well-informed and credible author as shown by the quote below.

“Like the dieter who would rather do anything to lose weight than actually eat less, this business elite would save the world through social impact investing, entrepreneurship, sustainable capitalism, philanthro-capitalism, artificial intelligence, market-driven solutions. They would fund a million of these buzzwordy programs rather than fundamentally question the rules of the game — or even alter their own behavior to reduce the harm of the existing distorted, inefficient and unfair rules. Doing the right thing — and moving away from their win-win mentality — would involve real sacrifice; instead, it’s easier to focus on their pet projects and initiatives.”

Let’s break bread and share our thoughts on this debate at 6:30pm Wednesday Nov. 14th at Los Cilantros restaurant at La Peña Cultural Center, 3105 Shattuck Ave. Berkeley. Gourmet Mexican food and drinks will be available starting at 6 pm and for the entire evening at our discussion tables of 4-6 people.

R.S.V.P to Eric Leenson eleenson@soleconomics.com.

Pellizco: Melissa Cruz Flamenco School 6th Annual Showcase

Doors Open 7:30pm / Event begins 8pm

$16 Advance / $20 Door ($22 if paying with credit card)

In her sixth annual showcase, Flamenco artist Melissa Cruz presents her dancers performing new repertory and solo pieces, exploring the concept of “pellizco” in the art of flamenco. If pellizco can be described as a chosen gesture or personal expression, it is necessary to the study of any art form as part of its language – as important as color and technique. In flamenco, pellizco is the connection between artist and appreciator.

The cast of 17 dancers is joined by esteemed musicians, Roberto Aguilar and Azriel “El Moreno.”

Artist Bio:
Melissa Cruz is a Bay Area-based flamenco professional and has been a full-time flamenco artist and instructor for the past 14 years. After being exposed to flamenco while studying Spanish at UC Berkeley, she began dancing with Rosa Montoya and soon thereafter, joined Ms. Montoya’s professional company. Apart from frequently performing in theatrical presentations, she teaches a full weekly schedule of flamenco dance classes and presents consistently in the local flamenco cabaret circuit. Melissa is also the dancer and percussionist for the band, LoCura, with who she performs and tours.

Recently, she served as Adjunct Dance Faculty at The University of San Francisco, as a guest instructor at the world dance youth program, Danceversity, and currently presents her own apprentice dance repertory group. Melissa has performed as a soloist in the San Francisco International Arts Festival in 2012 and 2016 and has presented in eight San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festivals; in 2010 and 2011, as a featured soloist. She was commissioned to present a solo representing the genre of flamenco in the 2013 San Francisco Isadora Duncan Awards Ceremony and was a featured artist in the 2014 Tucson Flamenco Festival. Currently, she is principal dancer and choreographer for the San Francisco Flamenco Dance Company which debuted the show, “Mares” in September 2016.

As described by Rachel Howard of the SF Chronicle: “Any dancer could make pained faces. But Cruz is clearly possessed by the duende — the spirit that drives this deeply introspective art.”

The 9th Annual Fist Up Film Festival Presents: Ser Grande (Documentary, Puerto Rico) with Director Q&A

Doors open at 8pm / Film starts at 8:30pm

$5-$20 Sliding Scale No one turned away for lack of funds! 

(Please note, there is a $2 credit card fee at the door)

Fist Up Film Festival and La Peña Cultural Center proudly present: “Ser Grande” – a new documentary film from San Juan, Puerto Rico, as part of the 9th Annual Fist Up Film Festival!

The film documents the daily life of three Puerto Rican teenages, Juan, Rushian and Ivianyd, whose lives are challenged when they decide to participate in a series of workshops to discover their vocational aspirations and overcome personal limitations. The support of new mentors provokes awareness, but moving forward is not so simple. Obstacles pertaining social, emotional and sexual identity are part of this choral portrait on the margins of Caribbean society.

Director Karen Rossi is coming from San Juan, Puerto Rico to host the Q&A after the film!

Learn more about the film here: https://www.sergrandepr.com/

Community partners: Bay Area Boricuas & Sol Collective. Oakland screenings made possible with the help of the Akonadi Foundation.

ABOUT THE FIST UP FILM FESTIVAL:

The Fist Up Film Festival presents films that are intended to create impact, inspire discussion and foster understanding. By placing emphasis on the connected experiences between global and local communities, The Fist Up Film Festival creates visual parallels between people’s lived experiences and stories from around the world.

The 9th Annual Fist Up Film Festival (FUFF) takes place at multiple venues in the Bay Area October – November 2018. FUFF intends to serve underrepresented groups in the Bay Area including youth, women and communities of color and especially local Puerto Ricans with respect to anti-colonialism, liberation, self-determination, community empowerment, and social justice by having films about Puerto Rico, its diaspora and current climate of post-hurricane.

More information at http://www.fistup.tv/

ABOUT LA PEÑA CULTURAL CENTER:

Since 1975 La Peña Cultural Center has been at the forefront of people’s liberation movements, building strong communities, facilitating social change, and promoting intercultural understanding.

La Peña is a leading presenter of artists of color, with a focus on the musical and artistic traditions of the Latinx diaspora, which are frequently unsupported and underrepresented in the U.S.

With the community’s support, we present over 200 events per year, including: concerts, community gatherings, panel discussions, theatre performances, film screenings, art exhibits, fundraisers and more. In addition, La Peña commissions and produces special projects by local artists, and presents internationally renowned artists. La Peña also holds space for daily classes and workshops for children and adults, such as Mexican son jarocho; Afro Peruvian cajon and dance; Brazilian Capoeira Angola; Puerto Rican bomba & plena; Cuban salsa, timba and danzon; as well as community yoga.

Introduction to Puerto Rican Bomba Music and Dance

 $10 Advance / $15 Door (Please note, there is a $2 credit card fee at the door)

Open to All Levels!

For those interested in staying healthy, building community or learning a rich musical tradition, this workshop is for you!


During this fun, energizing, and dynamic introductory workshop, participants will learn songs, basic dance steps and percussion patterns and techniques of two major styles of “Bomba”!

Bomba is the oldest living musical tradition of Puerto Rico. Bomba reflects the powerful forces that shaped Puerto Rico’s history, emerging from the African experience on the island before the 1700’s. Bomba music and dance originated in the sugar cane plantations and was played, danced and sung as a means to express daily hardships, cope with oppression, and escape captivity.

The Bomba ensemble consists of “barriles” or barrel drums with goat skins, a “maraca” played by the lead singer, and a pair of “cuas”, or sticks traditionally played on the wooden body of the drum. Inspired and guided by songs and the drum rhythms, dancers improvise their movements in a dynamic communication with the “primo” or lead drum.

Taught by Hector Lugo and Shefali Shah

Directors of the Bay Area Bomba y Plena Workshop

This workshop is made possible with the support of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA’s) Artworks program.

La Peña Cultural Center is presenting a 4-part concert series that explores timeless archetypes of womanhood in music and dance in Latin America. This workshop is connected to the second performance of this series: Yo Cantaré – Women’s Voices in Puerto Rican Music and Art