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Gabriela Shiroma, the artistic director of the program, said “We are all part of the African culture, the Diaspora. Not only has [it] enriched the Americas but their legacy has taught us to honor our ancestors, to sing without fear, to dance from our hearts, to connect with our internal rhythm, to have a sense of community and gathering, and to laugh about life, but most importantly it has made us aware about our connection and unity. We are all a part of humanity: learning from the struggle for freedom and equality”.

Last Saturday was the second of two performances which gathered an amazing collection of artists together. All of the performers were so talented and passionate and brought their own unique styles to the show.

Kicking the night off was Sandy Perez y su Lade demonstrating Afro-Cuban music and dance. Powerful drumming accompanied some absolutely fierce dancing. It was a sight to see the machete wielding dancer running down the aisle in the audience.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More photos on the next page…

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The performance by De Rompe y Raja Cultural Association last Saturday had the audience captivated and clapping along with the rhythms of the music. The dancers even brought some of the audience members on stage to shake their thang during the final piece.

Their concert Guitarra y Cajón! featured Grammy Award Winner David Pinto and Peruvian singer, Andres Alejandro (aka Andy). More photos on the next page…

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Even the Shattuck sidewalk outside La Peña had rhythm last Friday night as enlivened audience members smoked, recounted, and laughed to the tune of their own drum in between sets of Bolokada Conde’s West-African percussion show. After all, the vitality and display put on by Conde and his fellow drummers Wadaba Korouma, Karamba Dioubate, Mohamed Kouyate, Rafael Forestieri, Josh Tabije, Vijay Rakhra, and Sean Araneda made for an evening of sound that demanded participation from all those under La Peña’s roof.

It is the sign of a successful event when the interplay between drummers on stage is coupled by that between performers and the community below: audience members throwing dollar bills on the stage, in West-African tradition; a woman from the crowd taking up song and the drummers responding as her backup; and there was even a visit from the Giving God, who ascended the stage in the form of an audience member and gave Bolokada his jacket and watch! Aside from the éxito of their concert was the lively Dundumba party that followed, where the whole room gathered around to clap, drum, and bust a move! Que bárbaro…!

If you were at this event, please let us know about your experience by leaving a comment! Anything you’d like to add about the evening, the La Peña community wants to hear!

Also,  if you’d like to see photos of the concert and/or follow up with Bolokada Conde, check out his blog: <http://bolokadaconde.blogspot.com/>

Last Saturday Aguacero, an Afro-Puerto Rican Bomba music and dance group, gave an incredible performance in the theater. Lively rhythms from the drums and percussion drove the performance as dancers gave fiery improvisations to the beats.

It was really cool to see this interplay between the drummers and dancers. Dancers called for beats and accents with a flip of the hands or a turn of the hips. It all made for a very exciting performance that was great to watch come together.

This performance also featured singing and musical accompaniment by various instruments. Also featured were guests Rico Pabon, Sandra Garcia Rivera and Lina G. Torio.

If you were at the performance, let us know about your experience by leaving a comment. If you’re interested in getting hands on experience with bomba, Héctor Lugo and Shefali Shah hold workshops at La Peña for both adults and youths. For more information go to La Peña’s Classes page or check out the Bomba y Plena Workshop site.

Continue to the next page for more photos and a short video clip.

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