La Peña Cultural Center

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FREE Lecture: Chile at La Peña (In the Lounge)

On Saturday morning, September 12, from 10am-12pm, La Peña will host short presentations and a participatory dialogue: Forty-two years after the coup: Where do we stand? Topics will include the effects of neoliberalism, current governments and militarism.

Helene Lorenz
Hector Salgado
Ellen Moore

During the month of September, La Peña remembers the barbarism of the 1973 military coup in Chile, mourns the deaths, disappearances, and torture of friends and compañeros, reflects on the invasive role of the United States foreign policy in Latin America, and celebrates the militants, solidarity activists, and cultural workers who responded to injustice with their passions and sometimes their lives. On Friday evening, September 11, the Peña community will gather at 6:30 for a shared potluck dinner, ceremonies, music, and compañerismo.

On Saturday morning, September 12, from 10-12am, La Peña will host short presentations and a participatory dialogue: Forty-two years after the coup: Where do we stand? Topics will include the effects of neoliberalism, current governments and militarism, the cooptation of left politicians, the role of cultural resistance, indigenous cosmovisions and sumac kawsay, ecosocialism, and other radical imaginations of the way forward in old and new forms of community organizing. On Saturday, September 19th, we will screen the documentary “Special Circumstances” on U.S. foreign policy in the 1970’s, the effects of the coup, and the current legacies of Pinochet. Director Hector Salgado will lead a conversation afterward. On Thursday, 17th, La Peña will screen the documentary “Archeology of Memory” on exile and the role of public memory and memorial. Director Marilyn Mulford will lead a conversation afterward. Donations requested if affordable to help La Peña carry on.

Sept. 11 Commemoration at La Peña

 

Screen Shot 2015-09-08 at 10.44.28 AMFree/Donations Encouraged

Sept. 11 Commemoration at La Peña

Since the coup in Chile in 1973, Sept 11 has been commemorated as a day of struggle against the forces of fascism, imperialism, and neo-liberal ideology. The 2001 implosion of the World Trade Center and the government propaganda that successfully blamed the attack on Muslim extremists has ushered in a new age of government surveillance, a radical curtailing of civil liberties, the exponential increase of dirty wars, and a new era of US imperialism.

This Sept. 11, join the La Peña community for a potluck gathering, ritual altar with Gonzalo Hidalgo, a photo-presentation direct from Chile with Hector de Cunco, and an art installation entitled Chilean Blues by artists Cristian Muñoz, Pancho Pescador, Teodoro Saveedra, Ximena Soza, Sarah Siskin, Thomas Jones, Stephanie Hooper Guillermo Navarrete-Davis, Buggsy Malone, and Antv Antinao.

Performances by:

Galo Paz, Ximena Soza, Mariela Herrera, Maria De La Rosa, and a Latin Jazz quartet featuring Mario Cuba on tenor saxophone, Sebastian Monreal on guitar Elisa Duran on bass and Pedro Maquiavelo on latin percussion.

We play originals and also some classics tunes.

The Conversaciones Cósmicas Flyercommemoration will be held in conjunction with the Art Installation, “Coversaciones Cósmicas” centering around converging and diverging understandings of both the internal and external cosmos in relation to the global de-colonial diaspora. “Conversaciones Cósmicas” serves as a continuation of the need to honor and commemorate the lives of those those lost during the 1973 coup d’etat and the terror followed.

6:00pm – Potluck
7:00pm – Photo-presentation with Hector de Cunco
8:00pm – Ceremony of Gratitude
8:30pm – Performances and open mics
9:30pm – Ritual procession

 

Japanese Day of the Dead (and What You Need To Know About It)

Obon is an annual Buddhist event for commemorating one’s ancestors. It is believed that each year during obon, the ancestors’ spirits return to this world in order to visit their relatives.

–“Obon” by Japan Guide

What happens at Obon?

The Obon tradition includes hanging lanterns, obon dance (bon odori) performances, visiting ancestors’ graves and food offerings at house altars and temples.

When is Obon?

Obon is observed typically from the 13th to the 15th day of August.

Photo Courtesy of Pieterjan Vandaele on Flickr
Photo Courtesy of Pieterjan Vandaele on Flickr

 

What’s the story behind Obon?

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The Obon Festival originates from the story of Mokuren , one of Buddha’s disciples who used his supernatural powers to check on his deceased mother. Mokuren discovered she had fallen into the realm of the hungry ghosts, a spiritual place often described as a parallel world of suffering endless hunger. Japan’s hungry ghosts come in two forms: Gaki (餓鬼), who were greedy in their lives and in the afterlife suffer insatiable hunger for one particular object, no matter how strange; and Jikininki (食人鬼), who were selfish among the living and now only have an appetite for the dead, looting graveyards at night searching for human flesh.

Buddha suggested Mokuren pray to a group of monks, who were returning from a summer pilgrimage on the auspicious 15th day of the 7th lunar month. Mokuren’s prayers were answered, and his mother was released from the realm of the hungry ghosts. Upon her release, Mokuren remembered his mother’s acts of kindness and danced for joy. That very dance has turned into the Bon dance, one of the most lasting cultural symbols of this festival.

Why do they hang lanterns?

Lanterns and candles are hung in front of houses to guide ancestors’ spirits home. At the end of Obon, people put floating lantern in the river to guide the spirits back to their world.

Photo Courtesy of Guilhem Vellut on Flickr
Photo Courtesy of Guilhem Vellut on Flickr

 

 

To honor Obon, La Peña presents you:

Obon Dancing Experience: Japanese Day of the Dead

On August 15, Drum Revolution, Sakura Ren Minyo Unit, Shoko Hikage, Sakura Ren Awa Odori will perform at La Peña.

Employing Japanese percussive, string, and brass instruments as well as singing and dancing, the three distinctive Bay Area groups will  reproduce a modern version Japan’s night of Obon.

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Sources:

The World’s Best Festivals

Japanese Language Blog

10 Former Chilean Soldiers Charged in Victor Jara Killing

Screen Shot 2015-07-24 at 3.22.55 PMDear La Peña Community,

There is news about the murder of Victor Jara:

“A judge has charged 10 former soldiers in the killing of internationally renowned Chilean folk singer and political activist Victor Jara, who was tortured and shot to death just days after the country’s 1973 coup.

The charges announced late Wednesday by Judge Miguel Vazquez include homicide and kidnapping in the slaying of Jara and former military police head Littre Quiroga Carvajal.”

To read the full article, click here.

 

Upcoming Art Exhibit: Open Artist Call-Out!

CoversaciónesCósmicas

La Peña would like to invite you to exhibit your work in our “Conversaciónes Cósmicas” art exhibition opening, Friday, September 11.

Concept: “Coversaciónes Cósmicas” centers around converging and diverging understandings of both the internal and external cosmos in relation to the global de-colonial diaspora. Within the exhibition La Peña will also be highlighting Chilean artists with the intention of commemorating the 1973 coup d’état of Allende’s government and honoring those lost during the terror that followed.  

How to submit: Please send a high-resolution JPEG of your work, its dimensions, medium, artist statement, artist bio, and which installation day you can install  to exhibits@lapena.org for consideration. Work will be accepted on a first come first serve basis. (La Peña reserves the right to not accept submissions if it does not fit with the overall vision of the exhibit.) 2D and 3D are eligible however, all must be mountable to a wall.

Deadline for submissions: August 11, 2015

Installation Dates:

Sunday, August 30th, 3pm-6:00pm

Monday, August 31st, 9am-6pm

Opening Celebration: Friday, September 11, 6:30pm-9:30pm

The opening will happen in conjunction with La Peña’s annual day of remembrance for those lost in the coup.

Please let all your all your friends know who would like to participate in showcasing their work at La Peña!