La Peña Cultural Center

Welcome to La Peña! Promoting social justice & intercultural understanding through the arts since 1975.

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BAILA! Community. Dance. Party.

Get ready for La Mixta Criolla!! Mark June 16th on your calendar, invite all your friends, and prepare your best dance moves!

 

The night will include:

  • 7:30pm: Doors open with Ritmos Tropicales Dance Party in our Lounge!
  • 8:00pm: Gender-inclusive Bachata & Salsa Dance Classes in our Theater (no partner or experience necessary!)
  • 9:30pm: Dominican Bachata Party with DJ Ron in our Lounge & Dance Party with DJ Jose Ruiz in our Theater!
  • 10:00pm: LIVE Salsa Concert with La Mixta Criolla on our mainstage!
  • Party goes until 1:00am in our Lounge (Dominican Bachata), Theater (Salsa y más) and Community Room (fundraising bar and hang out)!

 

The vibe of this party will be like a spontaneous dance party that broke out in your kitchen, only if your kitchen had big wood floors, a great live band and sound system, and 200 of your friends, chosen family, and a few intriguing strangers…

Like all events at La Peña, this gathering is inclusive of all cultures, ages, orientations and identities so you can bring your whole self to the dance floor and be properly celebrated.

 

 

FREE Tianguis & Community Block Party!

La Peña is pleased to invite you to our most popular vendor fair: TIANGUIS: LA PEÑA COMMUNITY BLOCK PARTY! This year’s event will be held outdoors on Saturday, July 1st, 2023 from 12am-6pm and will focus on celebrating artists and vendors from the Bay Area, especially those who identify as BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color), LGBTQIA+, multiracial, and migrants. There will be music, food, drinks, and fun activities for the whole family!

THIS EVENT IS FREE & FAMILY FRIENDLY. Save the date now and come have a great time with us! Nos vemos familia!!

 

 

CALL FOR VENDORS: Free Outdoor Tianguis on July 1st!

La Peña is pleased to invite you to participate at our most popular vendor fair: TIANGUIS: La Peña Community Block Party! This year’s event will be held outdoors on Saturday, July 1st, 2023 from 12pm-6pm and will focus on celebrating artists & vendors from the Bay Area.

While everyone is welcome to sign up, we are giving priority to local artists and artisans who identify as BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color), LGBTQIA+, multiracial, and migrants. Non-profits are also welcome to participate. Thank you for helping us to fulfill our mission!

If you’d like to come have fun with your family and friends, RSVP for free here! or sign up to volunteer!

If you’d like to participate as a VENDOR, signups are now CLOSED. Please stay tuned for next year!

We look forward to having you at this fun and popular community event! Click here to see a video of last year!

“Y BASTA YA!” Performance by NAKA Dance Theater

Join us on Sunday, May 28th for a work-in-progress showing and community gathering to support the Performance “Y Basta Ya!” Y Basta Ya! is a multidisciplinary and multilingual performance project highlighting stories of Indigenous and Latine immigrant women. NAKA Dance Theater’s José Ome and Debby Kajiyama will reflect on the creative process and why they were inspired to create this project in collaboration with the women of Mujeres Unidas y Activas, a grassroots organization in the San Francisco Bay Area that promotes individual healing and community power.

 

WHEN? Sunday, May 28th from 12pm-3pm.
WHERE? La Peña: 3105 Shattuck Ave. Berkeley, CA 94705.
HOW? Just come! The event is FREE and open to everyone.

 

Y Basta Ya! (Enough!) is made possible by the New England Foundation for the Arts’ National Dance Project, with lead funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Kenneth Rainin Foundation Open Spaces Grant, the City of Oakland Neighborhood Voices Grant, MAPFund, East Bay Fund for Artists, California Arts Council, San Francisco Grants for the Arts, the San Francisco Arts Commission, Zellerbach Family Foundation, the Rainin Fellowship, Dance/USA and many generous individual donors. Dance/USA Fellowships to Artists is made possible with generous funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. General Operating support was made possible by the New England Foundation for the Arts with funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.

 

Y Basta Ya! is a National Performance Network (NPN) Creation & Development Fund Project co-commissioned by La Peña Cultural Center, Rosy Simas Danse and NPN. More information: www.npnweb.org. Photo by Scott Tsuchitani.

RESPIRA: Bomba y Plena Workshops Student Showcase!

La Peña Cultural Center and the Bay Area Bomba y Plena Workshop are thrilled to invite you to “RESPIRA: a presentation from students and practitioners of the children and adult Bay Area Bomba y Plena Workshops!

This showcase will feature songs and performances interpreted by La Peña students in collaboration with Bomba y Plena practitioners and educators. We will end the night with a community jam, so bring your instrument if you’d like to participate! This event is family friendly and there will be delicious Puerto Rican food available (cash donations encouraged). Bring your homies and family!!! Nos vemos!

 

 

ABOUT BOMBA: Bomba is a traditional form of Puerto Rican music and dance. The central feature of all bomba dancing is its improvisational character. The dancer calls, with her or his moves, for specific accents and figures, piquetes, that the drummer has to execute on the drum. This occurs in the form of a friendly yet fiery competition where each dancer and drummer showcases their skills. Musically, bomba features the use of the drum and other percussion instruments in combination with an African derived call and response vocal style.

ABOUT THE BOMBA Y PLENA WORKSHOPS: In the Bomba y Plena Workshops (for adults and for youth), students learn Bomba songs, dances, rhythms, and beats along with Bomba history and its significance and place in Puerto Rican and Afro-Caribbean culture. Students also learn how to play cuás, barriles (drums), and maracas. The workshop is taught and directed by Shefali Shah, and Hector Lugo curates the music section of the class. Learn more about these classes and how to sign up HERE!