by Magdy Zara
The Puerto Rican Club of San Francisco holds its annual celebration of jíbara music: “El Día del Cuatro y la Trovadora”, this year honoring the divine feminine legacy of Puerto Rican musical heritage.
For this year they present two outstanding artists brought directly from Puerto Rico, such as: Fabiola Méndez and Rosaura Batista.
The concert will feature Fabiola Méndez, playing the cuatro, a small Puerto Rican guitar, the national instrument of Puerto Rico.
The event will also showcase the freestyle skills of troubadour Rosaura Batista, a lyricist specializing in the musical traditions of the Puerto Rican countryside.
The evening will include a performance by wonderful local talent, such as: La Mixta Criolla, a dynamic band from the Bay Area, with deep roots in the musical traditions of Puerto Rico.
The event begins at 2 p.m., with the presentation of La Mixta Criolla, on November 12, at the Puerto Rican Club of San Francisco, located at 3249 – A Mission Street. Tickets are $20 to $30.
The San Francisco Symphony Orchestra begins the Christmas season
The San Francisco Symphony’s 2023 holiday season begins Nov. 30 and concludes Dec. 23, featuring a variety of holiday programs, including traditional Christmas classical music performances, family events, and film screenings with Christmas themes and a star-studded party.
The foyers of Davies Symphony Hall are transformed into a Christmas wonderland, with towering trees decorated with ornaments handmade by children and volunteers from local schools and non-profit community organizations, while talented performers will shine on its stages.
Some of the special guest artists will be: vocalists Oleta Adams, Peabo Bryson, Jennifer Holliday and Ruben Studdard on The Colors of Christmas; Mariachi Sol de México® by José Hernández in A Merry-Achi Christmas; Vertigo Company at the Nutcracker Circus; and Peaches Christ, Rory Davies, Bianca Del Rio, Renée Lubin, Dylan Mulvaney, Edwin Outwater, Michael Phillis, Nikola Printz, Sister Roma of The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, among others.
Family-friendly performances include the Symphony’s annual Deck the Hall celebrations, Cirque Nutcracker, Peter and the Wolf performed by the SF Symphony Youth Orchestra with guest narrator Tom Kenny, the holiday films The Nightmare Before Christmas and Home Alone, and A Charlie Brown Christmas—Live.
The SF Symphony accompanies three iconic Christmas movies live: The Nightmare Before Christmas, Love Actually and Home Alone.
Conductor Jonathan Cohen leads the SF Symphony, chorus, and vocal soloists in the return of George Frideric Handel’s popular Holiday Brass program Messiah and Symphony.
The Feast of the Last Supper will be this November 15
The Last Supper Party returns this November with the masterful participation of four renowned artists, who between poetry and music will be giving their opinion on various topics.
The Feast of the Last Supper is a series of presentations featuring the voices of various artists and writers who denounce the countless injustices and impacts of corruption, unbridled power and greed.
Event organizers invite audiences to share ideas and bread and find inspiration in the thoughts and words of artists whose perspectives are drawn from a kaleidoscope of cultures. But they are united by compassion and a common desire to seek justice, equity and truth.
The artists present in this edition are:
Shizue Seigel; who is a writer, performer, educator and activist. Her work explores complex intersections of history, culture, and spirituality through prose, poetry, and visual art.
Tureeda Mikel: (also known as Ture Ade’ or Story Medicine Woman), is an award-winning poet with her work published in four languages. Tureeda has also been known as a holism activist.
Cadence Myles – An Oakland-based multi-instrumentalist, singer and songwriter, Cadence Myles was born to make music. She combines the styles and influences of Alicia Keys, Michael Jackson, Jill Scott, 311, Prince and Usher and channels them into one human being.
Kimi Sugioka: is a poet, composer and educator. She is the current Poet Laureate of the City of Alameda, a position that includes creating platforms for the presentation of a diverse variety of poets and spoken word artists. Kimi also performs her own work frequently throughout the Bay Area.
Fe Bongolan: (Creator of the painting The Last Supper) is a visual and performing artist from the Bay Area. She is an alumna of San Francisco State University with a bachelor’s degree in Craft and Design. She found theater arts her senior year at SFSU and to this day it consumes her life.
The Feast of the Last Supper will take place next Wednesday, Nov. 15, at 7 p.m., at 3036 24th St, San Francsico.
El Cerrito presents “Neighborhood World Music Sessions”
Since last October 25, El Cerrito presents the “Neighborhood World Music Sessions”, an inspiring series of live music, which will take place every Wednesday until the end of the year, completely free, presenting this Nov. 15 to Melissa Cruz and Madness Trio.
Javier Navarrette Music Production, is proud to co-produce “The Annex Sessions”, with Amer Burdyer (SunJams Foundation for Music in Schools), José Ruiz (DJ) and The El Cerrito Grocery Annex.
For the third year in a row, Navarrete brings world-class musicians from the Bay Area to perform free shows for the community.
As Javier Navarrete may recall, he is a Bay Area-based percussionist/educator who has dedicated himself to the study and performance of music, specializing in Afro-Caribbean rhythms. He has studied in Cuba with musicians from the National Folkloric of Cuba and has had the opportunity to play with greats such as Aretha Franklin, Poncho Sanchez, Los Van Van, The “Conga Kings”: Francisco Aguabella, Carlos “Patáto” Valdez, Armando Peraza, among others.
The shows will be at El Annex in El Cerrito, every Wednesday in 2023, starting at 6 p.m. until 8:30 p.m. At the Natural El Cerrito Grocery company. For this Nov. 15, Melissa Cruz and Locura Trio will perform
