June 1975 - June 2008, La Peña in high gear to celebrate anniversary

La Peña Cultural Center,
3105 Shattuck Ave. Berkeley
510-849-2568 http://www.lapena.org
La Peña - a local cultural center with a national reputation and a world vision - is in high gear to celebrate its 33 years of bringing distinctive and meaningful world art and culture to Bay Area communities.

A favorite stop for pundits activists, imaginative artists, late-night poets, avid tourists, and South American gastronomy connoisseurs, La Peña is also known for its mission of unifying diverse communities through culture and events that support a wide range of issues affecting neighborhoods and communities.

From teenage homelessness to deadly wars abroad, those issues are expressed in a film, a song, a dance, or a speech at this South Berkeley/North Oakland cultural hut. With "Cultural Activism for Social Justice" as the center's main motto, for 33 years La Peña has raised the social & cultural consciousness of our community, and helped shape California's cultural landscape with projects that bring people together to work for positive change.

Named after well-attended gathering places in Latin America, La Peña has built a national and international reputation as one of the most exceptional and original venues in the Bay Area with rarely seen performances. Cesar Chavez celebrated his birthday at La Peña, and La Peña introduced Bay Area audiences to cultural giants like Mercedes Sosa, Julieta Venegas, Paco de Lucia, Susana Baca or Lila Downs, to name just a few.

La Peña is a successful model of a collective, with the exception of a few memorable mistakes, such as the time when this eager but unknown singer was turned down by staff. His name--how can we ever forget--was Bruce Springsteen.

The celebratory main events include:

Saturday, June 7
33rd Anniversary La Peña Open House. An evening of performances featuring students from La Peña's music and theater workshops. Come see the performers of today and tomorrow! 6pm-midnight Free. Donations happily accepted to support La Peña's work.

Saturday, June 14
La Peña - Ayer, Hoy y P'alante (La Peña - Yesterday, Today and Forward). A work-in-progress, the musical suite about La Peña is being created by renowned composer, Wayne Wallace, with Aya de Leon (librettist) and the talented La Peña 2008 International Orchestra with Rafael Manriquez, Ron Stallings, Saed Muhssin, Javier Navarrette, Raul Perales, Maria Loreto and
special guest Linda Tillery. Opening by Samora & Elena Pinderhughes & special guests. 8pm $12 adv. $14 dr.

Saturday, June 28
Plenty: A Potluck of Books and Beats. Hungry for fresh reads and tunes? Then come along to La Pena's first community exchange-potluck style! Bring books, DVDs with an educational/cultural flavor, CDs, records, and tapes that are no longer crucial to your collection. Bring Plenty, Take Plenty. Be ready to stock up on what others have brought to share. Please leave your burned CDs
and mixes at home for another occasion-intact covers with artist names and song titles will help people find what suits their tastes. Get your goods as dj manifesto dishes out a delectable blend of ancient and electric rhythms from across the globe. The more the merrier, so spread the word! 12-3 pm, $5 with books and beats to share, $10 without. Benefit for La Peña.

Other shows to check out in June, La Peña's 33rd Anniversary Month:

Friday, June 6
Juntos. Reunited in a rare duo presentation for the first time in over six years Omar Sosa & John Santos. In a Live demo/lecture, they will share the spiritual/political/musical elements that drive their music. Their debut recording, Nfumbe: For The Unseen, was recorded live at La Peña in 1998 and they will once again bring their highly acclaimed collaboration to La Peña. 8pm $15

Friday June 20
Homage to his first century of life: Atahualpa Yupanqui. Maestro Atahualpa, the legendary singer, guitarist & composer from Argentina who passed away fifteen years ago, is completely alive in his music. Suni Paz, Rafael Manriquez, Lichi Fuentes, Ramon Romero, Hugo Wainzinger, and Ingrid Rubis will bring us a selection of his immortal songs. 8pm $13 adv. $15 dr.

Saturday, June 21
World Premier of Between Two Worlds: Voices of the Elders & the Youth. A new documentary about the story of the Mapuche peoples' struggle to retain their indigenous culture in the modern world of Southern Chile. A collective vision of a people trying to preserve what is most sacred to them: their land and culture. Q&A with filmmakers. 8pm $10. Produced by Pachamama
Conservation.

###