The music of Venezuela is one of the great cultural treasures of the Americas, a fabulously verdant but largely unknown tradition in which the intermingling of indigenous, European and African influences has yielded a vivid array of musical forms. No one has done more to spread awareness of these riches in the Bay Area than Jackeline Rago, a percussion expert and master of the diminutive four-string cuatro, Venezuela’s national instrument. Her Venezuelan Music Project showcases the country’s riches with vocalists Francy Hernández, Anna-Maria Violich, and Jimmy Kansau, saxophonist/flutist Donna Viscuso, bassist Sam Bevan, and Omar Ledezma and Michaelle Goerlitz on percussion and vocals.

Opening for VMP are Las Bomberas de la Bahia! One of only a handful of all-women’s Bomba groups to ever exist internationally, Las Bomberas take Afro-Puerto Rican Bomba music to the next level. Born in SF’s Mission district with a passion and commitment to social justice, Las Bomberas use the cultural arts to lift the voices of marginalized communities while holding a deep love of Afro-Puerto Rican traditions.