After years of showing up to salsa and Latin jazz gigs only to find herself the only woman in the band, conguera and vocalist Rebecca Rodríguez decided she needed to take measures into her own hands. Born out of a desire to highlight the Bay Area’s deep pool of female talent, Agua Pura is an […]
When it comes to Afro-Cuban percussion, Jesús Díaz is Bay Area royalty. Whether he’s recording with Grateful Dead rhythm wizard Mickey Hart’s Planet Drum, laying down grooves for Santana or leading his own potent combo QBA, Díaz has been a creative force on the West Coast for some four decades. He arrived in the United […]
Founded in 1996 as the West Coast’s first ensemble devoted to danzón, an insuperably elegant and foundational 19th century style of Afro-Cuban music and dance, Orquesta La Moderna Tradición is a charanga orchestra with strings, woodwinds and percussion. Delivering driving and gracefully interlocking Afro-Cuban rhythms, the 12-piece group is led by veteran violinist Tregar Otton and legendary […]
