Summer is HERE!
Programs coming up in the next 2 weeks ~
Venezuelan Music Project + Las Bomberas de la Bahia
May 16, 1–3pm, Free
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.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.
SEE WEBPAGERSVP ON FACEBOOK
Jesús Díaz y Su QBA
May 21, 6–7:30pm, Free
@Jessie Square
Jesús Díaz arrived in the United States from Cuba as part of the chaotic 1980 Mariel exodus, seeking freedom and opportunity. Since settling in the Bay Area some three decades ago, the percussion virtuoso, songwriter, vocalist and educator has taken full advantage of both, performing with everyone from Dizzy Gillespie and Carlos Santana to Andy Narell, Tito Puente and Celia Cruz. He’s been a key member of many of the region’s leading Latin ensembles, and in the late ’90s became a bandleader in his own right, founding the powerhouse 10-piece dance group QBA, which specializes in the hard-grooving Havana style known as timba.
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KulArts’ Maség (Typhoon)
May 23, 1– 2:30pm, Free
A bitingly satiric reimagination of Shakespeare’s immortal dreamscape The Tempest, Maség is gorgeous dance theater creation by three of the Bay Area’s most respected artists: Philippine dance choreographer Jay Loyola, composer Florante Aguilar, and Kularts’ Artistic Director Alleluia Panis. Set in the Philippines in the 15th century, Maségtells the tale of a once powerful and righteous tribal shaman exiled to the island of Puló, where he manipulates the island deities into conjuring a powerful storm to sink the ship of his enemies.
SEE WEBPAGERSVP ON FACEBOOK
André Thierry + Chelle! & Friends
May 30, 1–3pm, Free
If there’s one thing that unites the many styles of music that hail from New Orleans it’s an insistence that the present moment is the best time to celebrate life’s pleasures. Case in point is this double bill, which features two Bay Area treasures with deep Gulf Coast roots. Richmond-raised accordion virtuoso André Thierry lays down dance-inducing zydeco laced with soul and R&B. And New Orleans native Michelle Jacques, a soul-steeped vocalist, leads the talent-packed Bay Area band Chelle! and Friends. Join the party and laissez les bon temps rouler!
SEE WEBPAGERSVP ON FACEBOOK
YBG Festival also recommends…
Now playing at the Creativity Theater in Yerba Buena Gardens: Josephine and the Sheep of Dreams
Investing in Artists Grant Application Deadline
Wednesday, July 1 at 6pm
Thank you, Whole Foods SoMa!
for your continued support and donation of cake at our 15th anniversary kick-off celebration on May 3.