La Peña Cultural Center
La Peña Cultural Center, or La Peña for short, is a multicultural center in the United States. It was founded in 1975 by Latin American and Californian allies in
History
Founding members included: five Americans (Eric Leenson, Kevin Duncan, Craig McCaleb, Janis Teruggi, and Kay Cole), and three Chilean expatriates (Hugo Brenni, Patricia Brenni, and Juan Orson). Some of the founders were connected to Non-Intervention in Chile (NICH), a group was dedicated to supporting the
As a cultural center La Peña was founded with the belief that art and culture should play an activist role and that the center serves as a community gathering place, artist center, entertainment venue, and as a meeting place that aims to build community through artists and
Since its official founding in 1975, La Peña has become the home, hub and catalyst for dozens of Bay Area communities, offering classes and events rooted in distinct cultural traditions from the Americas and the Caribbean. Classes include: Puerto Rican Bomba y Plena, Afro-Peruvian cajon and dance, Capoeira Angola from Brazil, Son Jarocho jarana & zapateo from Mexico, Cuban Charanga and Salsa student ensembles, and more.
Café
The original restaurant was added in the year 1976, and was later known as Café Valparaíso. It became part of the neighborhood's
Music
In 2005 the center was noted for its involvement in and being a center of several forms of art forms that descended from African slaves in Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Caribbean.[7] These were lessons in and performances of two dances.[7] These dances are the percussion driven plena and bomba.[7] The peña also has its own music groups: La Peña Chorus and Lab Hip Hop Ensemble.[8] It has also been noted for its Little Friends of La Peña concert series of bilingual children's musical offerings.[9]
Community
The center is an annual gathering place for the Chilean diaspora, with meetings and celebrations for Chilean independence's fiestas patrias, Christmas, and the anniversary of the 1973 Chilean coup d'état.
La Peña is a registered 501(c)3 charity with tax exempt status that focuses on promoting the arts, and the building's façade is covered in a
Charity
In 2010 La Peña hosted the Mano a Mano (Hand in Hand) benefit for the victims of the 2010 Chile earthquake that hoped to generate $US10,000 in donations.[13]
References
- ^ Chile's First Female President to Teach Seminar at UC Berkeley[permanent dead link]. Alisha Azevedo. The Daily Californian. 02-18-2011. Retrieved 02-19-2011.
- ^ ¿Qué es la peña? (in Spanish) (What is La Peña?)
- Contra Costa Times, 05-06-2010, access date 05-01-2012 [verification needed]
- ^ La Peña Turns Thirty with a Street Fair, Patrick Hodge, San Francisco Chronicle, 11-06-2005, 05-01-2012.
- ^ a b c d Chef Adds New Zest At La Pena Center, Kim Severson, San Francisco Chronicle, 06-08-1999, access date 05-12-2012
- ^ East Bay restaurants that opened and closed in April, Berkeleyside
- ^ a b c Berkeley: Bay Area Puerto Ricans bring bomba to La Peña, Andrew Gilbert, San Francisco Chronicle, 29-6-2005, access date 05-01-2012
- ^ La Peña turning 31, San Francisco Chronicle, 08-06-2006, access date 05-01-2012
- ^ Jose-Luis Orozco: Latin children's music at La Peña, Matt Villano, 09-29-2011, San Francisco Chronicle, access date 05-01-2011
- ^ Why not celebrate Nadra Foster and the Black community on KPFA, San Francisco Bayview Daily
- ^ Martha Toledo Sings at La Peña. Ken Bullock. Berkeley Daily Planet. 25-09-2008. Retrieved 18-01-2011.
- ^ Cuban 5 Exhibit Opens at La Peña Cultural Center. Riya Bitarcharjee. Berkeley Daily Planet. 13-08-2009. Retrieved 17-01-2011.
- ^ Berkeley's La Peña Hosts Benefit for Chile. Riya Bhattacharjee. Berkeley Daily Planet. 04-03-2010. Retrieved 17-01-2011.
External links
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La Peña façade as seen from across Shattuck Avenue. |