I want to congratulate the Mission District’s bilingual newspaper, El Tecolote on their 53rd anniversary! Kudos to “el jefe” Tecolote founder Juan Gonzalez, the staff of El Tecolote and Acción Latina on their successful gala fundraiser last Saturday night. I am so sorry that I missed it! I was out of town but there in spirit at the St. Mary’s Cathedral banquet room last Saturday evening, August 26.
I received reports from my KPFA colleague Emiliano Echeverria that there were a lot of people that attended: old friends, colleagues and supporters that spanned the generations that attended the sold out event that featured MC’s Culture Clash, Conjunto Corazon with Francisco Herrera, Jose “Dr. Loco” Cuellar and Enrique Ramirez, La Familia Peña-Govea and the John Santos Sextet with special guest Christelle Durandy.
I heard this was an event for the memories and the record books since El Tecolote has touched so many folks and reported on all the relevant news that happened in the Mission Community and the Latino community in general all of these years. I was honored at an El Tecolote sponsored event along with fellow Salsa/Latin public radio broadcasters, the late Chata Gutierrez, Emiliano Echeveria and Avotcja back in 2010. It was a special memory since my late mother, Olga attended the event. Congrats on the gala and may El Tecolote keep doing its essential work for many years to come!! Photo: Chata Gutierrez (middle), Emiliano Echeverria (right) with myself (left).
Talented percussionist/bandleader Mio Flores dropped me a line to let me know about a Salsa-Latin Jazz happening tomorrow, Sunday, September 3rd, 6:30 pm at Crufit Oakland located in the Montclair Village in Oakland at 6125 Medau Place. Featuring The SalSazz All Stars with Flores, pianist Gary Flores (not related to Mio), bassist/vocalist Carlitos Franco, flautist Juan Ceballos, trombonist Raul Navarrette and conguero Javier Navarrette.
Also on Sunday, the popular Julio Bravo y Salsabor will be at the Seahorse in Sausalito starting at 5 pm. KPOO/KPFA DJ Jose Ruiz will be spinning in-between the breaks….and if that wasn’t enough Orquesta Borinquen will be performing at the Salsa By The Bay event at the Building 43 Winery, 2440 Monarch Street in Alameda starting at 2 pm.
There will be an all-day Brazilian Day and Lavagem celebration from 11 am to 7 pm at the Casa De Cultura, 1901 San Pablo Avenue in Berkeley also this Sunday, September 3rd. This annual free event will feature an outdoor and indoor stage inside the Casa with performances by Agua Doce Dance, Arrastão do Jaga, Berkeley Capoeira Collective, Bloco Ginga Brasil, Bloco Do Sol, Brazil Camp All Stars: Kellyn Rosa, Rosangela Silvestre, Guilherme & Gustavo Alves, Marcela Rabelo, Pitoco de Aira, Nildinha Fonseca, the Curumins Youth Troupe, Damasceno Dance Collective, DJ Boca, Estrelas Do Samba, Grupo Sambay, Lau Paiva, Maracatu Pacifico, Sambada and Samba Da Terra!
There will be Brazilian food and drinks available, arts and crafts and a festive atmosphere to honor the memory of Concęcao Damasceno, the beloved catalyst and co-founder of the Casa De Cultura, the founder of Ginga Brasil and the BrasArte organization. It’s gonna be a blast!
That’s it for now! Have a great week!
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