Advertisement
The Sampaguitas & Friends: Journeys of A Third Culture is a celebration of Filipino-American history and the third culture experience of the present and future via music, dance and stories. With special guests Vangie Buell, Theresa Calpotura, Melissa Cruz, Genesis Fermin, and Kaisahan AfroCubalintang.THE SAMPAGUITAS sing Filipino folk songs and inspired originals in three-part harmony. Drawing influences from folk, blues, doo-wop girl groups, and the Filipinx-American diaspora, Jenevieve Francisco, Cristina Ibarra, and Aireene Espiritu share music from their roots and explore what it means to be in a “third culture” between worlds. The sampaguita is the national flower of the Philippines and only fitting to describe the sweet sounds coming from their melded vocal textures, tones, and tight harmonies. http://www.thesampaguitas.com
Special Guests:
VANGIE CANONIZADO BUELL is a folk singer, guitarist, author, activist and current Music Director for Piedmont Gardens Hootenanny Ensemble. Influenced by her Filipino and African American roots, Vangie’s repertoire vastly ranges from Filipino and American folk songs to jazz standards. She’s performed in various stages, radio and TV, and was the former President of the Berkeley Community Chorus and Orchestra. She is a co-founder of the East Bay Chapter of the Filipino American National Historical Society (FAHNS) and is revered by the Filipino-American community for her work as a mentor, community leader and an inspiration as a culture bearer in carrying forward their history and heritage through many generations. Vangie will be accompanied by Mark Lemaire, world-touring guitarist, recording engineer, and producer for clients ranging from Jimmy Miller (Rolling Stones, Blind Faith, etc) to the San Francisco Symphony.
Learn more about Vangie’s story featured in KQED’s 8 over 80
https://www.kqed.org/arts/13934726/8-over-80-vangie-buell
THERESA CALPOTURA is a multidisciplinary artist who has performed in venues across the US and the Philippines as a soloist and in ensemble contexts. As a recording artist she has produced and recorded three albums of her own work, including Musikang Halo-Halo: Starting to Mix—a musical storytelling project based on Filipinx folklore, her own mixed heritage, and her 101-year-old grandmother’s life, and her debut album Kanta Filipina (VGo Recordings 2010) was a premiere recording of original, arranged and transcribed works for solo guitar in collaboration with Filipino composer Bayani Mendoza de Leon. She lives in San Francisco, on the unceded ancestral homeland of the Ramaytush Ohlone. https://www.theresacalpotura.com/
MELISSA CRUZ is a Bay Area-based flamenco professional and has been a full-time flamenco artist and instructor for the past 15 years. She began training with the Bay Area’s acclaimed fla menco master Rosa Montoya and soon thereafter, joined Ms. Montoya's professional company. Melissa has performed as a soloist in the San Francisco International Arts Festival and has prese nted in eight San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festivals, twice as a featured soloist. Summer 2021 saw Melissa featured in the one- woman flamenco theater play, "Flamenco on my Own" produced in collaboration with Miami’s Ballet Flamenco La Rosa and as a fe atured performer and instructor at the 2021 Festival Flamenco Albuquerque presented by the National Institute of Flamenco. I n 2023, Melissa was featured in the Yerba Buena Gardens Festiv al in San Francisco, the Peninsula International Dance Festiva l and the World Arts West Dance Festival. In addition to her accomplished artistic career, Melissa is a Bachelor of the Arts graduate of UC Berkeley and holds a Juris Doctor degree from University of San Francisco. https://melissacruz.weebly.com/
GENESIS FERMIN (they/them) is a gardener and multifaceted artist who cultivates lush fruits and soul-illuminating songs. Their music documents the ache of longing, vivid childhood memories, and a life lived against the grain, blurring every boundary. Genesis grows music and food in the Bay Area, and is the co-founder of the I Need Space Queer Music Festival, founded to support a diverse, international array of queer artists during the COVID-19 pandemic. Their debut album, Genesis Fermin, was released in 2021 and produced by Gina Villalobos, and the “gentle acoustic rhythms” on this album are described by Americana UK as “smartly written, [with] a strong vocal.” Come along on the journey – easily enjoyed, not easily forgotten. https://genesisfermin.com/
KAISAHAN AFROCUBALINTANG is a collaborative project of three Fil-Ams, Conrad Benedicto, John Calloway, & Bo Razon, and one Fil-Canadian, Chris Trinidad. The concept was to take two powerful indigenous music forms, one from the southern Philippines and one from the island of Cuba, and to blend their respective elements together in as natural a way as possible.
All four artists were, at one time or another, disciples of the late, great Kulintang master Danongan ‘Danny‘ Kalanduyan, the pioneer of Kulintang music in North America. Conrad had played extensively with Danny in his traditional groups. Bo had been studying and playing Kulintang music with Danny, and also playing Cuban music for years and had gone to Cuba twice to research the African roots of Cuban rhythms. Chris had been playing Latin music & Latin Jazz extensively both in Canada and the US and, together with Bo, had formed a neo-kulintang group with Danny. John has had preeminent status as musician and educator in the Bay Area in Latin Jazz and Cuban music. He is also a former SF Art Commissioner.
Before his untimely demise, Kalanduyan often mentioned how he loved to jam his Kulintang music with Afro-Latin rhythms. Kaisahan AfroCubalintang, besides being a coalescence of Kulintang and AfroCuban musical cultures, is a live ongoing tribute to the Kulintang master Danongan Kalanduyan.https://www.facebook.com/borazonmusic/
Advertisement
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Freight & Salvage, 2022 Addison St, Berkeley, CA 94704-1104, United States,Berkeley, California
Tickets
