Arts and Culture
Cascada de Flores Performs in Marin City Library
The Cascada de Flores concerts bring nostalgic songs and traditions of Mexico to the audience and allow them to express themselves. The ensemble also offers special programs such as Radio Flor, a creative concert set in an old-time radio format, as well as storytelling with song and dance for children of all ages, according to cascadadeflores.com
By Godfrey Lee
The Marin City Library celebrated National Hispanic Heritage Month with the music of the Latin music group “Cascada de Flores,” which in Spanish means ‘cascade of flowers.’ Cascada de Flores performed on Saturday, Oct. 7, at the Marin City Library at 164 Donahue St.
They will perform again on Sunday, Oct. 15, from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the Corte Madera Library, 707 Meadowsweet Dr. in Corte Madera.
The Cascada de Flores concerts bring nostalgic songs and traditions of Mexico to the audience and allow them to express themselves. The ensemble also offers special programs such as Radio Flor, a creative concert set in an old-time radio format, as well as storytelling with song and dance for children of all ages, according to cascadadeflores.com
The group members are Saúl Sierra-Alonso on bass, Arwen Lawrence on vocals, guitar, percussion, and dance, and Jorge Liceaga, vocalist and guitarist.
Lawrence toured with the Grammy-winning mariachi group Los Camperos de Nati Cano, which helped her deepen her love for Mexico’s musical language. She recorded and performed with them in venues such as the Teatro Degollado in Guadalajara and the Lincoln Center of New York.
Liceaga grew up in Mexico City and brought his first guitar with the money he’d earned shining shoes. Self-taught, he was later mentored by local legend Leonardo ‘El León’ Salas, who taught Jorge to ‘guasanguearla’ (play with that special Yucatecan swing). Liceaga also founded the Flamencos of Gitanerías (gypsy artists), giving him a raw and complicated education in flamenco, contributing to his special sensitivity as an accompanist.
Lawrence and Liceaga founded Cascada de Flores in San Francisco, CA in 1999. Cascada de Flores has since recorded four albums, collaborated in numerous projects, including theater and cinema, and toured several areas of the United States. In Mexico, they have been delightfully received in Mexico City, La Tasca in Jalapa, and in Oaxaca City. They even traveled to study with the Trovadores of Santiago de Cuba, according to cascadadeflores.com
Saúl Sierra-Alonso, the bass player, was born and raised in Mexico City, where he started playing professionally in 1990. As a San Francisco Bay Area resident since the fall of 1999, Sierra has performed, toured, or recorded with over 50 artists, including Poncho Sanchez and Pete Escovedo.
For the past 20 years, Sierra-Alonso has played with some of the leading bands in the Bay Area, including The John Santos Quintet/Sextet and The Bay Area Afro-Cuban All Stars.
Sierra-Alonso keeps himself busy performing, composing, arranging, and teaching in the San Francisco Bay Area. Two of his newest projects include The Saul Sierra Trio, a contemporary jazz fusion jazz trio, and The Saul Sierra Quintet, a piano-less Latin jazz quintet, according to saulsierra.com.
Sierra-Alonso is also a member of the California State University East Bay music faculty as the Latin Jazz Ensemble director.
Cascada de Flores is now a phenomenon cherished by the Latinos and non-Latino fans. Opening minds and hearts to the real stories of Mexico and Latin America has become this group’s unofficial mission.
Firmly committed to music and cultural education, Cascada de Flores has performed in over 1,000 schools and libraries, reaching over 500,000 children with their educational program.
They present a bilingual music and dance program for children in schools, libraries, and theaters such as Montalvo Arts Center in Saratoga, Herbst Theater in San Francisco, and the Mexican Heritage Plaza in San Jose.
Members of Cascada de Flores also present ongoing bilingual classes and special workshops for children and families focused on traditional Latin American folk songs and Mexican traditional music and dance, according to cascadadeflores.com.
For more information, go to cascadadeflores.com.
Arts and Culture
Richmond Preps for Full Weekend of Cinco de Mayo Festivities
Cinco de Mayo festivities in Richmond and San Pablo are some of the bests in Bay, and organizers say that tradition will be alive and well at this weekend’s annual parade and festival. The action kicks off Saturday, May 4, with the 16th Annual Cinco de Mayo Richmond/San Pablo Peace & Unity Parade. The parade of floats, performances, and community organizations starts at 10 a.m. at 24th Street and Barrett Avenue and Richmond and ends at 12:30 p.m. at St. Paul’s Church, 1845 Church Lane in San Pablo.
By Mike Kinney
The Richmond Standard
Cinco de Mayo festivities in Richmond and San Pablo are some of the bests in Bay, and organizers say that tradition will be alive and well at this weekend’s annual parade and festival.
The action kicks off Saturday, May 4, with the 16th Annual Cinco de Mayo Richmond/San Pablo Peace & Unity Parade. The parade of floats, performances, and community organizations starts at 10 a.m. at 24th Street and Barrett Avenue and Richmond and ends at 12:30 p.m. at St. Paul’s Church, 1845 Church Lane in San Pablo.
The parade’s Grand Marshall this year will be community organizer Diego Garcia, owner of Leftside Printing.
The festivities continue Sunday with the Cinco de Mayo Festival along 23rd Street, which last year drew over 100,000 people, according to the 23rd Street Merchants Association. This year’s festival will again run from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. between the intersections of Rheem Avenue and Clinton Avenue. It will feature two entertainment stages, one sponsored by La Raza 93.3 FM at 23rd and Rheem, and another sponsored by Radio Lazer FM at 23rd and Clinton.
Both events are important for the city and the region’s Latino community.
San Pablo Mayor Genoveva Calloway, who co-chairs the parade alongside John Marquez, president of the Contra Costa Community College District Board of Trustees, says Saturday’s festivities are about bringing the Richmond and San Pablo communities together in unity.
“This truly connects the spectators and people in the parade as one,” Calloway said. “The parade showcases the real communities of Richmond and San Pablo – our nonprofits, schools, horse riders, classic cars and trucks, our local businesses. All of these people represent the heartbeat of our community.”
Rigo Mendoza, vice president of the 23rd Street Merchants Association, said that at its heart, Richmond’s Cinco de Mayo Festival celebrates the date the Mexican army’s victory over France at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862.
But John Marquez started up the popular festival to bring the community together and also to exhibit the community’s businesses and culture to visitors, Mendoza said. The gathering was also a way to promote peace in the community.
Art
Mario Van Peebles’ ‘Outlaw Posse’ Screened at Oakland’s Grand Lake Theatre
The Oakland International Film Festival hosted a screening of “Outlaw Posse” at the Grand Lake Theatre on Monday. Special guests included director/actor Mario Van Peebles and his co-star, Oakland native Scytorya Rhodes. The film is Peebles’ second western, the first being ‘Posse,’ 13 years ago.
By Carla Thomas
The Oakland International Film Festival hosted a screening of “Outlaw Posse” at the Grand Lake Theatre on Monday. Special guests included director/actor Mario Van Peebles and his co-star, Oakland native Scytorya Rhodes. The film is Peebles’ second western, the first being ‘Posse,’ 13 years ago. Filmmaker Van Peebles shared his passion for independent artistry and producing projects with his son, Mandela, who also starred in the film, along with Whoopi Goldberg and Cedric the Entertainer. Next week, The Post will publish an in-depth interview featuring Peebles’ reflections on his work, future projects, and continuing his father’s legacy and Rhodes on her grandfather, a real-life cowboy.
Arts and Culture
Kedrick Armstrong: New Music Director for the Oakland Symphony
The Oakland Symphony Announced Kedrick Armstrong as its Next Music Director. In addition to conducting the orchestra’s public concerts, Armstrong will also actively participate in the Oakland Symphony’s many education and community engagement programs, designed to inspire a love of music in people of all ages.
By Post Staff
The Oakland Symphony Announced Kedrick Armstrong as its Next Music Director.
In addition to conducting the orchestra’s public concerts, Armstrong will also actively participate in the Oakland Symphony’s many education and community engagement programs, designed to inspire a love of music in people of all ages.
Armstrong is the successor to previous music director and Conductor Michael Morgan, who passed away in 2021 after a 30-year tenure at the Symphony.
Armstrong will open the Oakland Symphony 2024-2025 season on October 18.
Armstrong, who is 29 and hails from Georgetown, South Carolina, is currently the creative partner and principal conductor of the Knox-Galesburg Symphony.
The Chicago Tribune has praised Armstrong for his ability to “simply let the score speak for itself.” He enjoys a wide range of repertoire, spanning early music to premiering new works, using his joy and curiosity for all music to cultivate understanding and collaboration within diverse communities.
“I am deeply honored and grateful for the opportunity to serve as the new music director of the Oakland Symphony,” Armstrong said. “As a Black conductor, I find it humbling to stand on the shoulders of both Michael Morgan and Calvin Simmons,” the most recent and the first African American music directors of the Symphony, respectively.
Armstrong led three programs at the Symphony between 2022 and early 2024, which showcased his broad knowledge of the classical repertoire and enthusiasm for spotlighting diverse voices.
On his Oakland Symphony subscription debut on Feb. 16, Armstrong led the world premiere of “Here I Stand: Paul Robeson,” an oratorio by Carlos Simon on a libretto by Dan Harder, commissioned by the Oakland Symphony.
Armstrong was selected unanimously by the Oakland Symphony’s board of directors and musicians after an extensive two-year search. “The search committee was overwhelmed by Kedrick’s scholarship and curiosity about all kinds of music, from classical and jazz to gospel and hip-hop,” said. Dr. Mieko Hatano, executive director of the Oakland Symphony. “We are thrilled to have him join us at the Oakland Symphony.”
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