Dear friends,
We are planting a new seed in Oakland.
Starting in a community only event, on March 31, MusicaHumana (arnoldo garcia, andrew kong knight, jose palafox), headRush (rosa gonzalez, xago, simon hanukai), and a host of friend-artists, musicians, dancers, poets/hip-hop spoked word performances, will launch "La carpa del feo: fandango in East Oakland."
We will blend two traditions in a tour going from far east Oakland to somewhere in the middle and into West Oakland.
La carpa is a traditional Mexican way entertainers would come into town or the migrant camps, set up a tent and show movies, provide entertainment, music, clowns, declamadores, versadores, decimistas and conjunto nortenos for the pleasure of the usually isolated community and audience without access to concert halls and other venues.
The fandango is a community jam session rooted in the son jarocho of communities in Veracruz and nearby regions on Mexico's gulf coast. Fandango is a Spanishized form of huapango, nahuatl, which means to dance on wooden planks or vice versa.
So we're hitting the road: bringing some cool performers and artists through east Oakland, to reclaim our community, making it safe for for everyone, for ourselves, for our music and cultures of community, creativity and commotion in making things happen together.
Here's the "gira por la gente" initial tour dates:
Friday, March 31 6-8 pm at Melrose school auditorium celebrating farmworkers, the land & Cesar E. Chavez
Sunday, April 2 12-3 pm Farmer's Market in the Fruitvale plaza across from the Fruitvale BART Station
Tuesday, April 18, 6-8 pm "Poets in East Oakland: A tribute to the land & Cesar Chavez" at the Cesar E. Chavez Library (also in the Fruitvale Village/BART Station area. This is going to be an all-literary/spoked word event, featuring poets from Oakland and a couple of adoptees from San Francisco.
Saturday, April 22, 12-3 pm: at the Mexican art store "Corazon del Pueblo" on International Boulevard (nee East 14th). If it's a really nice day, we'll be outside.
Sunday, April 23: at the Powder Face Cafe, right outside the Fruitvale BART Station. Enjoy bignettes and blues!
May 1, 2006 After the marches in Oakland, San Francisco, San Jose, San Rafael, and other points in the SF Bay Area, we will hold a fandango at "La Placita" right iun front of the Fruitvale BART Station: musicaHumana, Teatro del FEO, Fuga, son, portable murals, community!
We will have more events posted as we go along!
We already have a big closing event set for Saturday, May 20th, 7:30 pm on at La Estrellita Restaurant & Bar (corner of 5th and International Blvd.) For this gathering we will ask for a $5-20 donation at the door, but come in if you have more to give or less. Everyone is welcomed. The main thing is to be together to make cultures and communities in the process of art.
Invited groups and artists include: Muteado, Fuga!, Los Nadie, Daniel Camacho, Mari Rose Taruc, Linh Nguyen, Devin Hoff Platform, and other locals and internationals!
Every event will feature live music and theater with MusicaHumana & headRush.
Asi es.
Pass the word: come to la carpa del feo!
peace
Arnoldo Garcia
