Mi mision y vision es de difudir nuestra musica Latina aqui
en la Bay Area y estar orgullosos de nuestras raices
Become a Member Studio/Request Lines :: 408-260-2999 :: 831-255-2999 |
Schedule
| Cristina (Intro)
Moro Kaweh Cristina (Intro) Paul Renslow Daniel Fries |
Tue 6:00PM - 6:30PM, Aug11 Tue 6:30PM - 7:00PM, Aug 11 Tue 7:00PM - 8:00PM, Aug 11 Tue 6:00PM - 6:30PM, Aug 25 Tue 6:30PM - 7:00PM, Aug 25 Tue 7:00PM - 8:00PM, Aug 25 |
  |
Cristina Santa Gadea de Boyd Presenting: Flamenco Festival Program |
My Mission and Vision:
This year I am very happy to present you the Flamenco Festival 2009 Program - an electric flamenco performance with various inspiring Flamenco guitarist from the Bay area that are dedicated to the beautiful Flamenco Music and dance.
My biggest inspiration for promoting Flamenco music in the Bay Area is Anita Sheer, the founder of the Flamenco Society in San Jose and recognized as one of the finest exponents of Spanish guitar music and a great friend of mine. In the 80's, Anita and I did numerous shows at KKUP and she always encouraged me to continue with my ideas about promoting the Latin music. She is no longer with us, but this year, in her memory, I am presenting to you the Flamenco Festival Program 2009.
I consider flamenco music & dance an art that requires so much discipline and passion. My fascination with Flamenco music and dance started when I was seven years old and it has grown since then. I am so glad to the be part of the KKUP family during the past two decades. It's a very unique experience to be able to do a few shows every month, and to be able to present the richness of Latin American cultures which still retain their strong indigenous pass and respect for their ancients traditions.
My goal is to reach out to all the Bay Area communities, and I know that with your help, we can promote & preserve the richness and artistry of the Latin cultures in the Bay Area.
Tuesdays (2nd, 4th, & 5th)
Amenidades Latino Americanas
The Founder of the Flamenco Society in San Jose
Anita was born in New York City to parents of Ukrainian and Hungarian heritage.
She began her musical training at age 5 when she enrolled in the School of Musical Education in Manhattan. As a pre-teen, Anita won the U.S. Piano Competition five years in a row and gave numerous recitals at Carnegie Hall.
Her musical training continued through high school, attending the renowned high school of Music and Art, and continued at Oberlin College, where she majored in music and drama.
Two years later she transferred to Columbia University where she met her future husband and where she also earned a BFA degree.
Anita was headed to a career in directing musical theatre, when a serendipitous encounter with Carlos Montoya would turn her world upside down and make her reconsider her future aspirations of Broadway and musical theatre in exchange for a future with a flamenco guitar instead.
Her husband's career would bring Anita to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1981. Here she began a new career as a classical guitar performer and along with a core group of flamencos started the Flamenco Society of San José in 1982. Anita also began to teach flamenco guitar at De Anza College in Cupertino. This class was the first in the United States to be given for college credit.
Anita died of cancer on July 8, 1996. The Flamenco Society of San José is her legacy.
Has played in over 50 countries in royal palaces, African casbahs
A gifted virtuoso guitarist and composer, Moro first played (and wrote his first composition!) when he was six and performed his first of many concerts when he was twelve. For years he traveled the world as a troubadour, using only his guitar performances as currency. This talented former member of the world-famous New Christy Minstrels has played in over 50 countries—in royal palaces, African casbahs, and even on a British warship in trade for his passage across the Indian Ocean. Bedouin champagne smugglers took him across the Arabian Desert in their camel caravan, listening to his music beneath desert stars. While he was in Bangkok giving a command performance for Their Majesties King Bhumibol and Queen Sirikit of Thailand, the U.S. military invited him to play for the troops at their jungle camps. And he became the first entertainer to perform for American forces in the Vietnam conflict. He was also the first entertainer to appear at Paul Newman's famous 1960s exclusive Hollywood discotheque, THE FACTORY, where he played nightly. He followed that with an engagement at Howard Hughes' CABARET ROOM in Las Vegas where Mr. Hughes personally came to hear him. An Italian duchess who found him performing with a street-dancing flamenco troupe of gypsies in 1961 assisted him in obtaining a visa for Algeria where he then toured—during the violent Seven Years' War—and S.A.O. terrorists captured and held him. He played for them, literally for his life, whereupon they gave him money and let him go.
A native of the San Francisco Bay Area
Classical Flamenco Guitarist, Paul Renslow, born in 1979 is a native of the San Francisco Bay Area. At a young age he was introduced to the guitar by his very musical family. All through grade school Paul studied the guitar under master guitar instructor Chris Shaheen, learning many styles and performing often. During his teenage years Paul played many different venues in California with several different groups. Each group varying greatly in musical style, and all released their own recordings. He also joined The Flamenco Society of San Jose were he studied under the great Anita Sheer and Keni el Lebrijano, learning the flamenco puro style of the school of Diego del Gastor. In 2001 Paul went to Spain to further his knowledge of Flamenco. In Seville he had the pleasure of studying with Juan del Gastor, nephew to legendary guitarrista Diego, among other accomplished master guitarists in Andalucia. Upon his return to America, Paul started performing around the Bay Area as a solo Flamenco guitarist, and in 2004 he released his first solo guitar recording, Recital Flamenco de Paul Renslow, consisting of traditional flamenco rhythms behind intricate Spanish falsetas. Later that year he released another recording, Los Claveles, featuring other artists in a mix of traditional flamenco with contemporary rumba rhythms. Paul has hundreds of performances to his credit. As a soloist Paul plays traditional Flamenco, Classical Spanish, Afro Cuban, and South American guitar that blend into a unique fusion of classical and modern styles. Check out the new recording 'Guitarrista Para Siempre' available at all performances or contact Paul.
Spanish Guitar, Flamenco Rumba, Mediterranean, Salsa
Music is one of the rare things that unites an ethnically diverse crowd. KAWEH attracts a multi-cultural audience. Primarily Spanish guitar based, the group fuses Flamenco Rumba with Latin, Brazilian, Mediterranean and Middle Eastern rhythms and melodies. "The rich acoustic guitar, passionate rhythms and international flair of the music, reaches out to everyone, regardless of age or style preference." - Mountain View Ala Carte & Art Festival
KAWEH’s musicians are as diverse as their compositions. With members hailing from as far as the Middle East, Europe, Latin America and Israel it’s no wonder why fans are attracted to their sound. “Just as leafing through an atlas can transport you from one region of the world to another, in the flip of a few pages, so too does KAWEH's music.” - Bay Area MetroActive
KAWEH has independantly released 5 albums and sold thousands of copies world wide. Their 2009 West Coast tour is a cultural, musical travelogue taking the group from Southern California to Seattle, Wa. For all press and interview inquiries contact the group’s manager Guido Zolfaghar at 408.455.0260 or guido@kaweh.com. Audio/Video samples as well as tour date updates, publicity and promo material can be found at www.kaweh.com.
Flamenco guitarists in the San Francisco Bay Area
Daniel Fries is one of the premier flamenco guitarists in the San Francisco Bay Area, both as an accompanist for flamenco song and dance, and as a soloist. He has performed with such world class flamenco artists as La Tania, Andrés Marín, Cristo Cortés, and Manuel Gutierrez, as well as with many local artists and companies, such as Caminos Flamencos, Carola Zertuche, Arte y Compás, and Carolina Lugo's Brisas de España, for which he has been musical director. While in Italy, he performed with two of the country's top dancers, Juana Cala, and Maria Jose Soto Leon in venues from Venice to Milan to Sicily. While his playing style remains grounded in the roots of the traditional Spanish flamenco, he also explores new directions in musical composition as well as blending of elements from the various musical traditions around which he grew up in San Francisco; Indian, Middle Eastern, Latin American, and African. He has performed in venues ranging from San Francisco's Palace of Fine Arts and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, to venues in China and in India. He also directed the music for "Zambra Bailar," a company mixing flamenco with Middle Eastern music and belly dance. In 2002, he composed and directed the music for La Tania's ongoing project, "The Passage of The Muse." Mr. Fries has studied in Spain with several flamenco guitar masters, including Manolo Sanlucar, Paco Peña, and Jose Luis Rodriguez. He has also studied Indian Classical music under Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, and Ghanain drumming with C.K. Ladezkpo, and has B.A. in Music from U.C. Berkeley.
Flamenco singer Patricia Velasquez began her music studies in 1984 in Mexico were she studied classical spanish guitar. Later she came to the U.S. and was introduced to flamenco guitar through two years of studies with Michael Ruiz at the Mission Cultural Center back in 1989. She then studied privately with guitarist Benjamin Flores while also learning cante (singing) which particularly captivated her. She studied flamenco dance in San Francisco. She also studied palmas and cante with Isa Mura. She found that her strongest passion was in cante and continued her studies with Jose Agustin Rios, an Andalusian gypsy from Moron de la Frontera, who shared with her the magic of traditional flamenco.
She has performed at La Pena Cultural Center, Dean Lesher Auditorium, Mission Cultural Center, ODC Theater, Timo’s, and Pena Pacha Mama. Most recently, her group Toque Flamenco performed for the third year in a much acclaimed show that she produced at Copia: The American Center for Food, Wine, and the Arts in Napa. She also sings with Arte y Compas, Flamenco Vivo, Brisas de Espana, and Caminos Flamencos, performing with such artists as La Monica, David Gutierrez, Keni “El Lebrijano,” Carolina Lugo, Yaelisa, Jason McGuire, Carola Zertuche, Antonio de Jerez, Roberto Zamora, La Romera, and her former guitar teacher Benjamin Flores.