Bobi Céspedes // Arenas Dance Company @ Healdsburg Jazz festival
Afro-Cuban Music and Dance
Bobi Céspedes and the Arenas Dance Company
Pre-Show talk with Elizabeth Sayre.
Ravens Performing Arts Theater.
6pm – 9pm.
See video!
6:00 pm:
Pre-Show Talk with Elizabeth Sayre, musical director of Arenas Dance Company: How music and dance are inextricably linked in Afro-Cuban artistic traditions.
7pm:
An arresting performer with a deep, resonant voice who’s also a master of the gourd chekeré, the Oakland-based Bobi Céspedes embodies the music’s sacred roots as a priestess in the Yoruba-derived Lucumí faith. Sharing narratives about her family life and love, and the wisdom of Afro-Cuban fables for this special Healdsburg presentation, she’s joined by music director Marco Díaz on piano, trumpet and vocals, guitarist José Roberto Hernández, bassist Ernesto Mazar Kindelán, percussionists Julio Pérez and Javier Navarrette, and Lichi Fuentes on vocals, chekeré and güiro.
Arenas Dance Company is a predominantly all-women Cuban dance and drum ensemble. This special Healdsburg presentation honors the resilience, strength, sensuality, and vibrancy of Cuban women: workers, sisters, grandmothers, neighbors, politicians, artists, friends. The performance moves between Afro-Cuban folklore and popular dances to bring together the powerful spiritual and joyful aspects of la mujer cubana. The dancers create polyrhythmic patterns with brooms. They celebrate work as spiritual practice.
$75 Gold tickets include a free glass of wine at BloodRoot Winery across the street from 4pm-6pm.
** Proof of Covid-19 full vaccination status with be required upon entry. We will follow all State and County health guidelines including vaccination, mask usage, and/or other regulations in place during the time of the event. More info at cdph.ca.gov
About Jazz festival:
The 24th Annual Healdsburg JJazz Festival runs June 13-19 and includes curated pairings of music and dance, spoken word and food, and a free daylong Juneteenth celebration.
Festival performances will take place at indoor and outdoor venues and sites throughout Healdsburg including Hotel Healdsburg, Little Saint, Raven Performing Arts Center, Elephant in the Room, The Jackson Theater in Santa Rosa, Healdsburg Farmers’ Market, St. Paul’s Church, Truett Hurst Winery, and the Healdsburg Plaza.
Appearing will be artists from a wide array of genres, including NEA Jazz Master Dave Holland, blues legend Charlie Musselwhite, and San Francisco vocal star Bobi Céspedes. Founded in 1999, Healdsburg Jazz is a year-round jazz performance and music education nonprofit.
Free show on June 14th!
Join us Tuesday, June 14th for a FREE event! Jesús Díaz y su Qba (Afro-Cuban Ensemble) concert in the Healdsburg Plaza at 6 pm.
