Along Shattuck Avenue, near the border between Berkeley and Oakland, a colorful mural can be seen honoring the resilience of folk singers, activists and allies who endured the 1973 Chilean military coup.
The mural – titled “The Song of Unity” – was painted three years after the founding of the La Peña Cultural Center in 1975. Since then the center has served as a base for community meetings, artistic expressions, activism and multicultural solidarity in the anti-Pinochet dictatorship movement.
Almost half a decade later, the La Peña Cultural Center continues to serve as a multicultural center for diasporic communities to elevate artists and promote social justice.
‘The La Peña Family’: Returning from the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown
When COVID-19 hit the Bay Area in March 2020, the La Peña Cultural Center was temporarily closed but still worked to protect and secure government and institutional funding for the Center and local artists, according to La Peña Executive Director Natalia Neira-Retamal.
“Without La Peña, people were performing on the street or in a pub,” Oakland resident and longtime La Peña member Breeanna Doan said at the event.. “I’m really happy that they were able to survive the pandemic and really support artists through artist grants.”
The center reopened in December 2021 after months of financial resource strategy, according to Consuelo Tupper Hernandéz, programming and marketing manager at La Peña. She added that in the past eight months, La Peña has worked to rebuild relationships and regain greater community trust in the organization.
In partnership with Rebolu, an Afro-Colombian music ensemble based in New York, La Peña Cultural Center hosted a series of Afro-Colombian music workshops on Wednesday night.
“(La Peña) is one of those places that supports cultures … we want to be part of places like this,” said Johanna Castañeda, Rebolu’s lead vocalist and manager. “Because of these places, the music keeps going.”
At the workshop, four members of Rebolu – who play traditional Afro-Colombian instruments, including the tambora, tambor alegre, gaita and flauta de millo – demonstrated how their instruments are made and played. They also learned and performed the cumbia rhythm, one of the most prominent rhythms originating on the northern coast of Colombia in the 17th century.
About 40 participants took part in the workshops where they learned to play Cumbia rhythms on the traditional percussion, including local Colombian musicians who joined for impromptu concerts throughout the workshop.
While the name Rebolu has different meanings, for Castañeda’s group the word translates as “a fun time we get together to dance and sing.” She and the band’s vocalist and songwriter Ronald Polo noted that bringing energy to the crowd at every show is one of their core values.
Jose Rivera, an Oakland resident and member of a local Colombian group, Los Bahianatos, said at the event that he has been coming to La Peña music events for 30 years. He added that he has performed at the center in the past.
“It’s good to watch this event because it’s very close to the music I learn to play,” Rivera said at the event. “I also made some connections… connecting to what I’m playing.”
‘A key moment today’: La Peña as a community space for dialogue about current events
The word threadnor refers to Chilean community gatherings centered around music, food, drink and culture along with dialogue about current affairs, according to La Peña’s website.
In addition to special workshops, the La Peña Cultural Center hosts regular classes with the help of local cultural bearers, an open mic series empowering women of color, and a monthly dance party called “BAILA!” to celebrate Latin American dances as well as educate people about indigenous communities in Mexico through a community partner, according to Neira-Retamal and Tupper.
Neira-Retamal said La Peña has strived to be inclusive and advance Latin American culture by building authentic relationships with its community, artists, activists and allies.
Born and raised in Chile, Tupper came to the Bay Area to pursue graduate education in 2019. She said she was isolated at first, but was grateful to find a community in La Peña, where she participated in activities for fundraising, community councils and other types of cultural gatherings in support of communities in Chile who were protesting in the streets during a social movement at the time.
La Peña also organizes an annual 9/11 memorial service for the Chilean exile community and allies to remember the day of the 1973 Chilean military coup through music and poetry.
“We’re at a pivotal moment today,” Tupper said. “We have to (continue to do this event) for the younger generations and think about how to keep this relevant with what’s going on in the world today.”
According to Neira-Retamal, Chileans will vote on September 4 to determine whether to approve a new constitution that would replace the 1980 document created by the Pinochet dictatorship.. She added that she hopes it will pass so that a more democratically drafted constitution can be established.
If the vote swings in favor of the replacement, La Peña will host a celebratory rally at the upcoming 9/11 memorial, which will mark 49 years since the 1973 military coup and, for many, a new sense of healing.
“I’m feeling more connected to learning more about Cumbia in Chile,” said workshop participant Xavier Andrade, a Chilean American whose parents fled to the UK in 1976 after the coup. “It’s nice to have something connected to my roots.”
Contact Winnie Lau at [email protected]and follow him on Twitter at @winniewy_lau.
