Direct from Venezuela
Eleggua
La Peña Cultural Center, 3105 Shattuck Ave, Berkeley
Thursday July 19, 2007
$12 adv. $14 dr. – 8pm
For advance tickets
www.lapena.org
510-849-2568 x 20 (Wed-Sat 1-6pm) for tix
ELEGGUA is a 10-woman percussion and vocal group that are direct descendants of African slaves that cultivated cocoa and coffee in the Barlovento region on the central coast of Venezuela. These talented women are dedicated to researching and preserving the purest African roots in their music. The ELEGGUA Group fuses their traditional African polyrhythmic percussion with all-Spanish vocals.
The performers include: Belen Maria Palacios, a 72-year-old mother and grandmother, plays the quitipilas, a musical instrument that she preserves in her town. She was declared Cultural Alive Patrimony by Miranda State in May 2004.
Nelsy Rivero teaches reading and writing in “Misión Robinson” and has performed with the group since 1995, as a dancer and singer. She serves as the coordinator and administrator of the group and plays the maracas, the chequere, among other instruments of percussion.
