La Peña Cultural Center — one of the Bay Area’s most iconic grassroots arts and activism spaces — is celebrating its 50th Anniversary with a day-long anniversary festival on Saturday, June 7th.
Join Sparkle Motion on Tuesday, June 3rd at 11:30am when she hosts La Peña’s Executive Director, Consuelo Tupper Hernández, to learn more about the festivities planned along with La Peña’s musical legacy, its political roots, and the unique role it continues to play in the Bay Area’s artistic and activist scenes.
Founded in 1975 by Chilean exiles, immigrants and local allies after the U.S.-backed coup in Chile, La Peña has been a vital part of Berkeley’s creative and political ecosystem for five decades.
As a live music venue, La Peña has hosted legends like Pete Seeger, Pablo Milanés, Mercedes Sosa, Ana Tijoux, Rebel Diaz, and countless emerging local artists. As a community hub, it’s been at the heart of social movements from the Third World Liberation Front to contemporary immigrant justice and Indigenous land-back efforts.
The 50th Anniversary festival on June 7th will include free cultural programming, food, art, and an evening concert featuring headliners Francisco Herrera and Holly Near. A week of free music and dance classes will follow — featuring traditions like son jarocho, bomba y plena, rumba, and more.
