Birthday party in Berkeley for famed Cuban singer-songwriter Silvio Rodriguez November 28, 2008

On Friday, November 28th, the San Francisco Bay Area will celebrate the birthday of the leader of the nueva trova musical movement in Latin America, as La Pea Cultural Center teams up with Puerto Rican singer-songwriter Meli Rivera to celebrate the 62nd birthday of beloved trovador Silvio Rodrguez (born November 29, 1946, in Cuba).
Meli will perform 20 of Rodrguez most memorable songs, which have inspired entire generations of Latin Americans. She will be performing with these special guests, and their arrangements:
On flute and classical piano: Jillian Yu
On cello: Carmen Otto
On Puertorican Cuatro and Spanish guitar: Danny Torres
The details:
Friday, November 28, at 8 pm La Pea Cultural Center
3105 Shattuck Ave
Berkeley, CA 94705
(510) 849-2568
www.lapena.org
Cover is $12 at the door
We will have everyone in the audience singing Happy Birthday Silvio! and send the pictures to Silvio himself, said Meli.
About Silvio Rodrguez
Rodrguez is known for his highly eloquent and symbolic lyrics. Many of his songs such as Ojal, Playa Girn, Unicornio and La Maza.-- have become classics of Latin American music. His lyrics are notably introspective. His songs combine romanticism, love (even eroticism), revolutionary politics, and idealism.
Musically and politically, Rodrguez is a symbol of the Latin American political left. Several of his songs praise the Cuban revolutionary figure Che Guevara. Rodrguez currently serves as a deputy in the Cuban Parliament.
For more information, visit: www.silviorodriguez.com.
About Trova
One of the earliest popular song traditions to originate in eastern Cuba, the style called trova dispersed news and gossip, often through satire. Its practitioners, called trovadores, lived much like medieval troubadours, traveling abount and supporting themselves on the meager monetary rewards from performing. Trovadores are also urban poets whose well-crafted lyrics reflect on the human condition and societal issues throughout the big Latin American cities.
Trova is part of the Nueva Cancin, a genre that features socio-political protest, as its theme is not subject to the easy lyrics and catchy rhythms imposed by commercialism. While there have been protest songs throughout the ages and in every culture, this genre flowered during the social and political upheavals of the 60s and 70s in Latin America. Today, a renaissance of Latin American trovadores is taking place, with singers and songwriters who address contemporary issues and perform their own work unplugged, generally accompanied by a guitar or other folk instruments.

Event submitted by Eventful.com on behalf of taylorcomms.