Benito Cereno May 21, 2008
Berkeley, California 94705
Benito Cereno is Bay Area's newest Latin Groove sensation.
Added by Upcoming Robot on May 4, 2008
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Mojicana
BENITO CERENO mixes Puerto Rican rhythms (salsa, bomba, plena and bolero) with funk, rock, reggae, blues and other world beats to create a unique urban-inspired danceable groove seeped in Caribbean flavor. As a reflection of the band's leader and lead singer, Manny Martinez, it is the musical by-product of a New York city born Latino who spent his formative years in Puerto Rico, and the last twenty in California. With an all-star Bay Area cast of characters that include Fabian Paredes on drums, Javier Navarrette on timbales and vocals, Hector Lugo on congas and vocals, Ayla Davila on bass, Peter Meredith on keyboards, Camilo Landau on guitar and vocals and Sandra Garcia Rivera on percussion and vocals, Benito Cereno is a bilingual manifestation of the embracing of cultures with no musical boundaries attached...and the insatiable desire to get your groove on.
Mojicana
To view full announcement: http://mojicaarts.com/postcard/050808/
Mojicana
Old School meets New School on this evening of intergenerational music and poetry.... Come enjoy an array of local poets encompassing several generations of experience and culture, along with this fresh new band that covers the musical gamut of salsa, funk, hip-hop, ska and more. BENITO CERENO- features members of Los Mocosos, Carne Cruda and Mazacote.
BENITO CERENO - Manny Martinez, Sandra Garcia Rivera, Hector Lugo, Ayla Davila, Javier Navarrette, Fabian Paredes, Camilo Landau & Peter Meredith
POETS - Alfonso Texidor, Avotcja, Sandra Garcia Rivera, Freddy Gutierrez, Alejandra Mojica
This will be the band's, Benito Cereno, debut performance at La Pena.
Manny Martinez has been a Bay Area musician for over twenty years. He was involved in the thrash-funk explosion of the late eighties/early nineties as lead singer and songwriter for the Marin based band Psychefunkapus. After recording two albums with that band for Atlantic Records, Manny set up shop in the Mission District. Since then he has toured, written, and recorded with some of the Bay Area’s best Latin bands that include Mazacote, Surco Nuevo, Los Mocosos, Jesus Diaz and QBA, Dr. Loco’s Rockin’ Jalapeno Band, Azabache and John Santos. His unique vocal style and dynamic stage persona has made him a favorite among salseros and non-salseros alike. His current musical endeavor, Benito Cereno, is an outlet that enables him to incorporate his cultural roots as a Latino who grew up alternately between New York City and Puerto Rico as well as his love for nearly every musical genre out there. His band, Benito Cereno, is truly a representation of Manny’s musical and life experiences.