The Last Mambo and Bahia Son

Hi All,

What a great summer of music.  The San Jose Jazz Festival as usual was a blast. I shot some great footage of Avance, a perennial favorite and Team Bahia (hard-rocking timba by local Cuban musicians).  I can’t wait to include some fo this in the film.

Want to get a sneak preview a snippet  of “The Last Mambo?”

Join us on Sunday at The Jazzschool in Berkeley.

THE LAST MAMBO and BAHIA SON
When: Sunday, August 19, 4:30 pm
Where: Jazzschool, 2087 Addison St, Berkeley, CA, 94704
Admission: $5-10 sliding scale
OPEN DANCE FLOOR AND MOVIE PREVIEW AT 5:30PM

The Last Mambo is a documentary film that explores the salsa/Latin jazz community in the San Francisco Bay Area from the diverse perspectives of dancers, DJs and musicians. The film traces the 60-year evolution of the West Coast Latin sound to show how the music and dance act as powerful force for community building. The film is still in production but come check out the latest clips.

Bahia Son plays Cuban son, salsa and Latin jazz for your dancing and listening pleasure. Bahia Son is: Rita Hargrave (timbales), Phil Montalvo (congas), Manuel Mejira (bongo/bell), Vicki Marinko (vocals and percussion), Tala Ibabao (vocals and percussion), Ahni Robinson (flute), Michael Commer (tenor sax), Kit Robinson (tres guitar) and Bob Camp (bass).

See you on the dance floor,

Rita

The Last Mambo

Hi all,

My relentless search for more Bay Area salsa history continues.  I just stumbled on to a great resource–the San Francisco Bay Area Television Archive. A moving image collection which  presents sixty years of social history and cultural revolution in the San Francisco Bay Area. Over 4000 hours of local newsfilm, documentaries and other programs have been donated to the J. Paul Leonard Library by broadcasters, production companies and private individuals, to be preserved as an academic resource.  A special thanks to Alex, the archivist, who is really helpful

Check out Cuban inspired art exhibit at the Video Room 4364 Piedmont Ave Ste A, Oakland ·Sketches, paintings and photographs that will put you in the mood for mambo. Open every day until 8 PM until end of August.

Then dig in at OUR CUBAN KITCHEN, “pops up” at the Guerilla Cafe, 1620 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley, PH: 510-336-3085, Saturday, July 28, 6-9:30 p.m., These guys cooked up some great ropa vieja at Cock-a doodle last year.

Finally work up a sweat at Will Campa performing at Yoshi’s. It’s all good.

See you on the dance floor

Rita

Hazel’s Mambo Meets Manhattan

Hazel Hankin, a renowned photographer and devoted mambo dancer, has contributed some of her stunning photos to The Last Mambo.  Recently her long-term photo project, Mi Mambo, is featured in a post on the NYTimes Lens Blog.

Below there’s a link to it on the front page of New York Times with a thumbnail slideshow.

http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/06/25/hazel-hankins-mambo-madness/?hp

To see more images from this series and others, please take a look at her new website www.hazelhankin.com.

I’ll see you, Hazel and all the other salsacrazies on the dance floor.

Rita