Las 7 salves de La Magdalena NYC CD Release Party Sep 10, 2010

My Las 7 salves de La Magdalena / 7 Songs of Praise for The Magdalene CD release party will be September 10, 7pm, at St. Mark's Church-in-the-Bowery (2nd Avenue and 10th St.).

There is no cover charge.

We'll have live music by Raquel Z. Rivera & Ojos de Sofia, feat. Bryan Vargas, Catarina Dos Santos, Desmar Guevara, Juan Gutierrez, Obanilu Ire Allende, Manuela Arciniegas...

It will also feature an art exhibit by Tanya Torres. Our CD release and art exhibit are dedicated to Mary Magdalene. It will be a playful and heartfelt celebration of the myth Tanya & I have named "Our Lady of Lexington".

The music is streaming here: www.ojosdesofia.com

Please help me spread the word. ¡Gracias mil!

un abrazo,
Raquel

Video invite:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBWcsxjYfhI


What people are saying about Las 7 salves de La Magdalena:

“With its pure and honest sound, Las 7 salves de La Magdalena gives us the gift of an intimate experience full of personality and essence.”
— Brenda Hopkins Miranda, pianist and composer

"I loved the spirituality and embellished simplicity with which they recorded the seven tracks. This musical product is complete, round, honest and without pretentions."
— Hector "Tito" Matos, percussionist and director of Viento de Agua

"Rivera's fusion of Puerto Rican genres such as the seis and bomba with rarely-recorded Afro-Dominican salve and pri-pri rhythms point to an ideal zone of pan-Caribbean—and indeed, pan-human—understanding."
— Paul Austerlitz, ethnomusicologist, reed player and composer

"I'm in love with the project created by Raquel Z. Rivera & Ojos de Sofía. The 7 Songs of Praise for The Magdalene transport me to a familiar place. They are enigmatic and distant, close and profound. Creators of a powerful balance between pain and strength. Uplifting, clear and refreshing."
— Yarisa Colon Torres, poet and author of Sin cabeza

“The lyrics are playful, sensuous, strange, and at the same time familiar. The voice that sings is rich, tender, strong, powerful.”
— Anjanette Delgado, www.siempremujer.com

La Bomba Que No Termina...

Alma Moyo has got to be one of my favorite bomba groups. I love a great bomba just like the next man, but Alma definitely takes me to another place and time. One glance at their roster and you will no doubt notice many a familiar face, such as Jorge "Georgie" Vazquez (playing buleador), who plays with Hot Peas N' Butter, Yerbabuena, and is a big part of the Rincon Criollo family. Dr. Raquel Z Rivera (vocals), is already establishing herself as a force to be reckoned with not only in the realm of song, but literature. Fidel Tavarez (cua), who always plays with so much flavor, has played steadily with Alma Moyo since it's inception along with another notable group by the name of Ilu Aye. Obanilu Allende (primo), at a young age has established himself as one of the best bomberos and pleneros in the city, he can sing, dance, play, truly a triple threat. Manuela Arciniegas (buleador), drummer, cultural worker, and ex-Director of Education for the CCCADI, has played with Yaya and Bambula. Alex LaSalle (maraca), musical director and lead singer, drummer, dancer, historian is another young talent with deep roots in not only the bomba and plena side of things, but is also a heavy in the Palo traditions of Cuba. Julia Gutierrez (coro), has also been brought into the fold, another great dancer and proponent of Bomba and Plena in New York. Of course my ignorance never fails in that I can't identify the other two performers in the video. In anyone knows please leave a comment.

Dennis Flores has been filming much of what's been happening in New York for a couple of years now. If you haven't checked out his YouTube page, you are in for a treat. Not only is the filming quality top notch, the sound quality is great too, which is rare especially among youtube videos. Of course Dennis ain't exactly filming these clips with his camera phone and I am sure he has the best equipment possible at his disposal. Hopefully we will be hearing, or in this case seeing, more from him soon. In the meantime...

(Alma Moyo, Video Credit: Dennis Flores)