Bateria Lucha

Intro to maracatú: four week workshop series

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 19:07:16 -0700

Maracatú Luta is a Bay Area percussion ensemble that specializes in the cultural traditions from the state of Pernambuco in the north-east of Brazil, in particular, maracatú, a processional style of music and dance with deep roots and joyous, infectious rhythms. We're offering a four week introductory workshop to share our love of this amazing music. You'll learn alfaia (the bass drum at the heart of maracatú), caixia (snare), gongué (bell), abé (shekere), body percussion, songs, stretches, and more.

Workshop details

Four Tuesdays from 7:00pm to 8:30pm:

2509 Myrtle Ave, West Oakland
(Rides from BART available if you signup for each workshop at the links above, or you RSVP via e-mail or phone).

This will be class for beginners: no experience is necessary and instruments will be provided. However, if you've already got some familiarity with maracatú, come work on an instrument you don't normally play, and/or practice helping others. I'll be sure to keep the classes interesting for everyone.

Maracatu Luta @ the Great American Music Hall

Thu, 21 Feb 2008 23:37:07 -0800

Start: Saturday, March 29, 2008 - 8:00pm

End: Saturday, March 29, 2008 - 11:45pm

Description:

We are very honored to have brought maracatu to the Great American Music Hall (for perhaps the first time ever). In addition, this event was be the launch of Maracatu Luta, a new performing group comprised of the more experienced and long-term members of Bateria Lucha which will be specifically focused on maracatu and related rhythms and styles.

We're thrilled to have performed between sets at the CD release party for Lo Cura, a wonderful Bay Area band that's blending flamenco and reggae. We played for a sold-out house, at the peak of the evening between Lo Cura's fantastic set and the performance by Aphrodesia.

The dance floor was packed (we could barely fit onto the floor when we marched out), and the response was fantastic. I made an audio recording of our set. The sound quality isn't ideal since I just placed the recorder off to the side of the stage and didn't have any way to check on it during the set. It definitely sounds a little weird during the first number as we're marching past the thing out onto the front of the dance floor, but it should give you some idea what we sounded like. We played 5 pieces:

Place:
places/great-american-music-hall

Maracatu Luta

Thu, 21 Feb 2008 23:23:05 -0800

Maracatú Luta is a Bay Area percussion ensemble that specializes in the cultural traditions from the state of Pernambuco in the north-east of Brazil, in particular, maracatú, a processional style of music and dance with deep roots and infectious rhythms. Maracatu Luta is comprised of the members of the Bateria Lucha community that are most passionate about maracatú. Building on years of experience studying and performing this amazing cultural tradition, we want to share more of it with the Bay Area and beyond. We launched this new project at a sold-out performance at the Great American Music Hall on Saturday, March 29th, which was a fantastic experience.

If you're interested in performing with us, the first place to start is by coming to our weekly maracatú workshops on Tuesday nights in West Oakland. In particular, join us for our four week intro to maracatú summer workshop series.

Workshops

Fri, 26 Oct 2007 03:09:48 -0700

Bateria Lucha is dedicated to spreading the rich musical traditions from across Brazil and around the world that we draw inspiration from. We hold regular workshops for different levels, and always welcome new people who are interested and share our respect and love for these cultures.

Protest against the war @ SF Civic Center

Wed, 25 Jul 2007 00:33:06 -0700

Start: Saturday, October 27, 2007 - 9:45am

End: Saturday, October 27, 2007 - 3:00pm

Description:

This will be the 40th anniversary of a historic march on the Pentagon demanding an end to the Vietnam war. 40 years later, and the U.S. military is bogged down in an even more disasterous occupation. Active duty troops are resisting the war in growing numbers. A clear majority of the U.S. supports withdrawing the troops. However, the stakes are way too high for the U.S. empire to admit defeat and leave, so it's going to take significantly more pressure and action from our side. By continuing to demonstrate, we give confidence to other people that they, too, should move from passive opposition to active resistance. We also support the growing movement of active duty GIs and vets that are against the occupation, since those are the people with the real power to stop the war machine.

Bateria Lucha is honored to have been invited to play on stage at the Labor Rally before the main event, and to lead the Labor "feeder march" over to the Civic Center. So, people who are going to be performing with us need to get to the San Francisco Federal Building by 9:45am so we can get ready before the rally starts at 10:30. After the (short) Labor rally, we'll march (basically around the corner) to the main Civic Center rally site, helping to lead the Labor contingent in chants and songs.

Place:
http://baterialucha.org/places/sf_civic_center

Lucha participation:
Definite

URL:
http://www.oct27sf.org

SF Carnaval 2007 Grand Parade

Wed, 11 Apr 2007 16:30:53 -0700

Start: Sunday, May 27, 2007 - 9:00am

End: Sunday, May 27, 2007 - 4:00pm

Description:

This year, many members of Bateria Lucha marched with Jorge Alabe 's Grupo Samba Rio samba group and Maisa Duke's Energia do Samba in the San Francisco Carnaval 2007 Grand Parade, then played a stage show later in the afternoon.

This year, our "victory" is complicated by the fact that technically, the dancers we accompanied and the musicians were 2 separate contingents. However, in terms of the percussion, we are honored to have won 3rd place for music in the "Brazilian contingents" category! Furthermore, the dance contingent won 3rd place overall for Brazilian contingents. Congratulations to everyone who participated!

URL:
www.carnavalsf.com

San Francisco Carnaval 2006

Sun, 28 May 2006 23:19:37 -0700

One of the biggest projects Bateria Lucha worked on during the spring of 2006 was prepairing a contingent in the 2006 San Francisco Carnaval Parade: Maracatu Nação Cazadero. On May 28th, we presented this unique music and dance tradition from the Brazilian state of Pernambuco.

We are honored to have won 3rd place for music in the "Brazilian contingents" category!

Welcome to Bateria Lucha's Community Web Site

Fri, 03 Feb 2006 23:16:24 -0800

Bateria Lucha is a Bay Area percussion ensemble performing mostly Brazilian music, combined with Middle Eastern, Indian, and other rhythms. Our aims are to support the global struggle for social justice, and to build a strong, vibrant community through music and dance.