THURSDAY, OCTOBER 6
Time: 6:00pm - 8:00pm

Cost: Free; no reservations required.

Note: Performance will be moved indoors if it's raining, so come rain or shine!

“Remembering the past, living the present, and looking towards the future” is the ethos that inspires each performance from the invigorating Omo Aché Afro-Cuban Music & Dance Company. Under the direction of master artist Juan Carlos Blanco, this program highlights the African cultures preserved by Cuban cabildos, or cultural societies. Omo Aché brings to life the beliefs of the Yoruba, Arará and Congo religions through sound and movement associated with the spirit world. With lively percussionists, singers and dancers, Omo Aché shares stories from their Afro-Cuban roots.

Born in Havana, Juan Carlos Blanco Riera spent over fifteen years performing with professional Cuban dance companies, including nine years with the renowned Raices Profundas. Since moving to the U.S., Blanco has been featured in various productions as a dancer and guest choreographer. In 1998, he founded Omo Aché to preserve and share Afro-Cuban folkloric stories through song and dance. Members include Cuban and local artists dedicated to the ethnographic investigation of traditional Afro-Cuban cultural arts. The company performs in schools, universities and multi-cultural venues throughout California.

This presentation is planned in conjunction with the Fowler exhibition Transcultural Pilgrim: Three Decades of Work by José Bedia – a major retrospective and installation that explores Bedia’s ties to his Cuban-based religion, its central African source, and his investigation of indigenous American beliefs.

Students from the MFA Documentary Program at the New York Film Academy, Los Angeles, will be documenting the following World Festival of Sacred Music events: Omo Aché Afro-Cuban Music & Dance Co., Emerging Voices: Spirit of the Child, and Mare Vaporum.

Outdoors, open seating. Bring a blanket or mat.