Golondrina: Andanzas por California / Passages through California (A Musical Journey)

“Golondrina” is the third installment of La Peña Cultural Center’s four-part series examining the role of women in traditional folk music and dance from Latin America and the Caribbean. With the support of National Endowment for the Art’s (NEA) Artworks, this series also honors the historic presence of women’s leadership in the promotion of cultural traditions.

Liliana Herrera’s Golondrina is a musical confluence of song and poetic storytelling honoring California’s rich history and abounding contributions of its inhabitants, languages, and folkloric traditions. This spirited journey of traditional and original song unleashes the most marginalized yet inspiring voices of resistance and resilience, while embodying the majestic wanderings of La Golondrina (the migrating swallow) on her migratory melodic route. Showcasing vast vocal ranges and ethereal soundscapes, this musical performance fuses soulful boleros, rancheras, cumbias, blues and more.

Celebrating her roots from Baja to Alta California as well as the majestic nature of migration, epitomized by las Golondrinas (California’s famous migrating Swallows of Capistrano), chanteuse and songwriter Liliana Herrera takes us on a bilingual lyrical odyssey, echoing the struggles and resilience of society’s most marginalized, including women, native and migrant communities.

From coastal fog to blooming desert heat, these narratives dispel the myths of passive consent to colonialism: from the romanticized Spanish Missions, to the booming cities of the gold rush, cascading sierras and the fertile valleys of our golden state.

At this pivotal moment in time when our sociopolitical climate instigates intolerance, ignorance and fear, it is vital and fruitful to turn our cultural riffs topsy-turvy so instead of inducing tectonic divisions, we forge ahead, creatively embracing the common threads flowing through and uniting us.

Following the performance there is a Q&A with the artists.

$16 Advance / $20 Door

For tickets click here