@MissBigelow
Los Cenzontles gets a boost from Pachanga Jam.
Guests at the Pachanga Jam, a cultural confab co-hosted by musician Linda Rondstadt with philanthropists Nicola Miner and Robert Mailer Anderson, came primed for a lively night of music, as well as some solidarity.
Billed as “An Evening of Music, Solidarity, Food & Drink,” this party benefited Los Cenzontles Cultural Arts Academy in San Pablo — with $100K raised toward a $300K matching grant issued by musician-philanthropist-farmer Edmund Littlefield Jr. and his wife, Laura. In between trips to the Tequila and taco bars, guests broke into exuberant dance moves all over the Miner-Anderson’s Pacific Heights home, often the site of lively musicales and affectionately dubbed the People’s Mansion.
Pointedly held on Feb. 16, the national Day Without Immigrants, stylings ranged from a bit of rockabilly to regional folk music (rancheras, boleros, mariachi, banda) of Mexico — of which California was a territory.
“Part of my family came up the El Camino Real with Junipero Serra in 1769 to Alta California,” said Anderson. “Even though I’m probably the biggest gringo you’ve ever seen, my family has been here a really long time. But we need to remember the agreed-upon facts — we’re all immigrants.”
The joyful jam starred such storied musicians as Los Lobos’ David Hidalgo, Los Super Seven’s Flaco Jimenez and Max Baca, Jefferson Starship’s Pete Sears and the Blasters’ Dave Alvin, who were joined by Los Cenzontles student performers.
“This is the moment when we have to have solidarity across the board,” Anderson declared. “Immigrants are completely under siege, the environment, women’s issues — it’s all one in the same. More than ever, we have to find our commonality. That’s what this is about, that’s what my home is about, and truly, what my life has been all about.”
The cultural arts academy, founded in 1989 by musician and San Francisco Conservatory of Music alum Eugene Rodriguez, grew out of his awardwinning Los Cenzontles band and now includes education outreach and teacher training at schools nationwide.
Rodriguez is close to completing a $3 million capital campaign for a renovation of this San Pablo cultural center where, weekly, 150 students of all ages learn Mexican and Latin genres of music, dance, crafts and culinary arts.
“I’m a third-generation Mexican American and grew up speaking mostly English,” explained Rodriguez. “But at family parties, my uncles and aunts played mariachi music while my mother and I played rock. For most of my life, I felt like I had two parts of me. I think a lot of Mexican Americans feel like there’s a big wall inside us. And, for me, Los Cenzontles has been
about putting it all together and connecting.”
Other connections, some curious, were made as well — especially when musician Dave Alvin learned another event was being hosted nearby at the Getty manse.
“When I heard that, I thought, ‘That is a sentence I never thought I’d hear in my life,’ ” joked the rough-and-tumble rocker. “Well, the Gettys are having a party a block away. But you know what they don’t have? 1927 Prohibition bourbon from Juarez.”
Good sports: As S.F. Giants pitchers and catchers prepared to report to Scottsdale, Ariz., for spring training, another team recently reported to the Fairmont Hotel for the 29th Guardsmen Celebrity Dinner & Sports Auction.
Co-hosted by the Giants Community Fund with Guardsmen event chairs Derick Brown, Kevin Chagnon, Brian Deer, Mike Hall and Joe Rehrmann, the rollicking evening starred an astounding array of sports memorabilia auction items.
And fans raised a whopping $600K for at-risk Bay Area youth who participate in the Junior Giants free baseball program as well as the Guardsmen’s Camp Mendocino and private-school scholarship programs.
Among heavy hitters: beloved Giants announcers and honorary chairmen Mike Krukow and Duane Kuiper; Giants skipper Bruce Bochy; PGA pro John Abendroth; NBA star Rick Barry; NFL champ Dennis Brown; southpaw strikeout king Vida Blue; Giants Enterprises GM Stephen Revetria; and Giants Community Fund director Sue Petersen.
But when Guardsmen emcee and radio host Damon Bruce welcomed Warriors GM (and stalwart VIP) Bob Myers to the stage, Myers singled out the most important people in the room — the Guardsmen themselves and the “awesome” work they do on behalf of children.
The Guardsmen nonprofit not only hosts its annual Christmas Tree Lot at Fort Mason, since 1947 the all-volunteer men’s organization has provided quality educational and outdoor activities for inner-city youth.
“I didn’t get where I am without someone giving me a chance to try out,” said Myers. “Through organizations like the Guardsmen or the Warriors Foundation, it might be that one kid you gave a scholarship will grow up to be the next general manager of the Warriors.” Sukai Crutchfield Billinge is one of those kids and, this summer, will spend her 11th year at Camp Mendocino as a staff member.
“Camp Mendocino is where I learned I am important,” said Billinge, whose parents also attended and worked at the camp. “I loved all the activities and I felt safe. Camp was there for me when I needed it the most and it taught me the most important lessons I’ve ever learned: that I belong; I do have a choice and I can make a difference.”