A Cuban icon comes to Berkeley
With the U.S. embassy in Havana no longer issuing visas, Cuban musicians seeking to perform here once again face confounding hurdles. But that doesn’t mean Cuban sounds are absent from Bay Area stages. With her rootsy repertoire of Cuban standards and sacred Santería chants, Havana-born Bobi Céspedes has played an essential role in bringing Afro-Cuban rhythms and rituals to the Bay Area since moving here nearly half a century ago.
Starting with the celebrated band Conjunto Céspedes, which she founded with her brother Luis and nephew Guillermo, Céspedes’ deep, resonant voice and captivating stage presence have provided a direct link between the new world and the old, as she belts son, rumba, boleros and Yoruba incantations.
The Oakland-based singer and master of the gourd chekeré gained a wider audience during her years touring with Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart’s Planet Drum and Bembé Orisha projects, but in recent years she’s concentrated on a new band under her own name. Making her debut Saturday at Berkeley’s Freight & Salvage, which continues to expand its offerings under the artistic direction of Peter Williams, Céspedes performs with a magnificent ensemble featuring Marco Díaz on piano, trumpet and vocals, bassist Saúl Sierra-Alonso, conguero Carlos Caro, bonguero Julio Pérez, José Roberto Hernández on guitar and vocals, and Lichi Fuentes on vocals, chekeré and guiro.
Details: 8 p.m.; $22-$26; 510-644-2020, www. thefreight.org.
Solo show explores money, class
Kate Robards charmed with her first solo show “Mandarin Orange,” contrasting her early life in the small town of Orange, Texas, with the expatriate scene in Shanghai, China, and exploring the countless amusing quirks of people in both places.
After a few years in San Francisco, Robards moved to New York last year, but now she’s back with a new solo show at the Marsh’s upstairs Studio Theater.
“Ain’t That Rich” goes deep into questions of class. Robards talks about growing up poor in East Texas and trying to keep up with the wealthier families in town. When she eventually marries a rich guy, she finds out how much rich folks — or at least these rich folks — hate being described as rich. With plenty of comical contrasts between the haves and have-nots, Robards tries to make sense of whether money truly does change everything.
Details: Through Dec. 2, The Marsh Studio Theater, San Francisco; $20-$35; 415-282-3055, www.themarsh.org. — Sam Hurwitt, Correspondent
Napa Valley Film Fest returns
Despite the devastating October wildfires, the Napa Valley Film Festival is moving ahead. In fact, organizers are coming up with ways to benefit survivors, donating 10 percent of revenue from ticket sales to the Napa Valley Community Foundation’s Disaster Relief Fund and giving away 1,000 free tickets to survivors.
As always, the festival’s program is a major draw. A definite must-see is “Call Me By Your Name,” director Luca Guadagnino’s gorgeous, brilliantly written and acted adaptation of Andre Aciman’s novel about youthful desire (screening Nov. 9 and 11). It features an accomplished performance, and one of 2017’s most eloquent speeches, from Michael Stuhlbarg, who also appears in Guillermo del Toro’s Oscar-ready “The Shape of Water” (Nov. 9).
The festival will pay tribute on Nov. 9 to Stuhlbarg, filmmaker Nancy Meyers (“Something’s Gotta Give”), and actors Michael Shannon (“Nocturnal Animals”), Nikki Reed and Ian Somerhalder. Will Ferrell is slated to appear Nov. 10 for a tribute.
One film to go out of your way to see is Santiago Rizzo’s “Quest,” a compassionate drama about a Berkeley high school teacher who positively influences a troubled youth (Wednesday, Nov. 9 and 11).
Among the many documentaries is “A Fine Line,” which explores why there are so few women chefs (Nov. 9, 10 and 12, with a special culinary demonstration and discussion slated for Nov. 10).
Details: Wednesday-Nov. 12; tickets, schedule and more information are at nvff. org. — Randy Myers, Correspondent