CLICK and the Puerto Rican Cultural Center Present the music of Bomba de Aqui & Varsity Bomba of the Springfield Conservatory of the Arts.
Amidst the Paintings of Samantha Sarvet!
Bomba de Aqui is led by Brendaliz Cepeda Peñaloza and her husband Saul “El Pulpo” Peñaloza. Bomba de Aqui in collaboration with the Puerto Rican Cultural Center Inc., is a traditional folkloric Bomba and Plena group dedicated to the education and preservation of Puerto Rican folkloric art and history.
The Cepeda Peñaloza family have historical history and training in Bomba dating back centuries. Mrs. Brendaliz Cepeda Peñaloza is the great granddaughter of the late Rafael Cepeda Atiles a composer and founder of the Puerto Rican folkloric group called “Grupo Folklorico Trapiche.” Don Cepeda is considered “The patriarch of Bomba and Plena.” Mr. Saul ”El Pulpo” Peñaloza received his training in Bomba and Plena in Loiza Puerto Rico from the Ayala and Cepeda families.
Puerto Rican Bomba is both a traditional dance and musical style of Puerto Rico. Bomba’s origins are rooted in the island's history of African slavery but today has evolved into a community expression of Afro-Puerto Rican culture. Bomba is an interactive relationship between dancers, percussionists and singers. Today it's practiced as a communal activity in its centers of origin in Loíza, Santurce, Mayagüez and Ponce.
Puerto Rican Bomba is the first native music of Puerto Rico, created in the sugar plantations by slaves more than 400 years ago. The slaves came from different African tribes and through this music, they could communicate. It is Puerto Rican because it has elements of the Taínos (Arawaks) like the Maraca and Cuás (2 wooden sticks previously played at the side of the Bomba Barrel), the Spanish like the footsteps in the dancing and the African native. This collage of cultural arts represents the Puerto Rican cultural mix.
Springfield Conservatory of the Arts (SCoTA)
The Springfield Conservatory of the Arts enables students to focus on their interest in the arts, whether they are dancers, authors, painters, sculptors, musicians, poets, playwrights, illustrators or actors. All students receive classes in Dance, Music, Visual Arts and Drama, as part of their every day schedule. Here students make art every day!
Varsity Bomba is directed by Mr. Marcos Carreras. Mr. Carreras is an award winning freelance choir director and music educator. In a very short time period Mr. Carreras has been able to guide middle school students through the intricate complexity of different genres of Latin music combining folkloric and modern rhythms. Varsity Bomba offers students the opportunity to learn about culture through the arts.