Dance with the Spirits October 31, 2008

A celebration of Halloween and the Day of the Dead featuring Jose Roberto y Sus Amigos, a popular local ensemble specializing in traditional Latin music. Jose Roberto Hernandez invites you to join him and his friends in exploring Latin America's musical wealth. From Cuban son to Peruvian festejos, Mexican huapangos to trans-cultural fusions, Jose Roberto's unique instrumentation and insatiable imagination take audiences on a musical journey that borders on magical.

This month's concert will be a Latin dance party with wine and other refreshments available. Halloween costumes encouraged. Make this your first stop before you hit the town!

About Jose Roberto Hernandez
Born in Tabasco, Mexico, Jose Roberto learned to play a multitude of instruments from the real masters: his pueblo's street musicians. Early on in his musical education, he learned to play the baroque flute. Soon he turned his attention to what he describes as his lifelong companion, the guitar. As a young adult refining his musical abilities at the Instituto de Estudios Superiores de la Musica in Mexico City, Jose Roberto continued to add more and more instruments to his musical arsenal including the charango, cuatro, traditional flutes, tres, vihuela, violin, and countless percussion instruments. Today, Jose Roberto masters over forty traditional Latin American instruments. From his pre-hispanic compositions to his mastery of trova cubana, or Cuban New Song, Jose Roberto's diverse musical education is ever-present in his performance work. As musical director of both Jose Roberto y Sus Amigos and Vinic-Kay, Jose Roberto has surrounded himself with musicians whose musical visions are complimentary to his own. By incorporating violin, traditional Latin American percussion, and impressive vocalists with his multi-instrumental dexterity and gifted arranging and composing abilities, Jose Roberto creates music that communicates the true spirit of Latin America.

$18 General / $15 Senior / $12 Students.

Official Website: http://www.bayareabach.org