Museum of the African Diaspora and Yerba Buena Gardens Festival are excited to present, Rhythms of Resistance, a four-week lecture series featuring internationally renowned multi-Grammy nominee, composer, producer, educator, and bandleader, John Santos. 

Rhythms of Resistance focuses on the traditional and contemporary roles of Puerto Rican and Cuban music in the struggle for social justice. Video, photos, and audio recordings from John's storied collection will provide the point of departure for these discussions with Q&A sessions. Each session will include the social and cultural history of the music and rhythms.

Upcoming Sessions:

‍
Wednesday, September 6, 2023

Cuba - History, Heart of the Americas, Roots of Resistance

Wednesday, September 13, 2023

Puerto Rico - Evolution, Situ no me has dado nada (If you have given me nothing), Contemporary Continuity

Wednesday, September 20,2023

Cuba - (R)evolution, Divide and Conquer, Falta mucho pa' llegar (There's a long way yet to go), Contemporary Expression

‍

Previous Session:

‍

Wednesday, August 30, 2023

Puerto Rico - History, the Colonial Path, Roots of Resistance

‍

About John Santos

Far more than a master percussionist, internationally renowned multi-Grammy nominee, composer, producer, and bandleader John Santos, is an invaluable educator and cultural activist. He is a keeper of the Afro-Caribbean flame steeped in Cuban and Puerto Rican folkloric traditions, as well as salsa and Latin jazz. A 2012 SanFrancisco Latino Heritage Arts Awardee, born and raised in San Francisco’s Mission District amidst an extended family of Puerto Rican musicians, he’s been at the center of the Bay Area’s Latin music scene for over forty-five years!

He served on the Smithsonian Institution’s Latin Jazz Advisory Committee and has played an essential role in expanding Latin jazz’s rhythmic lexicon beyond the foundational Cuban grooves. He has produced a steady stream of critically acclaimed, peer-respected recordings on his Machete Records label since 1984 and has travelled the world as a teacher and lecturer since the mid-eighties.

Known for his innovative use of traditional forms and instruments in combination with contemporary music, John has performed and/or recorded with masters such as Tito Puente, DizzyGillespie, Max Roach, Cachao, Eddie Palmieri, James Moody, Omar Sosa, McCoy Tyner, Giovanni Hidalgo, and Bebo Valdés.

He is faculty at the California Jazz Conservatory, SF State University, College of San Mateo, and Jazz Camp West and is an Advisory Board member of Oaktown Jazz, Living Jazz, and the Afro-LatinJazz Alliance (NY), and a Trustee of SFJAZZ.

‍

^{Header image: Pablo Roche 'Okilakpua' c.1950}

‍