On Wednesday, September 9, 2026, 6-8:30pm “The Annex Sessions” music series will continue at The Annex (El Cerrito Natural Grocery Company Prepared Food Annex), 10387 San Pablo Avenue, El Cerrito with
Shefali Shah Presents Aguacero
Shefali Shah: vocals, minor percussion, dance
Ali “Choco” Luna: percussion and dance
Forooza Baradar: percussion, vocals and dance
Hector Lugo: percussion and vocals
Roman “Ito” Carrillo: percussion and vocals
Liris Robles: vocals and dance, guitar
Ximena Montes: vocals, minor percussion and dance
Iselah Pabon Ramos: vocals and dance
Ayla Davila, percussion and vocals
Batey Boricua
The first hour of the show will be a presentation by Aguacero that focuses on the traditional and creative expressions of Puerto Rican Bomba music and dance. Bomba is the oldest living music and dance tradition of the island. Instrumentation is barrel drums or barriles, cuas (a pair of sticks played on a small mounted hollow drum, and one maraca. Voice and dance are a key aspect of the instrumentation and the rhythm and cadence of Bomba.
The second hour will feature a Batey de Bomba or a community jam where we invite people from the community to participate with us, dancing, singing and playing.
Batey Boricua
homage to the gathering we know as the Bombazo, where community becomes rhythm and memory finds its voice. Here, practitioners of Bomba drum, sing, and dance together, weaving stories of who we have been and who we continue to become. In each step and beat lives an act of self-determination, a refusal of the labels that claim we are unworthy.
Bombatey is our reflection—vivid, proud, and unmistakably ours. And through it we share, without apology or restraint, the living, breathing truth of what it means to be Puerto Rican.
~~~~~
The Natural Grocery Company is proud to present this series in partnership with SunJams and Javier Navarrette Music Productions.
SunJams is committed to funding children’s music education in underserved public elementary schools. Your donation will help support this ongoing program.
All the proceeds will go directly to our network of local musicians, each of whom has been severely impacted by the lack of events during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Whether you donate $10, $100, or $1000 – any amount helps and will allow us to keep bringing music to our community! As always, your donation to SunJams 501(c)3 may qualify as tax exempt.
Javier Navarrette Music Productions continues to bring live music to several venues around the Bay Area. Javier has been a professional musician and music educator in the Oakland Unified School District for the past 20 years. Over the past few years Navarrette has produced outdoors events that have proven instrumental in enabling musicians to deal with some of the fallout of the pandemic and shutdown that followed.
COVID RELATED SAFETY MEASURES
Please be safe. Feel free to wear a mask if you prefer.
TICKETS
Tickets are NOT required for this venue, you can simply come in, order food and beverages at the Annex counter and pay at the registers.