Dear Friends,
Last weekend we had our long-awaited cultural fundraising event in San Francisco! It was a lot of fun and a lot of work to put everything together, but thanks to a lot of help we were able to make it happen. Great food, lively performances, fun intimate moments, and lots of interesting conversations were part of this special evening put together with lots of love. De Rompe y Raja, an amazing Peruvian Cultural Association from the Bay area was in charge of our entertainment for the evening and their cajon and stepping opening performance gave our event the perfect tone. This group of singers, dancers and musicians did a fantastic job introducing everyone to the sounds and rhythms of Coastal Peru throughout the evening. They can really put on a mind blowing show! Please check them out at www.derompeyraja.org.
Queridos amigos, este sabado pasado por fin llego el dia de celebrar nuestro evento recauda fondos en San Francisco. Fue mucho trabajo el organizarlo pero gracias a mucha ayuda pudimos hacerlo realidad y divertirnos mucho esa noche. Buena comida, excelente musica y danzas en vivo, momentos super lindos, y muchas conversaciones con nuevos amigos fueron parte de esta noche tan especial para nosotros. De Rompe y Raja, una asociacion cultural Peruana de esa area estuvo encargada de llenar la noche de sonidos y ritmos costenos Peruanos y que maravilloso trabajo hicieron todos los miembros de esta agrupacion. Les invito a que conozcan su trabajo www.derompeyraja.org...son excelentes! Gracias Pedro!
Our dear friend Mumu was also part of the program delivering a beautiful dance piece that moved me to tears. I saw all my girls moving with and in Mumu. Thank you Mumu! We love you!
Our friends from Dreamtime Circus and from the Convent Collective were such a special part of this evening helping us organize different aspects of the event and performing at the after party.
Sophia our key lead event coordinator who worked tirelessly and with every ounce of love she had to make the event happen was essential in the realization of this event. Thank you Sophia for all your work, love, friendship and energy!
Ilya, meeting you was special and seeing you run around doing whatever it took to help us really means a lot to me. I'll never forget your kindness and I'm grateful to life for bringing you and Sophia together.
Chris and Savannah thanks for your help setting up the convent for the evening, performing at the after party, and sharing your experience in Chincha during the main program. Alex thanks for making our event and coming to help chop veggies! Karen, thank you for coming to the event and talking about us to all your friends! Tom, thank you for your kind donation...we were sorry we couldn't thank you in person but we are grateful to know that our work is still in your mind and intention. Thanks for your support Tom and all Dream time Circus friends! We love you and seeing you again in your neck of the woods was almost surreal and lovely :)
Convent Collective friends, thank you for opening your house and sharing your space with us. Nothing would have happened without your help and support...gracias!
We also want to thank Angie and Keely (Sophia's friends) for all their amazing help in the kitchen preparing our Peruvian dinner. Andy was certainly lucky to have you both ladies! Thank you SOOO much! Finally, I want to thank Carlos from Mi Lindo Peru restaurant for donating the dessert we served, Jose from Crazy Copy for donating the printing of programs and tickets, Carlos from Peruvian Produce distributors for donating the purple corn and corn to make canchita, and Inkas restaurant for donating a pan of rice. All of you helped us make our event become a reality and I couldn't thank you enough! Gracias a todos ustedes!
I certainly enjoyed the evening and speaking to many new friends made that night. Andy and I left San Francisco feeling like we had a new group of friends there and we are grateful for your support and friendship. I hope you enjoy the images on this entry and decide to continue getting to know our work and our community in Chincha. thank you and enjoy! Mayten
De Rompe y Raja making great music for us!
De Rompe y Raja girls gracefully dancing a festejo
Fox showing off one of our raffle items
Dani helping us model an alpaca scarf and a bag during our raffle
me announcing the winning ticket number....
and he took it!!!
Savannah also helping display our raffle items
My friend Yasushi helping me pick another raffle winner
she wonnnnnn :)
Chris from Dream Time sharing his experience working with us in Chincha. Thanks Chris!
Dinner time!!!!
We had lots of liquid possibilities.....
Ilya and Meredith helping us serve dessert ...lucuma ice cream which was a hit!
Mumu dancing beautifully during her performance
De Rompe y Raja dancers showing a different dance form (Peruvian Waltz)
Pedro Rosales De Rompe y Raja's director speaking to the audience about their work in SF
Gaby Chiroma from De Rompe y Raja inviting audience to try a few Peruvian moves with her and her girls
dancers teaching us how to move
Audience moving to Peruvian music
Chris & Savannah from Dream Time performing at the after party
Mumu performing at the after party
Alex & Mumu performing together at the after party
Andy and I taking a moment at the after party to look at the moon and stars and feel grateful
Ilya and the Future Simple Project playing at the after party...thanks guys!
Thanks to everyone who attended the SF event. I know there are plenty of interesting things going on in your city, so your support means a lot to me and I hope some of the new friends and connections I have made in San Francisco will prove to be lasting ones. We are looking forward seeing you all the next time we are in town, hopefully to do another event even better than this one!
