Día de los Muertos

Come out and join the thousands of people as we march, sing and dance in procession to entice our lost loved ones' spirits to join us for their yearly visit.

See the links below. This is an event you don't want to miss!
www.dayofthedeadsf.org
www.facebook.com/pages/Dia-de-la-Muertos-Day-of-the-Dead-SF/150627858751

"Contigo" I will go

Last Tuesday evening a friend and I indulged in cava, white wines and nouveau Catalonian temptations at Contigo in Noe Valley. Our server was knowledgeable and well versed on the traditional and "improved" Catalonian and Spanish gastronomies.

Prior to our meal we enjoyed both a white wine and cava flight as our he versed us on the ancient cava making process. We both agreed that the German Gilabert cava and the Bodegas As Laxas white wine were the best.

As for the main course, the chef has taken the best from Catalonian cuisine and modernized the flavors. Our favorite dish was the calamares a la plancha. I would go back just to sip on Bodegas As Laxas and savor the sauteed calamari.
I give this restaurant two pomegranates for authenticity: There are some plates that are traditional from Catalonia and others that have preserved the traditional Mediterranean ingredients of Catalonia and Spain in general, but are their own amalgam. Most importantly, the owner is Catalan and has hired servers who speak Spanish. Our server was more than happy to engage in both languages.

The restaurant fills up, so get there early (or park it at the bar while you wait while enjoying your own wine or cava flight).

Contigo
1320 Castro Street
San Francisco, CA 94114
415.285.0250

Andalú - not from Andalucia!

We recently stopped by Andalú on a very crowded Sunday afternoon.
I have to say the food was very nice but if we had not seen the name before entering, it would have been hard to know what the concept of the restaurant was.
The most "Spanish" dish we saw, and tasted, was the Castillian Hot Cocoa with donut holes - which I was hoping might be an attempt at making buñuelos, but unfortunately tasted more like the Mexican style churros! I enjoyed a great order of chilaquiles but there was little else on the menu that was hispanic, left alone Spanish or Andalucian!
Our waiter was patient and helpful and although not a Spanish speaker, he had a great tattoo in Spanish, which he kindly let us photograph.



The other staff were ok, nothing special, and the decor, as the food, had no connection to Spain!

Unfortunately this one gets no pomegranates from us as it lacked any authenticity :(

Andalú
3198 16th St. at the intersection of Guerrero and 16th St

Restaurant Review - Colibrí

Another great find!
We had a wonderful, authentic meal, surrounded by only a few other customers, some of whom were Spanish speakers. The staff spoke Spanish and the decoration was definitely reminiscent of some of the restaurants I ate it while living in Mexico City.
The food was delicious. Home made, traditional but with some modern twists.
I'm guessing the evenings will be a lot more buzzing with atmosphere as we went for a very late lunch during the week. The tequila selection is huge and the bar is a great place to hang out!
Whether it is for lunch or dinner, we will definitely be back!

Colibrí - Mexican Bistro
438 Geary Street, San Francisco, CA 94102
Between Mason & Taylor, across from the Curran and A.C.T. Theatres.
Phone: (415) 440 2737

Flamenco Events coming up

Sentimiento y Compás
La Peña Cultural Center
3105 Shattuck Ave.
Berkeley, CA 94705
Friday, Sept. 11, 2009 @ 8:30pm
$12 in advance, $15 at the door
Tickets: Please call (510) 849-2568 ext. 20
website: www.lapena.org
Flamenco is feeling/emotions—Sentimiento; and secondly, rhythms—Compás. "Sentimiento y Compás," illustrates this with performances of cantiñas, solea, seguiriyas, bulerias. All four performers spent years in Spain and studied with masters. Roberto, Fanny and Geoff are also fixtures in the Bay Area's flamenco scene. Eva performs here when she's in town.


El Sonido del Silencio
Fort Mason Center, Cowell Theater, San Francisco, CA
Saturday, September 12th, 8pm
$15 kids, $20 students & Senior, $29 others
www.fortmason/box/office/index.shtml
Artistic Director Cristina Hall, together with guest artist Carola Zertuche, music director Manuel Montero, singers Niño de Elche and Alejandro Villaescusa, and percussionist Jaz Sawyer, presents a rich program, drawing upon the old flamenco culture of Sevilla. By means of archival recordings and images, they make the connection between early twentieth century Sevillano culture and a moving palette of contemporary flamenco music and dance.


Eyes of Eve
Saturday, September 12, 2009 7:00pm
Julia Morgan Theater, 2640 College Ave, Berkeley, CA 94704
$21 in advance, $26 at the door (discounts for kids, students, seniors and groups available)
www.brownpapertickets.com or 800-838-3006
An encore performance for one-night only! Eve’s Elixir presents four choreographers of contemporary world dance as they explore the power of perspectives. Weaving together beautiful and poignant pieces and taking inspiring risks outside the traditional framework of flamenco, capoeira, Indonesian, modern dance, and more!

"Ole Sevilla" Featuring singer Jesus Montoy and La Christina, direct from Sevilla
The Verdi Club
2424 Mariposa, San Francisco, CA 94110
September 18th, 8:00pm
$10-$18
(510) 531-9986
info@caminosflamencos.com
Created and directed by Emmy Award-winning dancer Yaelisa, with music by Jason McGuire El Rubio, and featuring a changing cast of world-class performers, special guest artists, and surprises to come, Cafe Flamenco returns in style to the historic Verdi Club in the Mission District, one of San Francisco's beloved gems. With a gracious bar lounge and gorgeous ballroom built in 1916, the Verdi Club invites the community to celebrate the rich cultural heritage of flamenco in the Bay Area. Wine, roses and a menu of Spanish tapas ($3-$6) by Felix de Lola make an unforgettable experience of Spain close to home. These performances sell-out each month, make your reservations early! NOTE: Cash-only bar and tapas (purchased separately)

Kaweh in Concert - Flamenca Rumba, Mediterranean, Salsa

• Fri. September 18, 2009, 8pm
The Landmark Theater, 75 S 11th St, San Jose, CA 95112
• Tue. October 6, 2009, 8pm
Yoshi's, 1330 Fillmore St, San Francisco

KAWEH is a Flamenco Rumba • Mediterranean • Salsa group based in the San Francisco Bay Area (Silicon Valley). Their repertoire consists of original upbeat compositions including various easy listening romantic pieces. KAWEH also covers songs by the Gipsy Kings and several Italian and Latin standards.

View complete calendar: http://www.kaweh.com/tour.html

Latino Heritage Month - All September long!

September is Latino Heritage Month
Consider joining some of the many events and festivities Starting this evening with:

Latino Heritage Night with the SF Giants
Featuring the Legendary Carlos Santana
Tue. August 25, 2009, 5-8pm
San Francisco

AT&T Park
801 3rd St, / 24 Willie Mays Plaza, San Francisco, CA 94107
Come out and enjoy pre-game and in-game cultural entertainment, celebrate Latino heritage, and spend an evening with a music legend! For tickets or more information call: 415 972-2298, www.sfgiants.com/specialevents

Viva Las Americas
Saturday, Sep 12 1:00p to 5:00p

at Pier 39, San Francisco, CA

PIER 39 celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month with Viva Las Americas. This festive event showcases traditional dance and music performances from Mexico, Central and South America. Children can enjoy the fun with traditional Latin American crafts, dancing and more.
http://www.pier39.com/Events/events.htm

San Francisco Zoo Annual Latino Heritage Celebration
Saturday, Sep 19 10:00a to 4:00p

at San Francisco Zoo, San Francisco, CA

Join The Fiesta At The San Francisco ZOO!
Annual Latino Heritage Celebración September 19 & 20
10 a.m. to 4 p.m.


Redwood City Salsa Festival
Sat. September 26, 2009, 12-8pm
Redwood City
Downtown Redwood City Amateur and professional Salsa chefs will compete for fun, prizes, and Salsa Glory at the mouth watering and exciting Salsa Tasting & Competition, where the public takes part in judging. Three stages of live music with Latin, Salsa and Family themes, as well as free dance lessons, will keep Redwood City grooving all day long.

www.redwoodcity.org/events

18th Annual San José Mariachi Heritage Festival
Sunday, September 27th 8:00pm at HP Pavillion, San José
http://sanjosemariachifestival.com/

Or Stay home and watch it from your sofa:

KQED has a month long schedule celebrating Latino Culture:
http://www.kqed.org/community/heritage/latino/

and don't forget next month's celebration: Día de los muertos... more to come on that later :)

Radio Habana Social Club Review

Radio Habana Social Club is a small but busy social club that happens to offer food and sangria. This place is full of Spanish speakers, from the charismatic owner who mingles with the customers, to the mellow waitress, who despite working alone, taking orders, heating up food and serving every table, seems to have all the time in the world to chat away with you. Many of the other patrons were also speaking Spanish or a mixture of Spanish and English.
The decoration is, well, unique! You could spend the entire evening looking at all the images, trinkets and oddities on display. Some very authentic and others just plain interesting.
The food, which was reasonably priced, is pre-prepared and heated (when needed) on the spot in a minute little kitchen. Don't be put off by this though, as their food is very authentic, made by local Mexicans and Salvadoreans. It won't blow your mind but it will be enough to tide you over and allow you to focus on what you are there to do: Socialize :)
The drinks list is limited: beer, sangria and coffee and some other non-alcoholic beverages but for such a small place, the focus is definitely on the atmosphere. This is a place to enjoy in small groups, with great music that is not so loud to limit conversation. If you are lucky you might show up for an impromptu musical performance!

This definitely deserves 3 pomegranates:



1109 Valencia St
(between 22nd St & 23rd St)
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 824-7659


Hours:
Mon.:7:30 p.m. - 12:00 a.m.
Wed-Sat.: 7:00 p.m. - 12:00 a.m.

Please note this is a cash only place!

Restaurant, Bar and Venue Reviews

As time permits, we will be reviewing restaurants, bars and other hang outs to help you choose authentic places to try food, drink and hear the Spanish language. Despite my many years of working in the Restaurant industry and having grown up in that environment, my parents opened one of the first night clubs on the Island of Mallorca and the Spanish Royals have been patrons of many of their restaurants, our aim here is not to give you a traditional critique of each location, but rather, give you an idea of the authenticity of the food, the staff and overall atmosphere. We will be assigning 1, 2 or 3 pomegranates (granadas in Spanish) based on the following criteria:

1. Authenticity of the food
2. Authenticity and selection of wine/drinks list.
3. Overall atmosphere - including decoration, language knowledge of the staff

We will, where appropriate, give you an idea of the price range, how environmentally friendly their practices are and the quality of the service and food but authenticity is our main goal: ¡Qué disfruten!

Carnaval San Francisco

Image by sfmission.com via Flickr

Come join California's largest multi-cultural celebration. Enjoy food, music, arts and crafts and a lot of dancing as you celebrate Latin American and Caribbean culture! Events are set up on various stages so you can watch the amazing floats and performers and participate in many other activities too!

The Carnaval San Francisco Festival runs Saturday and Sunday, May 23 and 24, from 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. Located on Harrison Street, between 16th and 22nd streets.

The world famous Carnaval Grand Parade is on Sunday, May 24 starts 9:30 a.m. at the corner of 24th and Bryant streets where it will proceed west to Mission Street. From there, the parade heads north on Mission down to 17th Street, where it will turn east and flow into the festival area.

Call the Carnaval San Francisco hotline at (415) 651-1811 or, for current updates about Carnaval San Francisco, please visit www.carnavalsf.com.

Little Ashes

Released as ¡Al límite! in Spain and coming to the U.S. this weekend, Little Ashes revolves around the young Dali who arrives at university in the early 20s at the age of 18 and attracts the attention of Lorca and Bunel. Dali is absorbed into their youthfully decadent group and "feels and increasingly strong pull towards the charismatic Federico - who is himself oblivious of the attentions he is getting from his beautiful writer friend, Magdalena. In the face of his friends' preoccupations - and Federico's growing renown as a poet - Luis sets off for Paris in search of his own artistic success. Federico and Salvador spend the holiday in the sea-side town of Cadaques. Both the idyllic surroundings and the warmth of the Dali family sweep Federico off his feet. Salvador and Frederico draw closer, sharing their deepest beliefs, inspirations and secrets, convinced that they have found a kind of friendship not dreamed of by others. It is more that a meeting of the minds; it is a fusion of souls." Written by Anonymous

With Javier Beltrán, Robert Pattinson, Matthew McNulty, Marina Gatell & Arly Jover
Directed by Paul Morrison and written by Philippa Goslett

http://www.littleashes-themovie.com/

Watch it at:

CLAY THEATRE
2261 FILLMORE STREET
SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94115
415-346-1124
2:00, 4:30, 7:00, 9:30

SHATTUCK CINEMAS
2230 SHATTUCK AVE.
BERKELEY, CA 94704
510-644-2992
1:50, 4:25, 7:00, 9:35

GUILD THEATRE
949 EL CAMINO REAL
MENLO PARK, CA 94025
650-323-6583

CAMERA 3 CINEMA
288 S. Second Street
San Jose, CA 95113
408-294-3334

Rudo y Cursi

From the Makers of "Y Tu Mamá También" Rudo y Cursi is a Mexican film starring Diego Luna, Gael Garcia Bernal and Guillermo Francella. It is directed by Carlos Cuarón (Alfonso Cuaron's brother) and produced by Cha Cha Cha Producciones (production company created by Alfonso Cuarón, Guillermo del Toro and Alejandro González Iñárritu).
From IMDb: "A chance encounter with a talent scout affords half-brothers Tato (Bernal) and Beto (Luna) the opportunity to play professional soccer in Mexico City. The catch: the scout can only bring one of the boys, which kickstarts an intense sibling rivalry, though fate will not keep the brothers apart for long."
First released in the US at the San Francisco Film Festival, it is out on limited release on the 8th of May and a wider release on the 15th of May.

http://www.rudoycursilapelicula.com/

Cinco de Mayo Events

Although widely celebrated in the U.S., Cinco de Mayo is celebrated mainly in the state of Puebla and rarely anywhere else in the rest of Mexico. It commemorates the battle of Puebla fought on May 5th 1862, in which the French were defeated, despite being better equipped and outnumbering the Mexicans 2 to 1.
In the U.S. many use this date to celebrate Mexican heritage and culture and although it should not be confused with Mexican Independence, which is on September 16th, it is still a wonderful opportunity to join in the various festivities. Enjoy a wide range of activities from art, music, dance, food and other cultural events coming up in the Bay Area!

San Francisco Cinco de Mayo Festival
May 2nd from 10am until 6pm
With mariachi, pop & rock music, ballet folklórico and other dance performances. There is even an illusionist.
This is an alcohol free, family event!
http://sfcincodemayo.com/

Napa Valley Cinco de Mayo Parade and Festival, Calistoga
May 3rd from 12pm until 4pm
Parade, singing, mariachi dancing, ethnic foods, and other festivities.
$5 per adult. 12 and under are free
http://www.napavalleycincodemayo.com/

Cinco de Mayo parade downtown San Jose
May 3rd from 10am until 6pm
Floats, colorful costumes, marching bands
http://www.sjgif.org/cincodemayo.html

Tour of Spain's culinary contribution to the world

Join Kasey Passen at Cellar360 this Saturday April 25th for a taste of Spain.

When: April 25th, 2009 from 2:00pm-3:30pm
Location: 360 at Ghirardelli Square 900 North Point, San Francisco, CA 94109
Cost: $25 / $20 Club Member.

Description: Culinary Specialist Kasey Passen, who studied in Barcelona will lead this tour of Spain's culinary contribution to the world food-scene. Experience Kasey's favorite Mediterranean cuisine as she explores a variety of Spanish dishes...including small plates and paella!

For information and reservations, call 415-440-0772 or email to retail@cellar360.com. Limited to the first 40 RSVPs.

(Note: Limited to first 40 repondents. Guests will be charged at time of RSVP and cancellation with full refund is available only until 72 hours prior to event.)