José Oyola walked around beaming, acknowledging seemingly every person in Cafe Nine on Saturday evening as he got ready to present the second night of his two-night music series, called Cultura.
“I’m so thankful for the support. This is great,” he said. “This is what it’s all about. Community — that’s all there is.”
Oyola organized Cultura to raise money for Puerto Rico Independent Musicians (PRIMA), an organization founded by Ani Cordero — one of the performers on Saturday — and Raquel Barrios of the band Buscabulla, and facilitated by Alfredo Richner of Puerto Rico Indie, to provide micro-grants to independent musicians in Puerto Rico as well as other supporters of the culture and community. Initially set up to showcase Latino performers, Cultura became a fundraiser after Oyola, formerly of New Haven but now living in New York, became involved in PRIMA.
“It was two weeks before we heard from our family down in Puerto Rico,” Cordero said of the time after Hurricane Maria in September. “Once we knew people were safe, we asked ourselves ‘how can we help?’ We were giving general support, and then we started hearing from people in the music scene. Musicians live close to the edge, and everything was ruined … equipment was lost, shows were cancelled … if musicians can’t play it is depressing. They need to be creating. It’s healing for them and others. We wanted to take care of our peer group, the independent musicians, and there wasn’t anything available for them.”
Oyola and his band the Astronauts headlined Cultura’s Friday and Saturday shows. The Friday night show included CT acts Sketch Tha Cataclysm, UZOO, and Klokwize. Saturday’s acts were based in New York, but had roots in Puerto Rico, Colombia and Argentina.
The first act of this night was Cordero on vocals and guitar along with Eileen Willis on accordion and vocals. From the first song the audience was engaged, clapping along and dancing throughout the set. Cordero was familiar with the Cafe Nine stage, mentioning that she used to play there with her band. She even shouted out owner Paul Mayer for always getting them “that yummy pizza.” She also took time between songs to toast “all the brave people who stand in the streets,” emphasizing the message and the meaning behind what she does as a musician and activist. She took the time to talk about the “apocalyptically bad” conditions in Puerto Rico and to hail the “individual action doers” who had been working to get the word out about what is still going on there months after the devastation. In her final song, which included an audience sing-along of the chorus, she reminded everyone what the night was all about and told them to “send all your energy and vibes to Puerto Rico right now.”
The second act of the night was the duo Salt Cathedrals, made up of Juliana Ronderos and Nicolas Losada. Using guitar, electronics and a sound-enhanced light show, the two performers got the rest of the growing crowd on their feet and closer to the stage. Ronderos’s voice, reminiscent at times of Bjork, stayed passionate and playful, as did Losada’s guitar work. They created at times the feeling of being at a beach party on a hot July night instead of at a bar on a rainy November one. When Ronderos asked after the third song “are you guys up for some dancing,” the crowd responded wildly.
Juana Zaballa, a.k.a. Tall Juan, began solo with just him and his guitar before drummer Nicolas Espinoza from the band Deaf Poets and bassist Patrick Tintle of The Wedge joined him. Blasting off from note one like a punk rock Elvis Presley, Zaballa brought the swagger and charm of a rock ‘n’ roll front man to the stage. The crowd stayed close and continued to dance and cheer for the mixture of punk and rockabilly tinged songs that highlighted the prowess of each of the musicians. It was hard not to smile and rock along with them.
By the time Oyola and his band hit the stage for the final set, the audience had thinned out a bit, but as soon as the music started, the remaining crowd — including many friends and family — shouted and cheered for them almost continuously. Oyola asked everyone to come closer and had no trouble getting them to do so. As Oyola made his way through his songs with his high-energy band — Ashley Hamel on guitar, vocals and percussion, Seth Faulk on drums, cajon and vocals, Daniel Torres on bass, and Marcus Torres on bongos and percussion — many sang along to almost every song and shouted out requests and praise for the band members before, during and after each song.
Oyola came down to the floor with Hamel and Faulk for a more intimate version of his song “Llevame,” having two audience members hold up the flag of Puerto Rico. He also shouted out Paul Mayer as well as the other performers who joined him in this endeavor. His joy at performing and sharing such a night with the community was evident.
“We are sending grants to musicians,” he told the audience. “A dollar is a bottle of water they don’t have now. Please help.” The two nights at Cafe Nine together raised $616 for PRIMA.
“We are here to uplift the hearts of people,” Cordero said after her set. “I’m trying to take care of my people.”
For more information about PRIMA, or to make a donation, click here.