Wednesday, March 20, 2024, 6-8:30 PM will continue our music series held at El Cerrito Natural Grocery Company Prepared Food Annex (The Annex) - “The Annex Sessions"

Melissa Cruz “Flamenco Pars Fortuna

Join us for a special evening of music and dance with this ensemble presenting impromptu flamenco,
showcasing the unique proclivities of each artist.

Featuring:
Melissa Cruz: flamenco dance and percussion
Azriel "El Moreno": vocals
Jesse Torre and Bob Sanders: guitar

Melissa Cruz is a Bay Area-based flamenco professional and has been a full-time flamenco artist
and instructor for the past 15 years. She began training with the Bay Area’s acclaimed
flamenco master Rosa Montoya and soon thereafter, joined Ms. Montoya's professional
company. Melissa has performed as a soloist in the San Francisco International Arts Festival and
has presented in eight San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festivals, twice as a featured soloist. In 2013,
she was commissioned to present a solo representing the genre of flamenco in the San
Francisco Isadora Duncan Awards Ceremony. She teaches a full schedule of classes and
mentors her students in their development of flamenco knowledge and interpretation
culminating in formal annual recitals, of which she has produced eight consecutively. Enjoying
a concurrent musical career, she is percussionist/drummer/dancer with several active musical
projects. She currently continues as principal dancer and choreographer for the San Francisco
Flamenco Dance Company and has collaborated with Flamenco Fever (Dallas) Oleaje Flamenco
(Seattle), Quiero Flamenco (Spokane), Arte y Pasion (San Antonio), Ballet Flamenco La Rosa,
(Miami), Tuscon Flamenco Festival (Tuscon) St. Louis Flamenco Society (St. Louis MO), Flamenco
Pacifico (Portland OR) Theatre Flamenco of San Francisco and Caminos Flamencos (San
Francisco). Recently, she was Artistic Director of "The Flamenco Room" San Francisco’s longest
running cabaret flamenco show. Summer 2021 saw Melissa featured in the one-woman
flamenco theater play, "Flamenco on my Own" produced in collaboration with Ballet Flamenco
La Rosa in Miami and as a featured performer and instructor at the 2021 Festival Flamenco
Albuquerque presented by the National Institute of Flamenco. From 2020 to 2022, she was a
Producer for Arts in the Basin, curating the program’s Friday night live performances. This year
2023, Melissa was a featured performer in the Yerba Buena Gardens Festival, the Peninsula
International Dance Festival and the World Arts West Dance Festival.

In addition to her accomplished artistic career, Melissa is a Bachelor of the Arts graduate of UC
Berkeley and holds a Juris Doctor degree from University of San Francisco.

As described by Rachel Howard of the SF Chronicle: "Any dancer could make pained faces. But
Cruz is clearly possessed by the duende -- the spirit that drives this deeply introspective art."

~
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 of the proceeds will go directly to our network of local musicians, each of whom have 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.

Follow Javier Navarrette on Facebook , Instagram and YouTube.

COVID RELATED SAFETY MEASURES
Please be safe. Feel free to wear a mask if you prefer.

TICKETS

Tickets/reservations are encouraged. We are happy to offer you a reserved seat (limited seating available) if you RSVP with a donation that will go towards paying for the music. Tickets are NOT required for this venue, you can simply come in, order food and beverages at the Annex counter.

The Annex

The Annex is a lively space for shopping, dining and relaxing. As the newest part of The Natural Grocery Company, the values are the same: a passion for vibrant community, healthy organic food and respect for the planet.

"The Annex Sessions" is sponsored by the Natural Grocery Company in its commitment to serve the local community and help in the recovery of the local art scene.

Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner 7 days a week, inside the Annex you’ll find: A Cafe, Juice Bar, Deli, Wine & Beer, and more.

The Annex building itself embodies our values: a few of the sustainable features are: extensive re-use of materials from the pre-existing structure, use of recycled materials from local vendors, and reliance on the solar energy we produce here, supplemented with other clean energy sources.

DONATIONS

SunJams is committed to funding children's music education in underserved public elementary schools. Your donation will help support this ongoing program.

In addition, we need to raise funds to continue bringing you this exciting new ( launched in April 2022) live music program. All of the proceeds will go directly to our network of local musicians, each of whom have 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 our 501(c)3 may qualify as tax exempt.

Please DONATE HERE

DURING THE SHOW

We will be taking cash or check donations at check-in, during intermission & at the end of the show.

TIME

The Annex is open every day, please check their website for hours (https://naturalgrocery.com/annex/).

 The show will begin at 6:00 PM and conclude by 8:30 PM.