Christmas in Havana: Aguanko benefit concert for Bountiful Harvest

A concert featuring one of the finest Latin jazz bands anywhere – Aguanko – will raise much-needed funds for one of Livingston County’s most valued resources – Bountiful Harvest – on Saturday, Dec. 18 at the Brighton Center for the Performing Arts. Doors open at 6:30 p.m.; two-set concert starts at 7.

Tickets are on sale now HERE. Prices are $10, $15, $25 and $60 for the VIP level, which includes a seat in the first two rows, admission to the afterglow party at Ciao Amici restaurant (217 W. Main, Brighton) with photo opportunities with the musicians, a concert poster signed by the musicians, a cash bar, food, and an Aguanko four-CD set going to one lucky winner.

“Bountiful Harvest Inc. is a vocal advocate for the hungry and displaced. We do what is needed in order to help children and families in need,” said Yvonne Cavalli, president, of Bountiful Harvest’s mission. “No need is too small and no voice is too quiet to be heard. We will devote the time and energy necessary to educate, advocate, and feed.”

Cavalli’s background in various service and fundraising organizations provided a stellar platform for her to launch the Brighton-based Bountiful Harvest. Her fresh 'by the community, for the community' approach to donations and sponsors has succeeded in helping residents of Livingston County.

In support of and in collaboration with human services agencies, area food banks and feeding America organizations, Bountiful Harvest provides surplus, donated and low -cost food and personal care items to people-in-need in Livingston County. Just a few numbers to give one an idea of the service and impact:

• Number of families served: 5,976 -- up from 2,261 in 2019
• Number of people served: 18,060 -- up from 6,065 in 2019
• Hot meals served through pick-up and delivery: 23,168 -- up from 5,372 in 2019
• Pounds of food distributed: 530,488 -- up from 234,593 in 2019
• Number of seniors served: 3,650 -- up from 2,989 in 2019
• Number of children up to age 17 served: 6,228 -- up from 3,358

“And we are on target to surpass those numbers for this year -- we have a projected 15% increase in the numbers,” said Cavalli.

Proceeds from this concert will go toward construction of a 10,000 square foot food-storage building to be erected on Brighton property recently donated to Bountiful Harvest.

ABOUT THE MUSIC
Aguanko is led by Dr. Alberto Nacif, who founded Brighton Family Care specialists in 1988. Nacif has clinical interest in primary care psychiatry - depression, anxiety, ADD, preventive medicine and athletic injuries – and has hospital affiliations with Providence Park Hospital; St. Joseph Mercy Ann Arbor; St. Joseph Mercy Livingston; and University of Michigan Hospital.

Nacif was born in the isthmus state of Oaxaca on Mexico’s west coast where Cuban derived rhythms were part of everyday music. He began playing conga and bongo drums at a young age with local musicians in Mexico. He emigrated to Detroit as a teen, and became involved in that city’s jazz, disco and Latin music scenes

Nacif is the consummate student of Afro-Cuban drum traditions and has traveled to Cuba since 1982 to study and perform. He led the Latin Jazz group Cubop in the early 1990s, and co-led Tumbao Bravo for 10 years, until 2015, and has recorded with the Lunar Octet, Francisco Mora, Marcus Belgrave, Tumbao Bravo, and now with his septet, Aguanko.

The band is working on a new Latin Jazz recording that will feature the core group of Aguanko musicians from the incredibly rich Detroit and Ann Arbor area jazz scenes performing original music. Nacif’s original music is evocative, sensuous, and true to its Cuban roots.

Aguanko’s first recording, Elemental, released in 2013 was on the Jazzweek national charts for 32 weeks, their second release, Invisible in 2015, was on the charts for 20 weeks. The next release, Latin Jazz Christmas in Havana, which creatively turned Christmas standards into traditional Cuban music jewels, reached #48 in the national Jazz Charts (Jazzweek), and was the second most added to on-air playlists in December 2016. Aguanko’s fourth and most recent recording, Pattern Recognition from 2018, stayed on the Jazzweek chart for 24 weeks and peaked at #16.

For sponsorship opportunities or more information, call Yvonne at 810-360-0271.