¡Viva Carnaval! - Carnaval de San Francisco; historia - TT: Long live the Carnival! - TA: San Francisco Carnival; history

Latin Beat Magazine, June-July, 1999 by Jesse Varela

20 years of rhythm, music and dance-San Francisco Mission-style!

Sometimes dreams come true. It did for community activist Marcus Gordon ever since 1979, when he, percussionist José Flores, and Brazilian dancer Adela Chu organized an impromptu festival of drummers and dancers at Precita Park to celebrate the spirit of Carnaval. Gordon has since lived out his childhood memory of the Caribbean-style festivals he participated in as a kid in Harlem as a principal organizer and founder of the San Francisco Carnaval.

Filled with the splendor of Afro-Caribbean and Latino culture, the San Francisco Carnaval has metamorphosed into a brilliant exotic spring party that annually draws hundreds of thousands of people to the Mission District. It's a unique event that intertwines through streets lined by old turn-of-the-century Victorian homes, the "mercado" (marketplace) ambiance of 24th Street, and the radiance of Mission Dolores.

Now an internationally recognized event that showcases the joy of Bay Area diversity with a vision of global unity through music and dance, Carnaval is a credit to the community that brought it to life. As the event celebrates 20 years, the neighborhood folk who spawned it are in flux as the gentrification housing policies of Mayor Willie Brown is squeezing out its traditionally immigrant community base.

But the sun always shines in the Mission and Carnaval is a chance to forget worries and adversities for a day of flamboyant all-out abandon. While the parade has achieved world class status, it's the music that has served as its beacon.

"It began as a Carnaval patterned after those in Brazil with 'escolas' and floats with a loose ad-hoc committee that would meet at the Precita Valley Community Center," recalls Bay Area percussionist and Latin music scholar John Santos. For Santos, who grew up playing in the swings and lawns of Precita Park as a kid, that first celebration was the most memorable. "It made you proud of the 'hood," he adds.

It was a cast of young drummers hungry to play who came under the tutelage of Marcus Gordon. From New York City, Gordon learned drumming from Frankie Malabé, John Almira, Johnny Montalvo, and other stalwarts of the street rumba scene. He was fascinated with the study of Afro-Cuban rhythms.

Gordon came to the Bay Area in the early seventies, and in 1974, organized Bata Koto, one of the first Afro-Cuban drum and dance ensembles with Bill Summers, Butch Haynes, Gloria Toolsie, Tobaji Stewart, and Louisa Tish. The group broke ground as the opening act for the historical appearance by the Cuban percussion wizards Los Papines that year at the Oakland Auditorium.

It ignited a movement that not only included men but women too, as Gordon taught classes at Laney College in Oakland and Chickens That Sing Music in the Haight with now-renowned students like Carolyn Brandy, Carole Steel, and Michelle Rosewoman.

With "tambores" (drums) united in rhythm and the collective energy of accompanying dancers, it gave way to a loose celebration in February. It wasn't authentic but more of an interpretation. It took hold but it was too cold during that time of year to be parading around San Francisco's streets. But it didn't stop people, as the first Brazilian samba schools began to emerge, like José Lorenzo's Batucaje, Samba Da Alegria, and much later Chalo Eduardo's Escola Nova De Samba.

Mas Makers brought in the spirit of the Trinidad and Tobago Carnivals with the infectious sounds of steel pan drums and has since split into three separate troupes: Mas Makers Massive, D'Midas, and Mas Revelers. On the Cuban front, the renowned dancer and choreographer Judith Justiz began the first authentic "comparsa" with her troupe, Raices Afro-Cubanas.

The event changed rapidly in 1980 and moved to Dolores Park but the Park & Recreation Department shooed them away to the Civic Center after the lawn was destroyed. By 1983 and '84, Carnaval bombed out and it didn't happen again until the Mission Economic Cultural Association (MECA) revived it in 1985.

MECA brought Carnaval back to the Mission in a big way. Scheduling the event during the last weekend in May meant that the climate was more pleasant, but along with that, they brought other changes that included an organizational vision and strategy that included seeking out corporate funding. With the ideals of keeping the shows free and shooting for the stars, it was now under the direction of Roberto Yamir Hernández, who brought a drive and an organic street-style leadership to the event.

Hernández quickly brought back Gordon as artistic director to reinvigorate the spirit of Carnaval in the Mission. In 1986, he also hired longtime Salsa radio personality Luis Medina (KPFA, KBRG) as Entertainment Coordinator. Soon MECA was at the top of the game with a community network that challenged mainstream promoters like Bill Graham Presents and some pretty spectacular shows.

"It became huge," recalls Medina, who was entertainment coordinator for 13 years until 1998. "When we presented Santana on his 20th anniversary on the Harrison St. stage, there were 20,000 people jammed together in one block."