Each series will include a musical demonstration and lecture about traditional Puerto Rican music and dance and its historical and cultural relevance and context here in the United States, specifically our Bay Area community. We will explore the roots of Bomba and offer songs that speak to those roots. We will also explore the roots of Plena, a musical tradition that is younger than Bomba, but is very much an important part of defining what it means to be Puerto Rican both on the island and in the diaspora. Bomba is played with goatskin barrel drums and Plena is played with goat skin hand drums. Participants will see and learn about the instrumentation and the dance practice. They will also learn songs and how they are connected to Puerto Rico then and now. We will also delve into how these genres are and were used as a form of empowerment and resistance within oppressed and colonized communities and as a way towards community health and healing.