La Familia Peña-Govea

“ stone cold conjunto norteño… If corridos and dusty border classics are your thing, don’t miss this…”  ( San Francisco Bay Guardian)

“The family that plays together, stays together.  That is certainly true of the Peña-Govea clan in the San Francisco Mission District.  …a cultural force in the Bay Area.  …Performances have brought them word-of-mouth acclaim.” (Jesse “Chuy” Varela, Latin Beat Magazine)

The members of La Familia Peña-Goveasing and play traditional Mexican, American, Tex-Mex and Colombian music, including: rancheras, polkas, valses, vallenatos, boleros, danzónes, chachas, and cumbias.  The group is comprised of  Miguel Govea, on guitarrón, accordion, brass and fiddle, Cecilia Peña-Goveaon trumpet, percussion, and guitarrón, Rene Peña-Goveaon accordion and guitarrón, and Susan Peña on vihuela, guitar, bajo sexto and fiddle.

The Peña-Govea family band has received acclaim for performances at: the Cotati Accordion Festival, the San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival, Berkeley’s Cinco de Mayo Celebration, San Diego’s Adams Ave. Roots Festival, Caspar’s World Music Festival, Booneville’s Wild Iris Festival, The Berkeley Free Folk Festival, El Encuentro del Canto Popular, the M.H. DeYoung Museum of Art, San Francisco’s Palace of Legion of Honor, Pac Bell Park’s grand opening, the Mexican Museum’s 30^th Anniversary, and Arhoolie Records’ 40^th Anniversary.  They have been featured on KQED’s Arts Program, Spark, and their music has been used as the soundtrack for a PBS Documentary Series, The Meaning of Food, as well as Peter and Benjamin Bratt’s La Mission in 2010.  Their first recording, entitled “René at 15,” was favorably reviewed in Latin Beat Magazine, and was recognized as one of the best CD’s of the year by El Mensajero newspaper in 2001. La Familia Peña-Govea has released three subsequent recordings, entitled “Cohetes,” “Susan Peña’s Favorites,” and “Las Mañanitas,”  – all of which are available to be listened to and purchased at cdbaby.com.

Miguel teaches at San Francisco’s Community Music Center.  He has recorded and performs with many Bay Area groups, including Los Compas, Futuro Picante, Los Peludos, Cascada de Flores, Dr. Loco’s Rockin’ Jalapeño Band, and Los Cenzontles. Susan, after 17 years working as a private practice attorney,  now teaches Spanish at Westmoor High School in Daly City, and has taught guitar to classroom teachers with Guitars in the Classroom.  Her multimedia illustrated songbook accompanies the family’s recent children’s recording, “Susan Peña’s Favorites: Songs in Spanish and English.” René started playing button accordion at the age of 11.  After graduating from the University of California at Berkeley and New York University in Madrid, she is embarking on a career teaching Spanish in the San Francisco Unified School District.  Cecilia has played music with her family since the age of 8.  She studies at the University of California at Santa Cruz.