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La Doña
La Doña
How multiculturalism has influenced one singer-songwriter’s debut album
BY MICHAEL DAKS
ART, MUSIC & FILMCecilia Cassandra Peña- Govea is a singer, songwriter, and multiinstrumentalist who writes and records music under the name La Doña. Her unique mix of Latin rhythms and hip-hop beats reflects her life on the San Francisco Mission District streets. Her EP is called Algo Nuevo, or “Something New.”
The first time I listened to a song by La Doña it really stood out to me as something different and exciting. I went to Mexico on my honeymoon (many moons ago), and I still have a soft spot for Mariachi bands.
La Doña’s music lusciously combines that positive energy with a modern hip-hop sensibility. Latino/Salsa beats mingle provocatively with her lyrics, inspired by her life and loves, feminism, sexuality, and the sounds and rhythms of the street.
Her videos are also so much fun to watch. Her song “Quién Me La Paga?” (who pays me?) was filmed in her family home in Bernal Heights. I knew it was too authentic to be a set, and she confirmed my suspicions. She was born upstairs!
For our video interview, La Doña was sitting in the back of a minivan on the way to a gig in Palo Alto. Having seen her video for Algo Nuevo, I was expecting to see her lounging in a ’64 Chevy Impala lowrider, but she assured me it was on her list once the dollars roll in.
La Doña’s parents met through music. Her mother was at Berkeley Law School and her father’s salsa band was playing for one of the law school parties. She took him to her car and played him a Polka song on her fiddle and they have been together ever since, almost 40 years.
“Music was the culture of our house,” La Doña says. She started playing percussion and guitar from when she was about five followed by trumpet, which was one of her dad’s main instruments, from the age of seven. He also taught her sister the accordion and they were soon gigging at this very early age.
Read more at https://issuu.com/rareluxuryliving/docs/troora_san_francisco_2021_pages/240
