JUST FOLKS: Luis Goena (center) led dancers, here at the Fiddlers’ Convention at UCSB, in happy, hippy, social steps.
TOM MOORE
In Memoriam
Luis Goena 1928 - 2014
Dancing with Luis
H
BY D . J . PA L L A D I N O alf a lifetime ago in these parts, folk
dancing was all the rage. It was a fad that grew into a phenomenon that became a way of life that brought literally hundreds of ’60s and ’70s kids, hippies and hipsters alike, out of their dorms and ashrams and crash pads and parents’ homes to merrily dance complicated Balkan, Greek, and Israeli steps in the evenings at grammar school campuses and UCSB’s Old Gym, the platform at Oak Park, at Santa Barbara High during lunch, every night at a Greek taverna called The Plaka on Montecito Street, and, most visibly, in full bohemian rhapsody, on Sunday afternoons at Chase Palm Park. The thing was, you couldn’t miss them; there were longhaired, peasant-chic-dressed crowds, “double lines with lots of people standing behind them copying the steps,” said Susan Soria, who started dancing herself in the early 1970s and keeps the spirit alive today at the surviving Wednesday dance. And at the center of most of those interknit fancy-dancing circles was the tightly styled man who brought most of them into the flock in the first place: the late great Luis Goena. Charismatic, ramrod-postured, always dressed in a white, wide-brimmed hat and red scarf, the seemingly unstoppable Goena died from pneumonia complications after vocalcord surgery just one week before his 86th birthday last February 9. “The hardest thing is not having him here,” said Bruno Bardini, who has been dancing (stylishly) since 1970 and still makes it to the weekly Oak Park dance night despite recent knee surgery. Many echoed the emotion last Wednesday at the park, where Goena, who had led a fight to preserve the stage, had presided over a smaller yet still avid crowd, and where on Saturday at 6 p.m. his family and friends will mount a celebration of the man with the things he loved best: music, dance, and people.“He loved people, and he loved showing people how to dance,” said Joanne Hardarson, who began dancing in high school in the 1960s, remembering when it cost a quarter and everybody tried to sneak in.“Even in his last months when he could barely walk, he would jump up and help somebody learn a step,” she said. Goena was born in Carpinteria. His fam-
ily was Basque, and he married into the Old California Ayala family, who date back to Santa Barbara’s Presidio past and once held chunks of land that would later house the likes of Oprah. Goena grew up in a house where music and dance were deeply appreciated, though he didn’t get bitten by Balkan-mania until attending UCSB in the 1950s, where a small group of Internationalists gathered each week to Bulgarian pravos and Greek syrtos. Goena’s life timing was good: He worked for the polo fields and managed to buy up enough rental properties to retire early and also acquire the compound behind the mission, where he raised eight children and some goats. At downtown folk nights, “His teaching was so precise,” said Soria, “but he never made you feel bad if you screwed up.” His own style, decidedly more villager than performer, was tight and precise, and he had an almost mathematical way of breaking down complex steps done to ragged rhythms so complex they’d make Dave Brubeck scratch his head. Goena more or less took over city rec folk dance just as a big generation of free spirits arrived, ready for bagpipe and flute music (perhaps conditioned by the Beatles). He created Palm Park Sundays, which became a hippie ritual, dancing between the ocean and curious tourists from afternoon ’til dusk. Whole families joined in. But Sunday dancing ended in the early 1980s, though folk dancing lived on, and Goena always turned up. “He was my friend, and he was my boss,” said Soria, who helped Luis in his later life with properties and goats, dismissing claims he could be a little distant. “Luis was a fabulous teacher. He was always encouraging. He made a big difference in people’s lives. A lot of people came to me and said they didn’t do drugs because they had folk dancing.” “Being inclusive was a hallmark of folk dancing in Santa Barbara,” said Leslie Griffin. “And that was the best thing about folk dancing; it’s so social,” she added. It was something you didn’t need a partner for but could still have you socializing with very kindred spirits, a party grown smaller, at least by one now.“I’m going to miss Luis every day of my life,” said Griffin. “If he hadn’t lived such a full life, I would be sad.” ■
SAT, MAY 3 SOHO RESTAURANT & MUSIC CLUB 1221 State St #205, Santa Barbara Day Pass: $40 (includes all three bands) For this special show, SOhO is a club/standing-room venue. Dinner reservations ensure
priority access to the venue. To reserve dinner, call SOhO at (805) 962-7776.
With its first Americana Music Jam, A&L pays tribute to the roots of American music, featuring emerging artists and heavy hitters alike. Join us for a sonic ride that stomps, sways and swings into the past and present.
Run Boy Run
5 PM / $15 / $5 UCSB students A bluegrass quintet rooted in the old-timey Appalachian South that ventures into brave new musical frontiers.
The Haden Triplets
As seen at SXSW!
7 PM / $15 / $5 UCSB students Honeyed vocal harmonies and songs spun from Ozark tradition, harkening back to the sweet melodizing of the Carter Family.
Jackie Greene
9 PM / $22 / $5 UCSB students Bridging the alt-rock and jam-band worlds, singer-songwriter Jackie Greene mixes a dash of country-western and R&B into his rock and roll.
(805) 893-3535 www.ArtsAndLectures.UCSB.edu aPrIl 17, 2014
THE INDEPENDENT
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