Singer-songwriter Perla Batalla earns critical acclaim for her distinctive voice, emotional honesty & culture-merging compositions.  She was born in L.A. to a family immersed in music. Her dad, a Mexican mariachi and D.J. and an Argentine mom who ran the family record shop, “Discoteca Batalla” where Perla was exposed to an education of non-stop music that cut across genre & language. 

After singing with and recording with numerous groups, including Leonard Cohen, Perla launched her solo career with Cohen’s encouragement. Since then she has recorded 7 albums, been featured in film and TV, staged 2 one-woman shows and performed in some of the most prestigious venues around the world. 

Her original Frida Kahlo musical was chosen by the Ojai Playwrights Festival & subsequently produced at the San Diego Repertory Theater to critical praise. Perla’s personal homage to her mentor, Cohen continues to play to sold-out audiences throughout Europe and N. America. 

The L.A. times writes; “Batalla is comfortable in both English & Spanish, proud of her Mestiza heritage, musically adventurous and above all, a born storyteller with a rambunctious sense of humor.” 

Batalla’s mission of exposing youth to the beauty of music & Spanish language is ongoing in her outreach throughout some of the poorest communities in the U.S. She has been honored with two U.N. awards: the Earth Charter Award for extraordinary devotion to social and economic justice and The Environmental Peacebuilding Award, advancing social justice through music. Perla is also the recipient of New Mexico’s Premio Fronterizo Award for healing work in the world.

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Los Angeles

Los Angeles

Grand Annex

Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Perla Batalla grew up in the 1970s in her family’s landmark record store and gathering place, Discoteca Batalla in the Latino community in Venice, CA. At the record shop she was surrounded by non-stop music that cut across genres and languages.

Perla is best known for adding her warm rich vocals to the recorded work and live performances of the late great Leonard Cohen, as well as with Lou Reed, Sonny Rollins, Rufus Wainwright, Jackson Browne and Laurie Anderson and many others.

Her Grand Annex concert combines the best of her early musical influences at the record store with an homage to the music of her mentor, colleague, and friend, Leonard Cohen.

$28 to $152

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Perla Batalla Discoteca Batalla - Prerecorded Live at Royce Hall, UCLA Online

Perla Batalla Discoteca Batalla - Prerecorded Live at Royce Hall, UCLA Online

UCLA Royce Hall

Throughout the 1960s and 70s Discoteca Batalla was a well-known landmark in the Latino community in Venice, California. This mom-and-pop discoteca (Spanish for “record store”) was a haven for desperately homesick immigrants from all over Mexico and Latin America. It was a spot to gather, exchange news from home, buy the latest Spanish language pop exitos, or maybe just enjoy some sweet coffee and pan dulce with the proprietors, Barbara and Jorge Batalla. Jorge was a singer and radio DJ. He knew the lyrics to every traditional Spanish language song ever written. His wife Barbara hand wrote letters home for working men and women separated for years at a time from their families.

Perla Batalla is their daughter—a singer best known for her solo career, plus her decade-long work with Leonard Cohen, as well as with such artists as Lou Reed, Sonny Rollins, k.d. lang, Rufus Wainwright, Jackson Browne and Laurie Anderson. While the record store closed its doors over 40 years ago, the experiences and stories are part of L.A.’s heritage.

Supported by CAP UCLA, Discoteca Batalla is an homage to this important place and moment in time. It is a celebration of the people whose lives and identities shape the fabric of L.A. and inspire resilience.

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