Peruvian brass band La Patronal 

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¡Viva el Arte de Santa Bárbara! brings people together to share the rich cultural heritage of Latin America, serving more than 15,000 students and community members each year throughout Santa Barbara County.

Viva builds bridges through live performance, shared experience and joyful, personal discovery. Created in 2006 out of a commitment to arts access for all, Viva works with dozens of local partners to present high-quality touring artists – Grammy winners and recognized cultural ambassadors – who share their knowledge, passion and commitment. Neighborhood spaces in schools, after-school programs and community centers come alive in these free programs for youth and families.

The program is a collaboration between UCSB Arts & Lectures, The Marjorie Luke Theatre, the Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes Center, and the Isla Vista School Parent Teacher Association serving Carpinteria, Santa Barbara, Goleta, Lompoc, Santa Maria, Guadalupe and New Cuyama.

Check the Viva Facebook page for updates and free workshops

Mariachi Garibaldi de Jaime Cuéllar

THREE FREE PUBLIC PERFORMANCES!

Mariachi Garibaldi de Jaime Cuéllar has been delighting audiences throughout Mexico and the U.S. for the past 26 years. Featured on Camila Cabello’s new song, “La Buena Vida!”, the ensemble Mariachi Garibaldi regularly shares the stage with some of Mexico’s most beloved performers. Under the direction of Jimmy “El Pollo” Cuéllar, son of Jaime, they have appeared at the Auditorium Theater in Chicago, Teatro Degollado, Valley Performing Arts Center, The John Anson Ford Amphitheatre, Bakersfield Fox Theater, Chandler Center for the Arts, Smith Center for the Performing Arts, Tempe Center for the Arts, and Gallo Center for the Arts. Mariachi Garibaldi enjoys a professional partnership with Ballet Folklorico de Los Angeles and together they have entertained thousands of people at sold-out venues.

Originally from Bakersfield, California, Jimmy Cuéllar began his mariachi career as a teenager alongside his father, and was a founding member of Mariachi Garibaldi. His dedication to his craft drove “El Pollo” to fine tune his skills on the violin, guitarron, vihuela, guitar, and guitarra de golpe, securing him a place with Mariachi Los Camperos de Nati Cano. He was featured on the Grammy Award winning album cELLAbration: A Tribute to Ella Jenkins, and the following year, Llegaron Los Camperos: Concert Favorites of Nati Cano’s Mariachi Los Camperos received a Grammy nomination for Best Mexican Album. He added to his Grammy success with Cien Por Ciento Mexicano by Pepe Aguilar and Amor, Dolor, y Lagrimas. www.mariachigaribaldi.net

*UPDATE: The free ¡Viva el Arte de Santa Bárbara! performance by Mariachi Garibaldi de Jaime Cuéllar, originally scheduled for Sat., Jan 14, 7 PM at Guadalupe City Hall, is postponed due to the forecast storm and potentially hazardous road conditions. The NEW DATE is Sun., Feb 26, 7 PM at Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes Center.

Grandeza Mexicana

THREE FREE PUBLIC PERFORMANCES!

Grandeza Mexicana is L.A.’s premier folk ballet company, preserving the traditions and customs of Mexico’s historic past and promising present. A nonprofit performing arts organization founded by Jose Vences in September 2003, the company was formed to advance the field of Mexican folk ballet and to enhance the public’s appreciation for the diversity and depth of Mexican culture. Backed by careful research, Grandeza Mexicana’s work is committed to
preserving the traditions and customs of Mexico.

Grandeza Mexicana has achieved recognition for its strength, artistic flair, use of elaborate costuming and commitment to quality. The company has garnered many awards including the Lester Horton Award for costuming. They have performed at The Music Center for the L.A. County Holiday Celebration, the Terrace Theater, the Center for the Arts in Sacramento, the Marjorie Luke Theatre in Santa Barbara, the Ford Theater, the Alex Theatre, the Skirball Cultural Center, Scottsdale Center For The Performing Arts and alongside acclaimed artists such as the world-famous Jose Feliciano, Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlan, Mariachi Sol De Mexico, Luis Miguel, Shaila Durcal and Lila Downs.

Tres Souls

THREE FREE PUBLIC PERFORMANCES!

The Los Angeles-based modern trio romántico Tres Souls are known for reviving the nostalgic boleros of the 1940s-1960s, stylized during the Golden Era of Mexican cinema. With expert musicianship and expert vocals, Rocio Mendoza, Roberto Carlos, and Jesus Martinez are “capturing the hearts of Angelenos,
one ballad at a time” (ABC7).

Each member of Tres Souls is an accomplished musician, and each inherited the knowledge and importance of heritage music through their family and generations before them. In their own way, Tres Souls are following in the footsteps of other trio romanticos, like Eydie Gorme Y Los Panchos, Los Tres Reyes and Los Tres Ases, while interspersing musical influences that can be heard echoing throughout the diaspora of Los Angeles. They released their first album, Boleros Made in LA, in 2019.

Las Cafeteras

THREE FREE PUBLIC PERFORMANCES!

Las Cafeteras have taken the music scene by storm with their infectious live shows and electric sound performed in diverse venues from Bonnaroo to the Hollywood Bowl, WOMAD New Zealand to Montreal Jazz, and beyond!

Born and raised East of the Los Angeles River, Las Cafeteras are remixing roots music as modern-day troubadours. They are a sonic explosion of Afro-Mexican rhythms, electronic beats and powerful rhymes that document stories of a community seeking to “build a world where many worlds fit.”

From Afro-Mexican to Americana, from soul to son jarocho, from roots to rock and hip hop, Las Cafeteras take folk music to the future while honoring the past by using electrifying traditional instrumentation like the eight string jarana, four string requinto, quijada (donkey jawbone), and tarima (wooden platform).

Las Cafeteras has performed with Mexican icons Café Tacuba, Natalia LaFourcade, Lila Downs, Gypsy Kings, Colombian superstar Juanes, hip-hop artist Common, Los Angeles legends Ozomatli and Los Lobos, with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, and many more.

Support Viva

¡Viva el Arte de Santa Bárbara! is sponsored by Kath Lavidge & Ed McKinley, Anonymous, Dorothy Largay & Wayne Rosing, Audrey & Timothy O. Fisher, UCSB Office of Education Partnerships, The Stone Family Foundation, Linda Stafford Burrows, and Marianne Marsi & Lewis Manring. Additional support comes from the Santa Barbara County Arts Commission, the California Arts Council, and the National Endowment for the Arts. The program is supported in part by the Santa Barbara Independent, the Santa Maria SUN, El Latino CC, Radio Bronco, Entravision/Univision Costa Central, and the Santa Barbara Unified School District. Viva is co-presented by The Marjorie Luke Theatre, the Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes Center and UCSB Arts & Lectures, in partnership with the Isla Vista School Parent-Teacher Association.