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UCSB Arts & Lectures announces Viva el Arte de Santa Barbara FREE public performances return to Santa Barbara County for Jan.- May 2023

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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

Courtesy images.

SUMMARY

  • Announcing the return of ¡Viva el Arte de Santa Bárbara!
  • FREE family concerts in Isla Vista, Guadalupe and Santa Barbara
  • Featuring four premier Latin-American ensembles: Mariachi Garibaldi de Jaime Cuéllar, Grandeza Mexicana, Tres Souls, and Las Cafeteras
  • A reception and CD signing with the artists follows each concert
  • Follow ¡Viva el Arte de Santa Bárbara! on Facebook for updates and more information www.facebook.com/vivaelartesb

SANTA BARBARA — ¡Viva el Arte de Santa Bárbara! (Viva) is back in 2023 for the first time since 2020! Since its establishment as a free community arts program in 2006, Viva has brought together people of diverse backgrounds from across Santa Barbara County to celebrate the music and dance of Latin America. The program, which has been on hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic, returns in 2023 with FREE performances and community outreach events from four stellar ensembles, including Mariachi Garibaldi de Jaime Cuéllar (Jan. 13-15), Grandeza Mexicana (Mar. 17-19), Tres Souls (Apr. 14-16), and Las Cafeteras (May 19-21).

“At Arts & Lectures, we are thrilled to resume the exciting and deeply rooted ¡Viva el Arte de Santa Bárbara! program at multiple locations throughout the region,” says Miller McCune Executive Director Celesta M. Billeci. “These free community events wouldn’t be possible without our partners The Marjorie Luke Theatre, the Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes Center, and the Isla Vista School Parent Teacher Association, and the many community coordinators and volunteers. From Carpinteria and Santa Barbara to Isla Vista, Lompoc, Guadalupe and New Cuyama, people will again enjoy the best ensembles from Latin America and the rich traditions they represent.”

Viva is committed to arts access and equity and all events are FREE. In addition to public concerts, each visiting artist ensemble works in local schools (primarily serving fourth through eighth grades), visits at-risk youth, and offers community workshops.

The 2023 Viva artists will participate in four in-person residencies totaling:

  • 12 concerts
  • 12 post-concert receptions
  • 42 educational and community sessions (e.g. assemblies, workshops, meet & greets)

Each residency runs Thursday through Sunday and will consist of:

  • 3 free family concerts (open to the public)
    • Isla Vista (venue: IV Elementary School) – Friday evening
    • Guadalupe (venue: Guadalupe City Hall) – Saturday evening
    • Santa Barbara (venue: Marjorie Luke Theatre and TBD) – Sunday evening
  • 3 post-performance receptions
  • 6-14 community engagement activities – Thursday through Sunday

All concerts are family-friendly and start at 7:00 p.m, with doors opening at 6:30 p.m. Public performances are at Isla Vista School on Fridays, Guadalupe City Hall on Saturdays, and The Marjorie Luke Theatre on Sundays. Audience members are encouraged to stay after the performance for a reception with the artists.

2022-2023 ¡Viva el Arte de Santa Bárbara! Line-up:

Mariachi Garibaldi de Jaime Cuéllar

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” Cue?llar, 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 finetune 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

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.

The company has achieved recognition for its strength, artistic flair, use of elaborate costuming and commitment to quality. GMFBC has garnered many awards including the Lester Horton Award for costuming. Los Angeles’ premiere Mexican folk-dance company, GMFBC has performed at The Music Center for the LA. 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.

The Mission of the Grandeza Mexicana Folk Ballet Company is to perpetuate and showcase the splendor of Mexican Folk dance, and to cultivate and promote public awareness and appreciation of this rich and diverse cultural heritage. www.grandezamexicana.com

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. www.tressouls.com

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. www.lascafeteras.com

About ¡Viva el Arte de Santa Bárbara! — ¡Viva el Arte de Santa Bárbara! is a collaboration between four organizations who combine their  resources and expertise to create free and accessible arts opportunities for all. Viva is composed of UCSB Arts & Lectures, The Marjorie Luke Theatre, the Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes Center, and the Isla Vista School Parent Teacher Association. ¡Viva el Arte de Santa Bárbara! is sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts, two anonymous donors, Kath Lavidge and Ed McKinley, Dorothy Largay and Wayne Rosing,The Stone Family Foundation, and Linda Stafford Burrows. Additional support comes from The Marjorie Luke Theatre’s Dreier Family Rent Subsidy Fund. Media sponsors include Santa Barbara Independent, the Santa Maria SUN, El Latino CC, Radio Bronco, Entravision/Univision Costa Central, Ramada by Wyndham Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara Hotel Collection, Best Western Plus South Coast Inn, and the Santa Barbara Unified School District.