Ballet Folklórico de Los Angeles performing in September 2015 at the Marjorie Luke Theatre in Santa Barbara. Courtesy photo.
SANTA BARBARA — The County of Santa Barbara has honored ¡Viva el Arte de Santa Bárbara! on its tenth anniversary season with a resolution of the Board of Supervisors recognizing the program for its innovative and diverse contributions to community cultural life throughout the County, the organization reported in a media release.
First District Supervisor Salud Carbajal presented ¡Viva el Arte de Santa Bárbara!Eastside coordinator Alíz Ruvalcaba-Ventura with the resolution at The Marjorie Luke Theatre on Sunday, Sept. 13, the opening night of Viva’s tenth anniversary season at the Luke featuring a performance by Ballet Folklórico de Los Angeles with Grupo Bella de Vanessa Ramirez.
Acting on the belief that everyone deserves the opportunity to experience the joy and excitement of live performance and to have access to cultural education, Arts & Lectures Miller McCune Executive Director Celesta Billeci, the president of the Marjorie Luke Theatre Rod Lathim, then Executive Director of the Santa Barbara County Arts Commission Patrick Davis, and founders of the Guadalupe Cultural Arts & Education Center Margie and Joe Talaugon created Viva in 2006, as a series of free family concerts representing important Latin American traditions in accessible, neighborhood venues.
In ten years ¡Viva el Arte de Santa Bárbara! has reached more than 120,000 people and partnered with more than 70 local organizations to present first-rate performing artists in family events and educational outreach sessions countywide from Carpinteria to New Cuyama. Viva was honored in January, 2011, by the Association of Performing Arts Presenters and MetLife Foundation as one of two outstanding outreach programs in the nation with the praise, “This program has been exemplary and innovative in its dedication to engaging underserved individuals.”
Currently a collaboration between UCSB Arts & Lectures, The Marjorie Luke Theatre, Isla Vista School and theGuadalupe-Nipomo Dunes Center, Viva’s tenth anniversary season features Patricio Hidalgo y El Afrojarocho, Grammy-winners Los Camperos de Nati Cano, Las Colibrí all-women mariachi, and Monsieur Periné from Colombia. For up-to-date information look for Viva on Facebook. www.facebook.com/VivaelArteSB
¡Viva el Arte de Santa Bárbara! is sponsored by SAGE Publications, Lynda Weinman and Bruce Heavin, the National Endowment for the Arts, the California Arts Council, Anonymous, UCSB Office of Education Partnerships, the Santa Barbara County Arts Commission Community Arts Grant Program, with funds provided by the City of Santa Barbara, in partnership with the Santa Barbara County Arts Commission. Additional support comes from The Marjorie Luke Theatre’s Dreier Family Rent Subsidy Fund, the Wells Fargo Foundation, the Stone Family Foundation, the Roddick Foundation, and the William E. Weiss Foundation, Mary and Gary Becker, Patricia and Jim Selbert, and Eric Kronvall. The program is supported in part by the Santa Barbara Independent, the Santa Maria SUN, El Latino CC, Radio Bronco, Univision, the Best Western South Coast Inn, the Hampton Inn, Pacifica Suites, and Ramada Limited. Viva is co-presented by The Marjorie Luke Theatre, the Guadalupe Cultural Arts & Education Center, the Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes Center and UCSB Arts and Lectures, in partnership with the Isla Vista School After School Grant.