La Santa Cecilia at the Marjorie Luke Theatre in Santa Barbara on Jan. 12, presented by ¡Viva el Arte de Santa Bárbara! Photo by R & V Photography.
SANTA BARBARA — La Santa Cecilia, winners of the the Best Latin Rock, Urban or Alternative Grammy for Treinte Días, gave thought in their acceptance speech on Jan. 26 to the incarcerated youth in Santa Barbara County they had visited through ¡Viva el Arte de Santa Bárbara! earlier this month, the organization reported in a media release.
In a jubilant scene before a live audience of recording stars and industry leaders, as well as an estimated 29 million television viewers, lead vocalist Marisol Hernandez stated: “ We can’t forget our friends at Los Prietos Boot Camp and the young men and women of the Juvenile Hall in Santa Maria, California, that we got to spend some time with a few weeks back. We didn’t forget you guys…”
The band also gave a nod to the youth at Los Prietos Camp in an Los Angeles Times interview published before the awards.
Santa Barbara County Chief Probation Officer Beverly Taylor responded to the news, “This is awesome!” while Laurie Holbrook, Director of Los Prietos Camp offered, “ Please convey our congratulations to them [La Santa Cecilia] and let them know we are very proud to know them. They are welcome here anytime….”
La Santa Cecilia exemplifies the modern day creative hybrid of Latin culture, rock and world music. Their upbeat sound is always dance-ready and draws inspiration from all over the world; utilizing pan-American rhythms like cumbia, bossa nova, rumba, bolero, tango, jazz, jarocho, rock and klezmer. Named for the patron saint of music and musicians, La Santa Cecilia represents the face of a new generation with deep roots in the Los Angeles immigrant community.
¡Viva el Arte de Santa Bárbara! ‘s mission is to present accessible cultural offerings for Santa Barbara County’s Latino communities, bringing together diverse audiences at free famly events in neighborhood venues on five weekends each year. The program is a consortium of the Marjorie Luke Theatre, the Guadalupe Cultural Arts & Education Center, Isla Vista School, and UCSB Arts & Lectures.
¡Viva el Arte de Santa Bárbara! is funded by The James Irvine Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts with additional support from the SAGE, the Santa Barbara Foundation, Incredible Children’s Art Network, the UCSB Office of Education Partnerships, the Santa Barbara County Arts Commission, The Marjorie Luke Theatre’s Dreier Family Rent Subsidy Fund, KPFK Radio 90.7, the Santa Barbara Independent, Santa Barbara Latino, the Santa Maria SUN,Univision, the Sandman Inn, Best Western South Coast Inn and Ramada Limited. This project is funded in part by the Community Arts Grant Program using funds provided by the City of Santa Barbara, in partnership with the Santa Barbara County Arts Commission. Co-presented by the Marjorie Luke Theatre, the Guadalupe Arts & Education Center and UCSB Arts & Lectures, in collaboration with the Isla Vista School After School Grant.