Courtesy image.
SANTA MARIA — Righetti High School’s Identity and Culture for Spanish Speakers 3 class recently hosted a virtual workshop with the musical group Las Cafeteras, an east Los Angeles band that features Afro-Mexican beats, rhythms and rhymes that contain lyrics documenting stories of a community seeking love and justice in the concrete jungle of LA.
The interactive workshop with Las Cafeteras included a live performance, musical videos followed by discussion about themes, such as social movements, gender inequalities, and the importance of knowing one’s story. They shared their own stories to model for the students and connected those stories to Day of the Dead and how being remembered keeps a person alive in someone’s memory.
“Something I liked about having Las Cafeteras join us for class was that they talked openly about topics and problems that people try to avoid talking about,’’ said sophomore Johana Diaz. “These workshops are important to have because it shows us that everyone is different in their own unique way and we need to stand in solidarity.”
“They brought joy and comfort while still teaching us new things and giving us advice about how we can bring our family traditions/cultures more into the world,’’ said sophomore Nancy Calderon-Zamora.
“I want my students to know that knowledge comes from many different sources, including music and art,’’ said Patricia Villalobos, Spanish and EGS (Ethnic and Gender Studies) Teacher. “I also love the great energy that Las Cafeteras transmits through their music. I hope this workshop brought joy to my students. We were in the middle of Wellness Week and I thought it was perfect timing to have a live performance for our students to experience something completely different from our weekly Zoom lessons.’’
UC Santa Barbara’s Arts and Lectures program offers live performances to local schools and communities as a way to make art more accessible to all. This workshop was part of that programming and because of the pandemic it was done virtually.