It’s been almost two years since Guadalupe heard the cascading trumpets, violins, and operatic vocals of Mariachi Los Camperos, the renowned mariachi group out of LA, but the sleepy town is about to blow up again with their music.
The group is set to return on Jan. 12 for two free community concerts thanks to Viva el Arte de Santa Barbara, a collaborative outreach program headed by UCSB Arts & Lectures. The group will perform at concerts, school assemblies, and other outreach opportunities in Santa Barbara, Isla Vista, and in North County. In Guadalupe, the collaborating nonprofit is the Dunes Center, which will help facilitate and organize the concert as volunteers have in years past.
Dunes Center Community Outreach Coordinator Christina Hernandez was at the last Mariachi Los Camperos concert in 2016, she told the Sun, which was a popular attraction in the small town.
“It’s fun to bring the whole community together to enjoy music, art, dance, a little bit of everything all in one show,” Hernandez said. “I was there–standing ovation, the crowd wanted them to keep on playing. It’s nice to be able to bring high quality music to the people of Guadalupe for free.”
Viva el Arte was started as an outreach effort to serve low-income families and at-risk youth in the county with educational performances featuring celebrated ensembles that reflect the Central Coast’s diverse cultural heritage, Hernandez explained.
Mariachi Los Camperos’ Music Director Jesus Guzman told the Sun in 2016 that the group’s founder, the late Natividad “Nati” Cano, was dedicated to that same kind of outreach. When the group was formed in the 1960s, there was a sense of cultural crisis as more and more Latino youth were unfamiliar with mariachi music.
“If we don’t present our culture to the young people, we lost it,” Guzman said in 2016. “So many things are happening right now in the music–the bandas, the norteño–but the music that came from Mexico, it’s dying, so they need to know the music of Mexico, so it lasts.”
That motivation is felt by organizers with Viva el Arte and the Dunes Center, Hernandez said. If not for the program, Guadalupe may never have seen a performance by Mariachia Los Camperos, she said.
“I think it’s important because it’s educational outreach to showcase art and music to the students so that way they know a little bit about everything,” Hernandez said. “Some of these performers are from out of the United States, so it’s nice to bring different art to the community.”
Viva el Arte doesn’t just schedule bands, but other performing arts ensembles as well. In April, for instance, Ballet Folklórico de Los Ángeles will take the stage in Guadalupe to perform a full-scale program of ballet folklórico.
Programs like that see an audience packed with aspiring dancers and their flowery dresses, Hernandez explained, are a great illustration of who the outreach efforts are aimed to reach. Exposure to the arts and music is especially important for youth, she said, because they provide “mental, emotional, and educational benefits.”
“Some of the visitors that attend these concerts actually look up to these mariachi singers. Some of them want to be singers themselves; they want to be violinists; they want to play guitar,” she said. “So it’s nice to see the sparkle of joy that they get when they see these live performers. You see the kids dancing, families, and it’s like a big dance party.”
Due to the popularity of both the free family concerts and Mariachi Los Camperos, there will be two performances on Jan. 12. Most of the other ensembles scheduled through the rest of the year only have one performance, but locals from beyond Guadalupe will likely show up to hear the renowned ensemble.
“We get a great response,” she said. “I just think, the community, they’re grateful to have these bands and artists come sing for them and they get really excited. Sometimes they stand 30 minutes or an hour outside the door just to see these bands.”
And once the music starts, it’s easy to see why, she added.
“Mariachi Los Camperos is going to have everybody up on their feet, singing and dancing.”
Managing Editor Joe Payne is grateful for good live music. Contact him at jpayne@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Jan 3-10, 2019.
