¡Viva el Arte de Santa Barbara! is bringing its 10th season of free, family-friendly professional Latin American music and dance ensembles to Santa Barbara, Isla Vista, and Guadalupe. The season includes five ensembles performing from September through April of next year.
The first concerts will feature the family legacy group Mariachi Garibaldi de Jaime Cuéllar performing live music with dance troupe Ballet Folklorico de Los Angeles Sept. 19 through 21, including the California Lemon Festival at Girsh Park in Goleta.
Contra-Tiempo Urban Latin Dance Theater is a contemporary dance group headed by Ana Maria Alvarez that blends forms including hip-hop, urban and contemporary dance theater, Afro-Cuban, and salsa. The dancers will perform and give free dance lessons Oct. 17 through 19 in Santa Barbara County.
The mariachi fusion group Mariachi Flor de Toloache will bring its diverse array of styles to the county Jan. 9 through 11, 2015. Founding director Mireya Ramos uses the group to blend the traditional mariachi sound with salsa, Afrobeat, Broadway musicals, hip-hop, and pop.
M.A.K.U. SoundSystem is a band from New York City made up mostly of musicians from Colombia. The group includes a combination of traditional instruments like bass, trombone, and clarinet, and blends them with synthesizers for a totally unique sound. The group will be performing Feb. 20 through 22 of next year.
Las Cafeteras is a group of first-generation Latino artists that uses folk and root music idioms to tell the stories of their Los Angeles neighborhoods. The group, which was voted “Best Latin Alternative Band” last year by LA Weekly, will perform April 24 through 26, 2015.
All the free family performances take place on Fridays at 7 p.m. at Isla Vista School, 6875 El Colegio Road, Goleta; Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. at the Guadalupe City Hall Auditorium, 918 Obispo St., Guadalupe; and Sundays at 7 p.m. at the Marjorie Luke Theatre, Santa Barbara Jr. High, 721 E. Cota St., Santa Barbara. More information is available at 343-2939 or luketheatre.org/vea_vea.html.
This article appears in Aug 21-28, 2014.