Latin American musicians and dancers highlight Viva 2024-25 lineup
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The Viva el Arte de Santa Barbara festival is highlighting several Latin American artists for its 2024-25 season.
Below is a press release on the announcement:
¡Viva el Arte de Santa Bárbara! (Viva) is excited to announce its highly anticipated 2024-2025 season, featuring an outstanding lineup of Latin American performers guaranteed to captivate audiences across Santa Barbara County.
This season, Viva will present five acclaimed acts that exemplify the vibrant and diverse cultural heritage of Latin America.
Las Cafeteras
Born and raised East of the Los Angeles River, Las Cafeteras are remixing roots music as modern day troubadours. They are a sonic explosion of Afro-Mexican rhythms, electronic beats and powerful rhymes that document stories of a community seeking to ‘build a world where many worlds fit.’
Mariachi Garibaldi de Jaime Cuellar
Mariachi Garibaldi de Jaime Cuéllar has been delighting audiences throughout Mexico and the U.S. for the past 26 years. The ensemble regularly shares the stage with some of Mexico’s most beloved performers.
La Santa Cecilia
La Santa Cecilia exemplifies the modern-day creative hybrid of Latin culture, rock and world music. The group draws inspiration from all over the world, utilizing Pan-American rhythms including cumbia, bossa-nova, rumba, bolero, tango, jazz and klezmer music.
Las Guaracheras
Las Guaracheras is a female salsa sextet born in the city of Cali, Colombia. The Guaracheras improvise using various instruments to create rhythmic, melodic and harmonic performances.
Ballet Nepantla
Ballet Nepantla fuses contemporary dance with Mexican folklorico to explore new interpretative ways of delving into cultural and historical "in-between-ness."
“Viva el Arte de Santa Barbara is honored to present a magnificent line-up of renowned Latin American artists to Santa Barbara County this year,” says Jenna Hamilton-Rolle, Director of Education and Community Engagement at UC Santa Barbara Arts & Lectures. “From returning stars, La Santa Cecilia, Las Cafeteras, and Mariachi Garibaldi, to exciting new acts like Ballet Nepantla and Las Guaracheras, Viva has something for everyone in our community. Thank you for welcoming us back into your neighborhoods, community centers, and schools for our 19th Viva el Arte de Santa Barbara season. Music, dance, and much more to come!”
Founded in 2006, Viva was established with a strong commitment to making the arts accessible to all. The program's unique approach builds bridges through live performances, shared experiences, and the exploration of Latin America’s rich cultural heritage. By collaborating with various local community partners, Viva brings high-quality touring artists—ranging from Grammy winners to esteemed cultural ambassadors—directly to schools and community spaces.
Viva is a collaboration between UCSB Arts & Lectures, The Marjorie Luke Theatre, the Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes Center, and the Isla Vista School Parent Teacher Association, serving more than 15,000 students and community members in Carpinteria, Santa Barbara, Goleta, Lompoc, Santa Maria, Guadalupe and New Cuyama.
For more information about Viva’s free community performances, please visit https://artsandlectures.ucsb.edu/learn/viva-el-arte-de-santa-barbara/.
UCSB Arts and Lectures
