"Un poema de amor para la comunidad - A love poem for our community"
Palenke Arts and CSUMB’s World Theater proudly present a celebration of the immigrant spirit through music, dance and film featuring Grammy-nominated Los Cenzontles, Ghostly Labor, a dance film by La Mezcla and ballet folklórico students from Palenke Arts. The event will present the opportunity to obtain a signed copy of Eugene Rodriguez's brand-new book "Bird of Four Hundred Voices: A Mexican American Memoir of Music and Belonging". There will also be resource tables from community and campus organizations that provide support for our comunidad migrante.
Los Cenzontles dig deep into cultural traditions, creating a vibrant, contemporary sound infused with the gutsy soul of Mexico’s rural roots. Los Cenzontles (senn-SONT-less) have produced over 30 albums, and have performed across the U.S., in Europe, the Dominican Republic, Cuba, and throughout Mexico; they have collaborated with artists including The Chieftains, Los Lobos, Los Tigres del Norte, Linda Ronstadt, Ry Cooder, David Hidalgo and Taj Mahal, among others.
Eugene Rodriguez
Executive Director, Music Instructor and Touring Group Director
Eugene is a third generation Mexican American who grew up with both English language popular music and Mexican mariachi music in his family in Southern California. In 1989, he formed the youth group Los Cenzontles through an Artist Residency from the California Arts Council. In 1995 he was nominated for a Grammy for Best Musical Album for Children for his production of Papa's Dream, a bilingual recording with Los Lobos and Lalo Guerrero. He has produced thirty albums for Los Cenzontles, collaborating with noted musicians Ry Cooder, Jackson Browne, David Hidalgo, Taj Mahal, Saul Hernandez, Linda Ronstadt, Santiago Jimenez Jr., Atilano Lopez, Julian Gonzalez, Nati Cano, and The Chieftains, among others. He has received numerous awards including a United Artists Fellowship and has been featured in the NY Times and NPR, among many others.
Fabiola Trujillo
Youth Program Coordinator, Vocal Instructor, and Touring Group Member
Fabiola Trujillo immigrated to the U.S. from Mexico when she was seven and began studying at Los Cenzontles when she was just 15. Throughout her career, she has researched and studied region-specific Mexican musical genres. Fabiola is the Academy Manager and she leads the teen mentorship program and parent volunteer group and coordinates all community events. As a member of the Los Cenzontles Touring Group, Fabiola creates a new bicultural sound by mixing her exceptional ability to sing in the style of traditional Mexican ranch music with Country and Blues. She teaches a variety of traditional Mexican singing styles.
Silvestre Martinez
Percussion Instructor and Touring Group member
Silvestre was born in Puerto Angel, Oaxaca, Mexico, and grew up in a large family of musicians, who played Afro-Mexican music from the coast. At the age of 10, Silvestre began performing and recording with his Uncle’s band. At 15, he moved to Oaxaca City to study percussion. Steeped in the rhythms of Latin jazz, he developed an excellent reputation in Oaxaca, and success in Mexico led to opportunities to perform around the world. Silvestre’s ultimate dream was to play percussion in the United States. That dream was realized when he moved to the Bay Area in 2002, performing with legendary Latin jazz musicians such as Louie Romero, Karl Perazzo, Orestes Vilato, Jorge Santana, as well as Los Cenzontles.
Camila OrtegaDance and Music Instructor and Touring Group Member
Camila started at Los Cenzontles at the age of 4. She started to assist teaching at the age of 10 and has also taught her own dance classes at the center. Camila has learned and continues to grow as a dancer and vocalist in the different styles of folk music such as rancheras, son jarocho, son huasteco, chilenas from Oaxaca, son abajeño from Jalisco, son abajeño from Michoacan, as well as pirekuas sung in the indigenous language of P’urepecha. In addition to singing and dancing the different folk styles, Camila plays some folk percussion instruments such as quijada (donkeys’ jaw bone) and pandero.
Verenice VelazquezCommunications Coordinator, Dance Instructor, and Touring Group Member
Verenice started at Los Cenzontles Cultural Arts Academy at the age of 7, learning traditional zapateado, and since then has learned to dance and play various styles of Mexican folk music. She graduated from UC San Diego in 2020 with a degree in Urban Studies and Planning and is passionate about social connection and how it is impacted by surrounding environments. She uses her cultural and bilingual background to enhance communications, assist with grant proposals, and write poetry. She dances and plays various instruments and recites her poetry with the band.