¡Viva la A&L

For most of its history, the UCSB Arts & Lectures-produced program ¡Viva el Arte de Santa Bárbara! operated under the radar of the usual A&L events. That wasn’t an accident. 

The idea was always to cater to the Spanish-speaking segment of the community, one that frequently might have been overlooked not only by A&L but also most of the arts organizations in town. A single free concert grew into a weekend of three performances that then also over the years added additional outreach opportunities, such as assemblies and workshops with the artists within the schools. The program was designed to not only serve but be driven by the community itself. 

“We wanted to offer more of an educational component,” said Jenna Hamilton-Rolle, director of education and community engagement at A&L now entering her third season in the role. “It’s about meeting not only a cultural gap but also a curriculum gap in Santa Barbara County schools. Traditional Latin American or Latin music styles, instruments, terminology that goes along with cultural practices, aren’t taught in your regular day in and day out curriculum in public school.”

Hamilton-Rolle said ¡Viva is all about keeping Mexican American and Latino traditions alive in the present. 

“The artists not only represent more classic styles of music and dance, but also modern takes on those classic styles to show that the culture is not static. It’s ever evolving, it’s ever changing, it’s growing, and it’s part of now.”

But the concerts weren’t often promoted outside of those communities. 

That’s changed quite a bit as ¡Viva gets ready to celebrate its 20th anniversary with a new five-concert series of shows, each of which features performance at four different venues around the county. 

“My perspective is that Latino households are more than half of the households in our county,” Hamilton-Rolle said. “So there’s no point in putting things under the radar. We may as well market to the largest demographic in our county. And while it’s true that the people who have the familiarity with these artists are going to largely be our Latina community, it’s just as important to welcome everybody through the doors.”

The 20th season also adds a new venue to the trio of existing concert sites with Thursday dates set for Carpinteria Vets Memorial Building along with Isla Vista Elementary on Fridays, Guadalupe City Hall on Saturdays, and Marjorie Luke Theatre on Sundays. 

“We know that we get a lot of folks coming to the Sunday shows from Camarillo, Oxnard, and Ventura as well as Carpinteria,” Hamilton-Rolle said. “So since we’re about responding to the community, why not serve the southern portion of our county?”

First up in the 2025-26 ¡Viva season is Grupo Bella, led by Grammy-winning vocalist Vanessa Ramirez – who fronts a group that blends mariachi roots with Mexican pop, boleros, huasteco, and even American classics – performs September 18-21. Grammy-winning singer-songwriter and producer Gaby Moreno, who blends Latin pop, rock, and Americana in her music, performs November 6-9. Mariachi Reyna de Los Angeles, an all-female band that has served as a trailblazer in a long male-dominated musical genre, extends its 30-year history with shows January 15-18. Las Cafeteras, who remix roots music in a sonic explosion of Afro-Mexican rhythms, electronic beats, and powerful rhymes, are due March 19-22 before the season comes to a close April 16-19 with Ballet Folklórico del Rio Grande, a 30-member ensemble of professional dancers who have performed across the Americas, including at the Kennedy Center.

Admission to all the concerts is free. All of the performances are followed by a reception with the artists that is open to everyone. 

Visit https://artsandlectures.ucsb.edu/learn/viva-el-arte-de-santa-barbara