Valor Latino

Outreach & Residencies

Invite Los Cenzontles to your community for a performance, demonstration, or multi-day residency. Learn more about our program below!

We are Los Cenzontles–a cultural arts academy, a professional band, and a production studio in San Pablo, California. With over 30 years of experience, Los Cenzontles has been described by NPR as “a little factory of culture.” Our mission is to amplify our Mexican roots by exploring our traditions and our connections to the roots of others. Our nonprofit youth academy, music recordings, films and videos have emerged from our community space for youth and families. We have performed live around the world, and have collaborated with legendary artists such as Linda Ronstadt, Jackson Browne, Ry Cooder, Los Lobos, The Chieftains, and many others.

Our Valor Latino Outreach Program is designed to guide, inspire, and engage audiences presenting the power of Latino cultural arts through live performances, lecture-demonstrations, film screenings, and more. We build connections with, and within, communities by affirming the dignity of our authentic culture and heritage. 

Opportunities for connection with your community include any combination of the following:

Performances

Los Cenzontles (“The Mockingbirds”) features instrumental, vocal, and traditional dance forms from Mexico’s diverse cultural regions. A small group performance can feature a variety of music styles such as rancheras, corridos, boleros and son jarocho. A larger group performance adds hand percussion and zapateado (traditional dancing). Performers discuss the origins and relevance of tradition in our contemporary lives.

Lecture - Demonstrations

A Los Cenzontles Lecture - Demonstration is an interactive experience that combines performance and conversation to engage the audience in the music and work presented by Los Cenzontles. Weaved in with our music performance, we discuss the meaning of cultural arts, cross cultural connections, the importance of youth arts education, and more.

Moderated Film Screenings and Facilitated Discussions

Los Cenzontles has produced dozens of award-winning short films and full-length documentaries that discuss subjects like youth development, community organizing, tradition, identity, cross-cultural connection and belonging. These include the celebrated Linda and the Mockingbirds, Pasajero, A Journey of Time and Memory, Fandango, Searching for the White Monkey, Vivir (To Live), the animated short Tata’s Gift, and others. Film screenings and discussions engage the audience in dialogue. Watch our films here!

Fees can be discussed with Los Cenzontles and will range depending on travel need and scope of the program. For more information email contact@loscenzontles.com or call (510) 233-8015.