Pride and purpose
30-year California Arts Council grantee Los Cenzontles performs at gubernatorial inauguration
“It is my distinct honor and pleasure to introduce another California treasure … ”
With those words, First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom greeted longtime California Arts Council grantee Los Cenzontles to the stage for an energetic two-song set. Last week’s celebration at the swearing in of California’s new governor, Gavin Newsom, shone a spotlight some of our state’s unique and powerful multicultural identity, and the arts.
“We were very honored to have been invited to perform, and prominently placed, in such an historic event. It was a thrill,” said Eugene Rodriguez, Los Cenzontles’ founder and director.
Los Cenzontles has its roots in a 1989 California Arts Council Artist in Residency grant, providing funding for Rodriguez to teach Mexican music to Richmond youth. Five years later, he would develop the work into a fully incorporated organization, bringing traditional arts education and cultural events to the local San Pablo/Richmond community.
“The [California Arts Council] provided critical support in our first ten years, helping us to grow and thrive,” said Rodriguez. The agency funded in part the organization’s Cuatro Maestros Tour, featuring the music of four Mexican masters and Los Cenzontles’ young members. Rodriguez was also honored with a California Arts Council Director’s Award, in recognition of his leadership in developing arts and cultural programming aimed at an expanding and often overlooked immigrant community.
Thirty years later, Los Cenzontles continues its work as a band, a nonprofit organization, a music academy, a community space for youth and families, a hub for Latinx artists — and as California Arts Council grantee.
Thirty years later, Los Cenzontles continues its work as a band, a nonprofit, a music academy, a community space for youth and families, a hub for Latinx artists — and as California Arts Council grantee.
Los Cenzontles’ core band members consist of Rodriguez himself as director and guitarist; his son and bass player, Emiliano Rodriguez; singer Fabiola Trujillo; and vocalist/guitarist Lucina Rodriguez. The group has performed internationally, represented the U.S. State Department, and collaborated with numerous traditional and popular musicians, Linda Ronstadt, Jackson Browne, and Los Lobos among them.
Last Monday’s performance at Governor Newsom’s inauguration is yet another impressive accolade for the band’s résumé.
The performance followed a recitation by Siebel Newsom of former California state and U.S. Poet Laureate Juan Felipe Herrera’s poem, “Let Us Gather in a Flourishing Way,” a bilingual reminder of “our common humanity … that we are all one California,” she observed.
In front of a bright blue backdrop emblazoned with the state seal and a half-dozen California flags in their posts, Los Cenzontles gave a rousing performing for the audience in the tent, streaming online or watching on television. The first selection was “Un Dia Feliz,” an original written by Eugene in a Mexican-style rhythm. The second, “México Americano,” was a piece composed by Rumel Fuentes, a singer and activist for the Chicano Movement in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
“It’s a song about bicultural pride and purpose,” said Rodriguez, made evident in the anthem’s lyrics:
Por mi madre yo soy mexicano
Por destino soy americano
Yo soy de la raza de oro
Yo soy méxico americano
“From my mother I am Mexican / By fortune I am American,” it begins. “I am from the race of gold / I am Mexican American.”
The mission of the California Arts Council, a state agency, is to advance California through the arts and creativity. Learn more at www.arts.ca.gov.
