Embracing the Viva,
with Access for All
As the Idealistic ¡Viva el Arte de Santa Bárbara!
Latin Music Series Nears the 20-Year Mark,
an Endowment Project Signals the Final Goal of
Retiring Arts & Lectures Director Celesta Billeci
By Josef Woodard | May 15, 2025
It is a rainy spring afternoon, and the 3rd- and 4th-graders at El Camino Elementary School are clapping out the archetypal Cuban clave rhythm in the multi-purpose room. Salsa dancing is next on the agenda, during a demonstration-performance by the talented young Colombian women in the Latin jazz group Las Guaracheras. A prominent sign onstage reads “SPREAD LOVE/REPARTIR AMOR.”
The following day, Las Guaracheras headed over to the Isla Vista school auditorium, packed with older students, and again performed an event evolving into a short but infectious invitation dance with cultural elements attached. That night, the group would play the first of three concerts in this space, with parents, grandparents, and others, before heading to concertize in Guadalupe on Saturday and a grand finale at the Marjorie Luke Theatre on Sunday night, with delirious salsa dancing and Mexican pastries in tow.
These entertaining breaks in the curriculum and general cultural enlightenment gems came courtesy of the much-valued and idealistic ¡Viva el Arte de Santa Bárbara! program, celebrating its 20th anniversary season starting in the fall. In a nutshell, the concept behind this series — launched by UCSB Arts & Lectures in collaboration with various civic groups in Isla Vista and the city of Guadalupe — brings Mexican regional music and other flavors of Latin American music and dance groups to the county for a long weekend of free-to-the public concerts and school visits.
El Camino school principal Lorena Chavez, who was at Isla Vista School for 37 years before moving over to the DLI (dual language immersion) El Camino, said, “I wanted to bring the program here because I knew what a great opportunity this is for kids and their families to experience. Some kids here have never even been to the beach, and they live here.”
In the I.V. School auditorium, Aliz Ruvalcaba — long a principal figure in the project as Eastside coordinator, onstage announcer, and charismatic cheerleader at the Luke concerts — explained the structure of the residency. “They do a lot of workshops on the first two days and then play the Friday concert here, in I.V., which is more intimate. When they go to Guadalupe on Saturday, it’s the major event of the town, and they play in the official space of City Hall. Then, on Sunday we move to the Luke Theatre, which is a full theater environment, and something they look forward to. So, if they’re getting tired during the workshop, they can look forward to Sunday night.”
Dance takes the Viva spotlight this weekend to close the current season, as Ballet Nepantla — blending Mexican folklórico dance and contemporary ballet — heads into the busy residency of performances and school visits around the county.
In January, donors and others gathered at a special luncheon at the swanky Santa Barbara Club. La Santa Cecilia, one of the starring acts to appear in the series, was in-house and offered up a savory post-lunch musical desert. Before launching into their customized, Cecilia-ized arrangement of the Beatles classic “Strawberry Fields Forever” and another song from their new album, lead singer La Marisoul said, “We get the blessing of traveling the world, but at the core, we are servants to the communities we play in. It is empowering to share where we come from, to share the joy.”
The luncheon was primarily an occasion to promote a then-new initiative launched by Arts & Lectures (A&L) Miller McCune Executive Director Celesta Billeci to create an endowment for the Viva series, to ensure its future in a fragile time for the arts. Important donor and arts supporter Eva Haller spoke, challenging others to join in her support, and also tipped a hat to Billeci, retiring from her post at the end of this season, after 25 fruitful years. “I can’t imagine A&L without Celesta,” Haller effused.
The history of Viva dates back to a plan hatched by a consortium of arts administrators in town, including influential Arts Commission head Patrick Davis. Billeci remembers Davis taking her to experience the humble north county town of Guadalupe, a site in need of cultural activities. Billeci teamed up with Davis and the Luke Theatre’s Rod Lathim, and others, to germinate an inventive new concept and project, rooted in the current three-site areas of Isla Vista, Guadalupe, and Santa Barbara’s Eastside.
Enter ¡Viva el Arte de Santa Bárbara!
Billeci recalls, “We came up with this idea of ‘Let’s create this program called “Viva” that would serve these sites.’ This is not a UCSB Arts & Lectures program, but a very equal partner program with the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center, the Isla Vista PTA, Marjorie Luke Theatre, and then Arts & Lectures. Four sites work together to collaborate, curate, put this together. I mean, we are the big organization out of the four. We have more resources, and we do a lot of the work in terms of logistics, but the communities themselves are so beautiful, the people that we serve in these communities. We take the artists into the community. We don’t expect the communities to come to the artists.
“I really do think we live up to the mantra of ‘access for all,’ and I’m really proud of that. Viva goes above and beyond. You can ask any single person on our staff, ‘What does Celesta think the best thing is about Arts & Lectures?’ They will tell you, without hesitation, ‘She’s most proud of Viva.’ It’s about making sure that everybody gets to come to the table. Everybody gets to participate; everybody gets to see and be a part of world-class artists.”
For most of the Viva story thus far, the managing director for the series was A&L’s Cathy Oliverson, whom Billeci toasts for her dedication, including taking Spanish lessons. Two years ago, the management task was handed to Jenna Hamilton-Rolle, who had previously worked with the Museum of Natural History and their Sea Center outpost on Stearns Wharf. She is also the Youth Services Representative for the City of Santa Barbara’s Community Development and Human Services Committee, which ties into the strong youth aspect of the Viva operation.
Hamilton-Rolle shares with Billeci a special attraction to the Guadalupe piece of the puzzle. “Guadalupe is such a small town — literally, people just walk down the street to come to this concert. People really love that they are just able to come see these world-class artists, these incredible performances, literally happening just across the street from them. And nobody seems to mind that it’s happening in Guadalupe City Hall, which is not the finest performing arts center,” she laughs. “We are literally in a basketball auditorium, with the most echoey acoustics. But people don’t mind.
“For me, Guadalupe feels like the heart and soul of the Viva el Arte program because it is serving a very predominantly Spanish-speaking audience, a lot of migrant farm workers. I would say I get the most warm, fuzzy feelings during the Guadalupe shows.”
Part of her work involves booking a given season’s five acts and residencies, and “making sure that we have a balance of different styles. We will always have a mariachi, we’ll always have some sort of traditional dance folklórico, something more contemporary, something more traditional. And then our fifth is maybe a big name or something new, something that our community has brought to our attention that they really want to see. That’s the peek behind the curtain on that.”
On the long list of artists presented in the series, some are of a global status, including La Santa Cecilia, whose 2014 appearance was on the cusp of winning their first of four Grammy Awards (so far) and subsequent expansion to the broader music world. Another worldly and widely celebrated and outta East L.A band is the roots-and-more hybrid group Las Cafeteras, which has become a core repeat visitor to the Viva series, including the opening slot in the current season. Leader Hector Flores is a prime promoter of the series and is part of the Viva advisory committee.
Perla Batalla, the talented singer based in Ojai and Spain and alumnus of Leonard Cohen’s band, has presented her diverse Mexican, jazz, and pop musical mélange in the series going back to the beginning in 2006, and as recently as 2023.
Mariachi — of a high and polished order — has been a staple, and a popular draw, throughout the history of the series. The list of artists, many of whom have also performed at the Mariachi Festival at the Santa Barbara Bowl during Old Spanish Days, includes Mariachi Garibaldi de Jaime Cuellar, Mariachi Reyna de Los Ángeles, Mariachi Viva Mexico, and Mariachi los Camperos.
Another Mexicana melting pot band from Los Angeles in the Viva lane is Buyepongo (its name translates to “to cause a ruckus”). I asked singer Edgar Modesto if there was a mission statement for the band, to which he responded, “Breaking down walls and building bridges. One dance floor at a time!” Said dance floors included the Luke Theatre.
One of the avid dancers at the Las Guaracheras Luke show was Dorothy Largay, who commented later, “I had a wonderful time dancing salsa with one of the abuelas. I rarely get the opportunity to dance with a master.”
Largay, a long-term supporter of A&L, was introduced to the series by Billeci, “because I was doing a lot of work in Latin America. At her invitation, I attended a performance at the Marjorie Luke Theatre and fell in love with the blaring sounds of the mariachi band. More importantly, I was touched by the folks streaming in — parents with kids on their shoulders, other kids squealing in the hall while their grandparents looked on. Such a grand fiesta.
“Since then, I have brought my young granddaughters to enjoy the shows because their parents used to live in Nicaragua, and I know how important it is to instill that sense of pride and delight in the culture. Viva is such a wonderful way to do it. Plus, at Marjorie Luke, they always have the best cookies.”
What People Are Saying
Everyone should have access to world-class art and music. Viva el Arte is awesome. It provides world-class musicians and artists whose work is accessible to the community at no charge. Many of the schools and the students and communities that Viva el Arte serves are underserved. This program brings world-class performances and artists to them directly. Art is part of what gives our lives vibrancy and purpose, so it’s imperative that this program continue. —Salud Carbajal, U.S. Representative for California’s 24th District
We started out and recorded our first demo, and we started painting each CD cover and asking help from friends. Doing things like that turned into painting parties. We would also have them at bars and coffee shops, wherever we’d play, but would also do those at cultural centers.
That was a great experience, to share the creative space with people and also share stories with the youth about how we found ourselves and how we found our instruments and how we came along. It shows an example of what you can do with music. For us, it’s important that we can share that with the youth, that there is a way to be creative and to celebrate, to know where you come from with your roots and also that we’re all living out here, inspired by everything. —La Marisoul, La Santa Cecilia
If we are touring, there has to be, at some point, some venues where I can do workshops, whether with kids or high school or university students, or adults. I try to do some kind of workshop, where I can really speak about the music, and its history. If it is kids, I put more emphasis on the playing part, because of the age.
It’s a very important part of our mission. When I created this group, 20 years ago now, one of the things I realized was that there are many Puerto Ricans who have become very well-known in the States and in the world — musicians, sports figures, film figures, singers, and in other fields. But people don’t really know much about our music. —Gary Nuñez, from the Puerto Rican band Plena Libre
I was first exposed to Viva el Arte years ago, when I was still with Mariachi Los Camperos, years ago. That was the first time I had ever done a school assembly with mariachi. The director came up with a good basis of how to have an interesting assembly. From there, we began to do a lot more assemblies, here in L.A. and other places.
I really enjoyed spreading the joy of mariachi to kids. It’s a very fun genre. Doing the assemblies, I enjoyed seeing the kids and the community. You see everybody’s face lit up. You hear little kids singing a song you played right when you started, a half hour ago, and they still remember it, or hearing the kids saying, “Bye-bye, mariachi!” It’s a nice little feeling.
It’s the same thing with the community concerts. That’s what I was really impressed with Viva el Arte, having these free concerts for the community. Santa Barbara is one of those large small communities. If something does come to town — for instance, at the Bowl — some people can’t afford to get in or get over there. These concerts get people out of the house, and it’s free. —Jaime Cuéllar, Mariachi Garibaldi de Jaime Cuéllar
It is a blessing and important to be able to share our knowledge and beautiful musical experiences with others. We do enjoy doing these types of programs because it gives us a chance to interact more with the public, reach other audiences, and become part of a mutual, memorable experience.
Also, as young professional female musicians, it is important to inspire other women, especially younger generations, to do music regardless of all the barriers and struggles to make it in a male-dominated world and show them that you can be successful and do what you most love. —Mireya I. Ramos, Flor de Toloache, all-female group from N.Y.C.
I wasn’t familiar with it until I received a proposal to go up and do these gigs. I’m very excited. I think it’s a wonderful thing that they’re doing. I know that I am going to be doing performances throughout the community and the county. I know that I’m going to be playing for kindergarten kids, 3rd-graders, high schools, and we’re even going to a juvenile hall. It’s going to be something that, for me, I know will be quite enriching.
As an immigrant, it’s also important for me to relay that message to all the people who are here in this country who are also working hard, honest people who are just trying to make a living, who left their homes behind to follow their American dream. There are a lot of us out here. I’m one of them too. I’m here by myself, while my family is in Guatemala.
It’s a blessing to be able to have music to communicate this kind of message to people. It’s a message of hope, a message of unity, telling everybody I’m with them and I’m part of them. We can all move forward together. —Gaby Moreno
On a deeper level, Largay appreciates the cultural solidarity encouraged by the series. “At a time when there is such fear permeating our community,” she says, “having places where families can experience joy, respect, pride, and belonging is vital. Viva has the potential to broaden and deepen its impact as it creates pride and hope among some of our most vulnerable neighbors, which is so needed in the current climate.”
With the various changes in direction and personnel in the Viva machinery, one of the “old guard” administrators is now Ruvalcaba, who began her work as Santa Barbara coordinator in 2010 and who serves the critical role as liaison to the Spanish-speaking community and engaging onstage emcee. She first connected with the program as a reporter and producer for Univision television and was soon invited to play an active role.
At that time, she said, “For me, it was a whole life change. It was not only the transition from my station to this new job. I was also pregnant with my first son. So, Viva kind of became my baby before my actual baby came alive.”
Ruvalcaba says, “When I’m on stage or when I’m communicating with the audience or with the artist, it’s just trying to transfer the same feeling that I felt when I was being welcomed into Viva. It was just a sense of belonging. We are one community and we are in this adventure together. At shows, there are the grandmas and little kids, all different ranges of ages. And the experiences are completely different.
“Some kids are there for the first time in a show. They see these big lights on the stage and the theater, and some other people, they show up there because the music reminds them of their old town in Mexico, or from the little town in Colombia. They hear their sounds and they are transported to their own towns and their own experiences. It’s like blending the community with the experience with the culture together and doing that through the music. It’s been a huge blessing to be able to become a little channel to connect those and be able to, to be a part of it.”
At times, Ruvalcaba has had a direct hand in booking special shows in the series, tapping into her roots in Guadalajara. She brought up the fascinating jazz-rock band Troker in 2013 and singer Valente Pastor, both from Guadalajara. In one of many peripheral stories linked to Viva visitors, Pastor was invited to sing in the Our Lady of Guadalupe by the priest, who had heard him perform in a classroom session in Carpinteria and asked for his musical service in church on Sunday morning. Pastor’s potent cameo performance of “Ave Maria” in church that morning inspired a full house at the Luke that night.
In another tale, a young woman, Ely García, was so inspired by a mariachi concert at the Luke that she pursued music and, 12 years later, ended up singing in the all-female Mariachi Reyna de Los Ángeles, coming full-circle back to the Luke.
Despite struggles for support and solid grounding in the past, Viva’s future is looking potentially bright. Billeci’s advocacy and passion for creating an endowment this year stems from her desire to “stake my legacy” on the project. “I wanted to secure an endowment,” she notes. “The community and my donors knew that this is really important and that nothing can happen to this program. It needs to be protected for the future. We need to endow it so that it’s always there, that these communities are always served no matter who the [A&L] director is.
“Whatever happens in politics or whatever else happens, these communities deserve to be served.”
One dance floor and classroom at a time.
See artsandlectures.ucsb.edu/learn/viva-el-arte-de-santa-barbara.
Celesta Billeci Retires:
Last Dance for an A&L Era
As Celesta Billeci retires from her post as executive director of Arts & Lectures (A&L) — technically, the Miller McCune Executive Director, a position endowed by Sara Miller McCune — she achieves the milestone as the longest-running program director of this type in the UC system’s history. Billeci, who had previously been involved in the administration of the UCLA live arts program, took over the UCSB role upon the departure of previous director Jan Oetinger, who Billeci says “left it in very good shape, so I could just build on what she had done.”
After retiring, “my intention is to stay in the field. It is kind of the norm, when people step down in roles like this, that they will continue to sort of consult in the arts field, and that’s what I intend to do,” said Billeci. “It’s just that this is a 24/7 job, and I’m looking forward to not working 24/7 anymore. When I got here 25 years ago, this was a very different program. I love the field. I love arts presenting, strategic planning, presenting, and fundraising, and these are things that I intend to still do after I retire.”
Although Billeci has been widely praised, both in the area — with multiple awards just this year — and in the general arts and lectures field, as a significant force, she deflects direct accolades and tends to praise her team. Among those parties is her “partner in crime” Roman Baratiak, who was in place when Billeci arrived and only left after retiring in 2020. Meghan Bush, currently assistant director, has also been a vital mainstay in the program for many years.
Billeci relates that “we all worked together really hard in that little barrack (the humble headquarters of A&L in days of old) to transform the program, to make a really solid program.
“The star is the program, not me. It’s not the executive director. That is really important. The star here is what we put on stage and what people don’t see. All the arts education we do behind the scenes, whether it’s at the K-through-12 schools or at the university, or the free classes in the community, or all the books we give away, that’s the star.”
For all the built-in variety of an A&L season, between classical, jazz, roots, and other music, high-end lectures and other events, one clear strong point is the organization’s commitment to supporting dance. Billeci has a deep interest in the form, having studied and danced professionally in her early years, and has worked diligently to bring important dance troupes and artists to Santa Barbara. She insists, “We have to stay committed to presenting dance. It’s such an important art form. It’s theatrical. It involves music.
“You can’t be a major arts presenter in this country and not present dance. I’ve made that commitment, and we have a reputation of being one of the most important dance presenters in the United States, if not internationally.”
Part of what makes A&L fly is the presence of patrons in the affluent and cultured city it lives in. Billeci attributes much of her success to “the generosity of our donors. I always say this is a community-supported program. The generosity of the donors in Santa Barbara have made this program what it is. I may have shown them a vision that they bought into, but they’ve made it a reality and help sustain it every year. And they make it available to everybody else.”
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