As its core agenda, the significant and soulful organization known as ¡Viva el Arte de Santa Bárbara! is boldly committed to bringing Mexican regional music and other Latin American genres to town, in the form of residencies with free concerts and workshops. The past four-part season has included Mariachi Garibaldi de Jaime Cuéllar, the premiere Mexican folk ballet company Grandeza Mexicana and last month’s thrilling retro-bolero project Tres Souls.
Aptly enough, the current season closes this weekend with the famed Las Cafeteras, a band that proudly touches on many genre shores, from Mexican root systems to their neighborhood. They came together in East Los Angeles in 2005 and have landed in various Santa Barbara venues, from Casa de la Raza to the UCSB Multicultural Center to a Santa Barbara Bowl show a decade ago, on a bill with Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros.
Recent years have found the group bumping up in popularity and scale of venues, including the Montreal and Monterey Jazz Festivals, the Hollywood Bowl, and WOMAD. They have shared stages with Ozomatli, Los Lobos, Lila Downs, Juanes, Common, and others.