Celebrating La Luz Summer Camps
Local students performed in a Mexican folkloric dance and mariachi presentation on August 2 on the stage of the El Verano Community School Center to share their new skills and celebrate the conclusion of their two-week camp.
Leonardo Lobato, Executive Director of La Luz Center, welcomed family and friends of the participating students. The program ended with the audience joining everyone singing and playing the traditional Chicana song, “De Colores.”
This camp was the last of three summer camps provided for the children of Sonoma Valley through La Luz, under the direction of Víctor Ferrer, Executive and Artistic Director of Quetzalén, Sonoma’s folkloric dance group. Lobato told the campers, teachers and audience that the camp is an example of “collaboration between local and county organizations to explore and preserve our cultural heritage while fostering the talent and creativity of our youth.”
The three camps this summer were attended by a total of 104 children. The first, Aventura Artística (Artistic Adventure), held at La Luz’s Booker Hall, focused on the culture of the state of Oaxaca. The children learned to make four recipes from Oaxaca, created art based on Oaxacan culture, and made their own costumes for a traditional Oaxacan dance.
Campamento de Cine (Film Camp) was also held at Booker Hall, and brought together a group of passionate young creators. The campers had the opportunity to explore the art of filmmaking from multiple angles. They learned how to use cameras, learned editing, and explored acting and the storytelling process. Learning communication, collaboration and teamwork, each group created a short film, turning raw moments into compelling stories.
The Mariachi and Folklórico Camp was held at El Verano School, by arrangement with the District. Luther Burbank Center sent violins, cellos, guitars, guitarrones, and trumpets, as well as their teachers and older students from their LBC Mariachi program, to introduce campers to this traditional musical art form. Mariachi camps learned the basic mariachi rhythms. Dance campers ranged from beginner to advanced, and all learned new traditional dances.
Lobato explained to the Sun that La Luz coordinates the camps and, through the generosity of their funders and supporters, covers the fees and expenses of partners Kimzin Creative, Luther Burbank Center for the Arts, and Grupo Folklórico Quetzalén. All of the partners reduced their fees to make the camps possible. This is the second year of the camps.
Ferrer, who is Sonoma’s 2024 Treasure Artist, said that he first had the idea of folkloric dance summer camps at the end of 2022. Without funds, structure, or the staff necessary for such a project, he began looking for support. Stepping up was Leonardo Lobato of La Luz, whom Ferrer praises for his consistent support of projects that promote culture in the Latinx community. Also Nikko Kimzin of Kimzin Creative, always appreciative of Quetzalén, offered his collaborative support. The third partner, joining for this second summer of La Luz camps, was the County’s Luther Burbank Center for the Arts, whose Education and Community Engagement Department is pursuing the mission of “enriching, educating and entertaining, and engaging the whole community in the arts.”
Maura Campbell, La Luz Community Engagement Manager, summed up this year’s camps as “amazing.” She continued, “We look forward to more La Luz summer camps that will support our community, enrich our culture, and remain free.”
By Anna Pier
