Newest articles on The Sacramento Press tagged as "ramona landeros"

Piñatas used for cultural exchange

2011-06-08T03:06:14Z

A mainstay at children’s birthday parties, candy-filled pinatas are ornaments made to break, and for people of all ages who delight in Latin-based fanfare, the second annual Piñata Festival is coming back to Midtown Saturday.

The festival will be held from noon - 9 p.m. along 23rd Street between I and J streets.

People who turn out for the event can expect to find vendors serving traditional Mexican food and fusion food. Gourmet Mexican ice cream and other deserts will be made by Doña Coco of Sacramento.

According to Mari Arreola, gallery owner of Spanglish Arte, local artists Chulo Baby, and Rachel Knipping and others will have art for sale. UC Davis Professor of Chicano Students Xico Gonzales and community activists will be selling political silkscreens.

Local artist Gavina Barragan will be leading free piñata-making workshops at 1 p.m., 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. Barragan said that she could only take on 12 students per workshop and that it is important to show up early. The raw materials used to make the pinatas is courtesy of the Washington Neighborhood Center.

At 2 p.m., 4 p.m. and 6 p.m., kids will get the opportunity to break piñatas. There are no limits to the number of kids that can participate.

Land Arrows Production will be setting up a beer and wine garden this year. Barragan estimates that it will cost $7 per person to get food and drinks at the festival.

Arreola said that live performances have been lined up. The ska rock group Basura and Ballet Folklorico will perform. Local cagefighter, Wrekn Aztekn will provide martial arts demos for people. The Aztec dance group Bachata Fuego and Maquilli Tonathiu will also be performing.

Last year, 600 people came out to celebrate, but this year, organizers are expecting as many as 3,000 people to show up.

“To be honest, last year we took over the street anarchist style, but this year we actually have all the permits in order, thanks to our sponsors,” said Mari Arreola, owner and art director of Spanglish Arte Gallery who is one of the main organizers of the festival.

Organizers of the art-based event said they hope to strengthen community bonds and raise funds for the Washington Neighborhood Center, a nonprofit organization that has been offering programs to youth and adults since it was founded in 1955. Proceeds from the event will also go to Sacramento Piñateros, a piñata-maker’s club.

The Washington Neighborhood Center serves neighbors along the 10-block radius of its headquarters on 400 16th St., located in one the oldest neighborhoods in Sacramento, according to WNC Chair of the board Chairman Tomas Montoya.

Montoya said that businesses that are sponsoring the event will have piñatas made for them courtesy of the volunteers from WNC. He added that the Piñata Festival is a good opportunity for cultural exchange.

“A lot of them (WNC community memmbers) don’t do the whole Second Saturday (Art Walk) thing,” says Montoya said. “It’s good to take our community out there where they normally wouldn’t go. We’re giving them a different kind of exposure, and people who do the Second Saturday thing can get a look at a different kind of art form.”

“People should always go out to any event being put on in public. It’s how you create strong communities and make people feel safe and trust each other by providing an environment to inspire people to talk to each other and look each other in the eye. Besides that, it will be fun,” said local artist Danny Scheible, who is contributing a Tapigami piñata sculpture for the festival.

Scheible developed a sculpting technique using imported tape as the raw material for his art work.

Arreola is working with Ramona Landeros of Land Arrows Production, a nonprofit events planning organization that also puts on music shows. As a result of this partnership, the festival venue is bigger.

“Our festival was more community -oriented (last year). It was very small, but we saw interest that people in Midtown had, and we decided to do a bigger event in response to business and the public in general,” Arreola said.

Tejano Conjunto Festival

2010-09-07T07:38:12Z

The 4th Annual Tejano Conjunto Festival was once again held at Cesar Chavez Park on Sunday, September 5. The sound of the music traveled down the empty streets of downtown Sacramento. This event was a Land Arrows Productions event with Ramona Landeros, founder and CEO on hand to ensure all attendees enjoyed the event. Several food and merchandise vendors were also on hand.

Three events made up the event; the first one was a kickoff dance and party at the Sheraton Grand Hotel Ballroom on Saturday, September 4 from 8:30 to midnight. The actual festival took place on Sunday, September 5 from noon to nine. Finally, an after party was held at the Sheraton.

One of the first bands I was able to watch was the Roberto Pulido y los Clásicos group. I was there for only part of their performance but as I looked around people were dancing in front of the stage while many others danced around the fountain.

There has been some concern with those that listen to Tejano (Texan) music that there are less and less Spanish radio stations throughout California playing Tejano music. Many fans are asking for more music of this genre and as such their demand is going unmet. In order to meet some of this demand the Tejano Conjunto Festival was put together and has become popular in Sacramento.

Tejano music has many similarities to Norteño music but differences are abound. Ramona Landeros, through Land Arrows Productions has been trying to keep this type of music alive in California and other parts of the western United States. Several clubs in the larger urban centers (San Francisco, Los Angeles among others) have several clubs devoted to this music and is popular at many Latino weddings, festivals, qunceañeras and graduations. As it is part of the Mexican-American cultural tradition Land Arrows is doing what it can to preserve Tejano music in California.

One of the ways to preserve some of this heritage is by organizing events such as the Tejano Conjunto Festival. By attracting top notch acts, like Sunday’s line-up, the chances to increase listener participation will greatly inclrease. The goal to keep Tejano music playing on California radio stations and keep this music alive in California will also benefit from exposure gained via these type of festivals.

Many people brought their lawn chairs and set them up in front of the stage early in the day to secure their spot (the same was true of the beer garden). The fountain area in the middle of Cesar Chavez Plaza served as the dance floor. Reminiscent of soul line dancing, dancers moved around the fountain as they danced. Dancing went on at every point when music was played. Some were very good dancers while others, such as myself, attempted to dance without tripping on my toes. There was some line dancing as well and later a dance contest was held for prizes. A Selena singing contest was also held during the evening.

The San Jose based Niteliters and Roberto Pulido y los Clásicos performed to the delight of those sitting and listening to music as well as for those dancing. The Niteliters played for quite a while. Both bands sang songs in Spanish while others were in English. Some of the songs were mixed and this is what Tejano music is all about the mixing of languages, traditions and just making fun music to listen and to dance to.

The emcees kept things entertaining by providing humor and also by giving merchandise away for adults and children. The love of Texan music was abound and of course there was a booth selling mostly football gear. Tony Romo jerseys were popular as was other Dallas Cowboys gear. The audience seemed to be divided as to their NFL loyalty with many cheering loud when the Dallas Cowboys were mentioned, many also cheered whenever the Oakland Raiders were mentioned and a small section cheered when they heard the Houston Texans name.

Jaime y los Chamacos seemed to play the longest and when they started their set the crowd had grown quite a bit. Jaime y los Chamacos had a large ensemble of players and many different instruments were played. By the time Jaime y los Chamacos finished their first song the audience had gotten on their feet and moved closer to the stage. Those in the beer garden moved closer to the barrier separating them from the non-drinking crowd and near the stage as well. Happy music was playing and happy feet were moving to the beat. The audience was quite lively as the last band played.

When I left the festival some of the songs played that night were still going off in my mind as I made my trip back home. Even though I was going home the festival was going to continue at the after party at the Sheraton Hotel. I'm already looking forward to the 5th Annual Tejano Music Festival in 2011.

Tejan Conjunto Tex Mex Festival: In the Eyes of Ramona Landeros

2009-08-30T08:15:43Z

Question: Explain to me what the Tejano Conjunto Tex Mex Festival is?

Answer: It is a music festival that is dedicated to preserving the Tejano Conjunto music as part of our American history. It talks about the struggles and experiences of the Mexican/American in our country.
Question: What is your role in this festival?

Answer: I am the founder and organizer of this festival; a dream that I have had for some time.

Question: You mentioned something about Selena. How does Selena fit into this festival?

Answer: Many young Mexican American young ladies grew up during the time Selena was at the top of the world. When she was murdered, it devastated the Tejano community, so in her honor and to keep her memory alive, we have a Selena contest. This gives the younger generation an opportunity to get up on stage and sing their favorite song and also celebrate her life.

Question: Is there a website where readers can go?
Yes the website is www.Landarrowsproductions.com

Question: How can someone contact you?
I can be reached at 916.529.5299 or 640.5969

Question: How long have you been involved with this festival?

I started planning this festival back in 2003. It was first a dream that my late brother and I had. It took some time because we knew that this music is not heard on the air waves so decided to launch this very risky venue.

Question: Okay, I am intrigued! What exactly is Tejano Conjunto music? Please explain.

Answer: The Tejano Conjunto music is a unique blend of Country Blues, Rock, Jazz and German music, but with a Mexican American twist. Conjunto music was founded back in the early 30’s and was considered the working class peoples’ music with a heavy influence on the accordion. The accordion has become so popular that the younger generation has picked up on it. The music continues to grow in popularity and it shows by the numbers that arrive in Sacramento from all over United States.
This has grown so popular that the Smithsonian Institute now has a place for COnjuntomusic in their folk library. Earlier this week, NPR came out and interviewed me about the Conjunto festival, so there is a growing interest and people are beginning to see how important the contributions that the Tejanos have made to American culture.

Question: Okay, if it started in the 30s, how did it get started? Now, I am really intrigued!

Answer: The founders of Conjunto music such as Narcisso Martinez, and Santiago Jimenez started playing the accordion that was heard throughout South Texas by the German settlers. This is why there are towns in Texas with German names such as Harlingen, Edinburgh and such. They soon took the accordion and added buttons instead of the piano style and began to play what is now known as Conjunto music. One of the very popular musicians, Flaco Jimenez came out to Godfather the 1st Tejano Conjunto festival.

Question: What day, time and location is the festival? Pray tell!

Answer: It will be held at Cesar Chavez Plaza in Sacramento, California on Sunday, September 6, 2009 from 1:00pm to 9:00 pm.

Question: How did this music influence you? Please elaborate.

Answer: My family worked in the fields as farm workers. We lived in many labor camps where we worked from sun up to sun down. After a long day in the fields the Texan families would bring out their instruments namely the accordion and start playing in the labor camps. My dad would say, “this music is so lively that it can bring you back from the dead”. Because after working for a long day, you felt dead, but those accordions and that Conjunto sound can really bring a smile to your face. This is why it is known as happy music. My parents never missed an opportunity to dance to Conjunto music.

Question: Is there a special way to dance to this music?

Answer: Yes very smooth and just have fun with it. There is a similarity with the two- step that is derived from country music and also the polka style which comes from the Germans. Go figure!

Question: What is your email address in case people want to email you?

Answer: Ramonalanderos@yahoo.com

Question: What are your hobbies and recreational activities?

Answer: I am very involved in working with at-risk youth in the community.

Question: As a paranormal writer, I got to meet your sister and she has an exceptional paranormal story, can I have her tell it? Pretty please?

Answer: Yes because these accounts are very real and some one reading this may say….”hey something similar happened to me.”

Okay, here is the story. My sister Leticia Landeros was walking in a bad neighborhood at 3am, because her car broke down and out of nowhere a huge Rottweiler started walking with her. It paced with her and when two shady type of men approached her, the Rottweiler was on high alert. The Rottweiler walked my sister to the safety of a family member’s home. When the Rottweiler went into the back yard of the family member, they went back there and the Rottweiler vanished. There was no where that this dog could have gone. I believe it was a spirit guide or angel that was with my sister that night in the form of a dog.

Question: Thank you for the interview, any last words of wisdom?

Answer: I just feel very honored to be able to bring this music to the community and also to continue to preserve the Tejano Conjunto music. The music is virtually off the airwaves so it is up to us to continue to bring this very important music here to the capital of California. We would like for it to reach the status of other music festivals, but we will get there. It couldn’t happen without the support of the Landeros clan who believed in my dream and the wonderful volunteers who work tirelessly.