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About the Directors . . . Rudy F. Garcia began his dance training while a student at Stanford University. He has served as Artistic Director for San Francisco Bay Area groups Flor de Mexico and Los Lupenos. As an avid researcher of Mexican folk culture and history he has established a vast network of information resources and has served as a consultant to groups throughout the state. His "Folklorico Handbook" is currently in use in colleges throughout the state. He is a National Endowment for the Arts Folk Arts grant and has served as a California Arts Council Dance Panelist. In 1990, he directed the international dance conference for the Asociacion Nacional de Grupos Folkloricos (ANGF) in San José. He currently serves on the Steering Committee for the statewide organization, Danzantes Unidos. Maria Luisa Colmenárez has served as Artistic Director for Sacramento Valley groups: Grupo Folklorico Mizoc de Sacramento, Danzantes del Alma de UC Davis and Folklorico Latino de Woodland. She is an National Endowment for the Arts, Folk Arts grant recipient and served for three years as a California Arts Council, Artist-in-Residence. She has been a movement consultant to Linda Ronstadt, has served for two years as a California Arts Council Dance Grant Panelist and is a former Artistic Director of Los Lupeños. In 1989, she was co-director for the international ANGF conference in Oaxaca, Oaxaca, Mexico. She is currently a multi-cultural dance specialist with the American Musical Theater of San Jose and the Statewide Coordinator for Danzantes Unidos’ Folklorico-On-Wheels Project. About the Members . . . Barbara Perez-Diaz is a professional violinist and director of Mariachi Santa Cecilia, Coordinator for San José's Mariachi Youth Program and a dancer/instructor and Musical Coordinator for Alegría de San José. In 1992, she founded San José's Mariachi Youth Program at Hoover Middle School. The weekly, after-school program is co-sponsored by the Mexican Heritage Corporation and trains young musicians in violin, trumpet, vihuela and guitarrón. Each summer, since it’s inception, she has coordinated the Mariachi and Folklorico Workshops for San Jose’s International Mariachi Conference sponsored by the Mexican Heritage Corporation. She is the mother of two talented dancer/musicians and was a charter dance member of Los Lupeños in 1969. Magdalena Blackmer was born and raised in San Francisco, California where she began her dance training at a very early age. She continued her dance training while a student at UC Davis where she served as Student Manager for the resident folklorico dance company, Danzantes del Alma and received her B.A. in Spanish and Chicano Studies in 1984. She has been a member of Grupo Folklorico Mizoc de Sacramento, Grupo Aztlán de San Francisco, Ballet Folklorico Mexicano de Carlos Moreno and Los Lupeños. She has served as an instructor/consultant for BF Xochitl of Concord, BF Cuahtemoc of South San Francisco and Grupo Mexico Danza of Hayward. She has been active as a community volunteer for the following organizations: Galeria de La Raza, Bar Association of San Francisco, Los Lupeños Executive Board and the ACLU Speaker's Bureau. Magdalena was very recently admitted to the University of San Francisco School of Law. Veronica Ruiz began her dance training as a teenager in San Jose. She is a charter member and dancer/instructor for Alegría de San Jose. Veronica has taught classes for the American Musical Theatre of San Jose Conservatory at various high schools and at the summer Prusch Park program. She is a former staff member and Escuela coordinator for Los Lupeños. |
