Tigres del Norte
The godfathers of the Norteño music genre have towered in the realm of Latin music, taking the polka rooted Norteño sound and mixing it with true tales of social injustices and current events. Thus their fans have affectionately nicknamed them ' Los Idolos Del Pueblo", (Idols of the town) for their sincerity and humbleness. With a career span of more than three decades, millions of records sold, extensive concert tours throughout the United States, Mexico, Latin America, Europe and Asia, Los Tigres Del Norte are international music legends.

Pete Escovedo
Legendary and accomplished Percussionist Pete Escovedo is an artist who broke down the barriers between Smooth Jazz, Salsa, Latin Jazz and contemporary music. Pete’s versatility as a Percussionist has been featured in performances and recordings by a wide range of Artists such as Carlos Santana, Tito Puente, Cal Tjader, Boz Scaggs, Al Jarreau, Arturo Sandoval, Prince, and the list goes on. Pete Escovedo believes that there is healing through music and has donated his time to numerous charity events to help children around the world by teaching the importance of music.

Andrez Garza
Andrez H. Garza for the past seven years, he has been the representative for Mariachi San Jose, a youth mariachi group composed of college-bound students.  In this role, he provides mentoring, tutoring, crisis intervention, counseling and information on resources available to get them into college. Through his fundraising efforts and community support, Mariachi San Jose has awarded $22,000 in college scholarships to its participants.  Additionally, he has participated with Pueblo de San Jose Kiwanis, Special Olympics, and sits on the Board of Directors of Youth Development Through Performing Arts.

Sylvia Perel
Sylvia Perel is the founder of the International Latino Film Festival -San Francisco Bay Area. Internationally, she curates Latino programs for major international festivals including the Festival Latinoamericano di Trieste (Italy), and the Territorio Latinoamericano program for the prestigious Festival de Málaga (Spain). Locally, Sylvia created the award-winning “Youth in Video” program, where minority and at-risk youth learn the art of filmmaking, digital technology, and are encouraged to pursue higher education. As a result hundreds of disadvantaged Latino youth in the Greater Bay Area and Buenos Aires have studied the art of filmmaking with respected Latino directors.

Manuel Romero
At the age of 12 Manuel Romero signed with Warner Brothers Recording label and by 18 recorded four albums. He is a singer, songwriter, musician and college student who enchants fans with his wide range of styles. He’s appeared in “American Idol”, “America’s Got Talent”, performedfor the Pope in Mexico, at Mariachi Festivals and extensive TV and Radio. President Fox commended him for singing both the US and Mexico’s National Anthems. He has been acknowledged with the Best Popular Album and Best Song of the Year by the Trebby Awards.

John Santos
Four-time Grammy-nominated, US Artists Fontanals Fellow, Bay Area native, John Santos, is a major international exponent of Afro-Latin music as an innovative percussionist, composer, teacher, writer, and producer for over thirty years. He's worked with masters like Cachao, Dizzy Gillespie, Tito Puente, Eddie Palmieri and Omar Sosa. He has conducted countless workshops and lectures internationally since 1972 at numerous institutions including UCLA, Yale, Madison, Michigan, and Stanford Universities. He was founder and director of the internationally renowned, Grammy-nominated Machete Ensemble (1985-2006) and currently directs the highly acclaimed John Santos Quintet.

Jesse Varela
Jesse “Chuy” Varela has been a leading advocate of Latino arts and music for more than a quarter century. Currently the public affairs/music director (KPFA-FM and KCSM-FM), and program host (KJAZ-FM). Varela is a frequent contributor to the SF Chronicle, East Bay Express, San Jose Metro, Jazz Times and Latin Beat, covering jazz, Latin music and Latino culture. He is a consultant to organizations such as SFJAZZ, Smithsonian Institution, and record companies. Varela was the 2003 JAZZWEEK Programmer of the Year, and a Gavin Magazine Music Director of the Year honoree.

Adrian Vargas
Adrian Tepehua Vargas has been active in the Latino artistic and cultural movement for over 30 years as a theatre and film director, playwright, actor, musician, and producer. Is a past director of San Jose’s former Teatro de la Gente and was co-founder of “El Centro Cultural De La Gente.” He is also the producer of the documentary EL GIGANTE AWAKENS which illustrates the massive immigrants’ rights mobilizations of May 2006. Vargas received a Master of Fine Arts and B.A. in Theatre Arts from U.C. Davis and San Jose State University respectively.

Dianne Vega
Dianne L. Vega has been working with Teatro Visión, a professional Chicano/Latino theater company performing in San José, since 1994 and is the company's full-time production manager working hard to pull together all aspects of producing the company’s seasons onto the stage reaching a high quality professional theatrical industry standard. Dianne has also worked with various theater companies through out the Bay Area since 1989 and in 1995 she earned her B.A. in Social Work from San José State University.