La Santa Cecilia honors its Latin roots with irresistible energy. Connecting generations through music that’s deeply personal and universally felt, the Grammy-winning, Los Angeles-based band comes to the Center for the Arts at Virginia Tech on Thursday, Oct. 30, at 7:30 p.m.

Named after the patron saint of music, La Santa Cecilia is the voice of a new bicultural generation with unique sounds and colorful, passionate performances that captivate audiences. With a modern-day creative hybrid of Latin culture, rock, and world music, the group draws inspiration from across the globe and explores a diverse range of Pan-American rhythms, performing everything from cumbia and bossa nova to rumba, bolero, tango, jazz, and klezmer music. 

Few singers can command a room like La Santa Cecilia’s La Marisoul. With her soulful, powerhouse vocals at the helm — along with accordionist and requinto player Jose "Pepe" Carlos, bassist Alex Bendaña, and percussionist Miguel "Oso" Ramirez — La Santa Cecilia chronicles love, loss, and everyday struggles. 

The band has released nine albums:

  • “Noche y Citas” (2011), its debut album that included the Latin Grammy Award-nominated single “La Negra.” 
  • “El Valor” (2012), named one of the best albums of the year by NPR’s Alt Latino.
  • “Treinta Días” (2013), Grammy winner for Best Latin Rock Album, Alternative or Urban.
  • “Someday New” (2014), featuring the single “Cumbia Morada,” which hit the charts in its first week, as well as a cover of the Beatles' “Strawberry Fields Forever.”
  • “Buenaventura” (2016), which featured appearances by Enrique Bunbury, Fito Páez, members of Los Lobos, and Milwaukee’s Latino Arts Strings Program, and was nominated for a Latin Grammy for Best Pop/Rock Album and a Grammy for Best Latin Rock Album, Alternative or Urban. 
  • “Amar y Vivir” (2017), which reached number 28 on the Top Latin Albums chart and received a Grammy nomination for Best Latin Pop Album.
  • “Saint Cecilia” (2019), which included a groundbreaking version of the Bessie Smith classic “Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out.”
  • “Quiero Verte Feliz” (2021), which was nominated for a Grammy and Latin Grammy for Best Cumbia/Vallenato Album.
  • “4 Copas: Bohemia en la Finca Altozano” (2023), featuring titles such as “Dos Botellas de Mezcal,” “Copa Rota,” “El Andariego,” “Almohada,” and “Cuatro Copas.”

La Santa Cecilia has captivated audiences around the world at iconic festivals such as the Festival Internacional Cervantino and Vive Latino in Mexico and the New Orleans Jazz Festival, performing in major venues across Mexico and the U.S., and touring throughout Spain, Portugal, and Brazil.

This performance is co-sponsored by El Centro – Hispanic and Latinx Cultural Center and supported in part by a gift from Sally Schweitzer Cox and John W. Cox. Additional funding is provided by the Elizabeth McIntosh Mitchell Trauger Excellence Fund.

Related events

While visiting Blacksburg, members of La Santa Cecilia will share their passion for music in meet and greets at Virginia Tech’s El Centro – Hispanic and Latinx Cultural Center and Mozaiko living learning community and will explore Hispanic culture with students in a Hispanic Life, Literature, and Language class.

They also will share their music with more than 800 students and educators in grades six to 12 from Montgomery, Patrick, Pulaski, Roanoke, Franklin, Craig, Floyd, Giles, and Carroll counties as well as Radford, Roanoke, and Salem cities during a free matinee performance.

Tickets

Tickets are $20-$55 for general audience and $10 for students and youth 18 and under. Tickets can be purchased online; at the Center for the Arts box office, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday; or by calling 540-231-5300 during box office hours.

Venue and parking information

The performance will be held in the center’s Anne and Ellen Fife Theatre, located within the Street and Davis Performance Hall at 190 Alumni Mall. Convenient parking is available in the North End Parking Garage on Turner Street and in downtown Blacksburg. Find more parking details online.

If you are an individual with a disability and desire an accommodation, please contact Jamie Wiggert at least 10 days prior to the event at 540-231-5300 or email wiggertj@vt.edu during regular business hours.  

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