On this Cinco de Mayo 2011, WiredLatinos celebrates the launch of  Los Cenzontles’ social media campaign titled  ”ValorLatino.org.”  Valor Latino a social media driven project that challenges everyone to express their vision for America’s future through songs and videos that inspire pride and provoke thought.

The campaign was created and facilitated by San Francisco Bay Area music organization, Los Cenzontles (The Mockingbirds), pronounced los senn-sont-less.  Los Cenzontles is a grass-roots artist-driven organization with an acclaimed ensemble of young adults and teens that promotes cultural pride and understanding through music and arts. Members of the group train at the Los Cenzontles Mexican Arts Center (LCMAC) in San Pablo, California. At the LCMAC, its members amplify their roots of Mexican American culture through music classes, events, media production and performances. ValorLatino.org aims to add expand on this with this new social media campaign whose focus is to express the essential Mexican-American voice and bring it forth to the global conversation of cultural traditions.

Los Cenzontles, created in 1987, is the brainchild Eugene Rodriguez. Eugene has produced many musical CDs and was nominated for a Grammy for Best Musical Album for Children for his production of ‘Papa’s Dream’ a bilingual recording with Los Lobos and Lalo Guerrero. Eugene has produced three documentaries for the Cultures of Mexico in California series with support from the U.S. Mexico Fund for Culture, the James Irvine Foundation and the Ford Foundation.  Los Cenzontles have performed and recorded with Los Lobos, Linda Ronstadt, The Chieftains, Ry Cooder,Taj Mahal and Jaguares.

Los Cenzontles are available to perform or conduct “Grow Your Own” cultural arts workshops at schools, colleges, universities and communities. Artists, musicians and teachers from Los Cenzontles Mexican Arts Center will come to your community setting with performances and workshops that include:

• Traditional Mexican music, dance and folk arts hands-on instruction;
• Lecture / demonstrations on connecting youth to tradition and youth and family development through participatory culture.
• Facilitated screenings of Los Cenzontles documentary trilogy on tradition, transnational culture and arts education;
• Multi-day residencies.

It not only takes “valor” (bravery) to create an organization like Los Cenzontles, it takes time, dedication and love for the culture and community.  That is why, today, we celebrate ValorLatino.org and congratulate and thank Eugene Rodriguez on all his hard work, time, dedication and accomplishments with Los Cenzontles.

Go on “wired” Latinos, help get this social media campaign going and spread the word!  You can follow ValorLatino on Twitter @ValorLatinoOrg, LIKE their FaceBook page here and subscribe to their YouTube channel as well.

Check out this Los Cenzontles video.

You can submit your own cultural music video here.