Eugene Rodriguez celebrates his new book published by Heyday, Bird of Four Hundred Voices, at Bookshop Santa Cruz. Rodriguez will be in conversation with Consuelo Alba, and will also feature a musical performance from Los Cenzontles.

In-person event. 1520 Pacific Ave, Santa Cruz, CA.

Eugene Rodriguez is founder and executive director of Los Cenzontles Cultural Arts Academy, a nonprofit based in San Pablo, California. He formed Los Cenzontles in 1989. Rodriguez has produced over thirty albums and numerous films for Los Cenzontles, and he has collaborated with Linda Ronstadt, Jackson Browne, Los Lobos, Lalo Guerrero, Ry Cooder, the Chieftains, and Taj Mahal. His work has been featured in the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, and NPR. He is also the recipient of several awards and fellowships, including from the California Arts Council and United States Artists. He lives in Richmond, California.

Consuelo Alba is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Watsonville Film Festival (WFF), a non-profit arts organization offering year-round programs and support for local filmmakers since 2012. The WFF mission is to showcase Latine and Indigenous stories that illuminate our shared humanity and promote positive change. Consuelo was born and raised in Mexico City. Her parents instilled in her a deep appreciation for her culture. Since moving to California 25 years ago, she made it her mission to honor her cultural heritage through her work as a translator, reporter, editor, business owner, documentary filmmaker and cultural activist. She graduated with honors with a BA in Communication Sciences & Journalism from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. She worked as a translator for El Andar, an iconic bilingual magazine in Santa Cruz, and as an editor and reporter with Nuevo Mundo, the Spanish language publication of the San Jose Mercury News. Consuelo serves on the Board of the Arts Council Santa Cruz County and is an inaugural member of Rise Together Coalition. She recently completed the Stanford Graduate School of Business NonProfit Leadership Program and was recognized as a Cultural Leader by the Bay Area Funders for Equity in the Arts.