Los Cenzontles proudly presents Tata's Gift as a celebration of Día de los Muertos and the rich power of culture
Los Cenzontles proudly presents
Tata's Gift
as a celebration of Dia de los Muertos and the rich power of culture
Tata's Gift is an animated short video production of Los Cenzontles and Dio Studios that uses themes of "Día de los Muertos" to address issues of bullying, inter-generational connections and resilience through culture. The 7:33 minute film weaves Huichol yarn paintings (traditional native Mexican textiles) with digital media, video game imagery and colorful music to tell a story of humor and emotion.
Story synopsis:
This is the story of a boy walking home from school in his urban neighborhood while playing a video game who gets menaced by a bully. After an encounter of marked by disconnect with his grandma, he goes to his room and falls asleep and enters a video game dream sequence. There he enters a cemetery and the tomb of his beloved grandfather (Tata) who bestows on him a morral(bag) full of special powers that gives him the power to succeed in the game and in life.
Tata's gift was directed and animated by Dionisio Ceballos, produced by and with original music from Los Cenzontlesfeaturing special guest, David Hidalgo from Los Lobos.
The creation of Tata's Gift was made possible by a grant from The Creative Work Fund, a program of the Walter and Elise Haas Fund supported by the generous grants from ArtPlace, The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and the James Irvine Foundation. Additional support from the National Endowment for the Arts.
Los Cenzontles "both honors and upends traditional Mexican music, tapping deep roots as it flowers into something completely new, and distinctly American." - New York Times
"A rousing call for bi-cultural pride." - National Geographic
"Los Cenzontles is a factory of culture." - NPR, Morning Edition
Los Cenzontles brings traditional music into the modern age. The entire history of their people comes to the stage with them, taking the old country ways into the city streets and a new century. The real deal -- living culture. - Joel Selvin, SF Chronicle
"Marrying Mexican musical traditions to electricity." - SF Weekly
"Los Cenzontles' gutsy rhythms and delightful voices reinvigorated my love of Mexican music."- Linda Ronstadt
They're rocking up at the little joint in San Pablo, California, where Los
Cenzontles hang out. Check out this record (American Horizon) - sounds like the young folks
put some heat on the old timers." -
Ry Cooder
ABOUT LOS CENZONTLES
Los Cenzontles is a group of musicians and dancers that digs deeply into their Mexican cultural roots to promote tradition, pride and cultural awareness. Through research, performance, media production and collaborations, the group has played a leading role in the roots revival in the US and Mexico since 1989.
Los Cenzontles perform rancheras, boleros and many varieties of Mexican son including those from the traditional mariachi of Jalisco, pirekuas of Indigenous Michoacan and son Jarocho of Veracruz. The group also composes new music in traditional and cross-cultural styles that promote socially conscious messages of cultural awareness.
Los Cenzontles core members teach new generations of tradition bearers at their award winning cultural academy. They have released 23 CDs, three full-length documentaries and hundreds of digital videos. Based in Northern California, Los Cenzontles have injected a Mexican voice into the global roots dialogue by collaborating with musicians of diverse world roots cultures that include: Los Lobos, Taj Mahal, Ry Cooder, Jackson Browne, Linda Ronstadt, The Chieftains, Julian González Saldaña (Jalisco, Mexico), Atilano López Patricio (Michoacan, Mexico), Andrés Vega Del_n (Veracruz, Mexico), Lazaro Ros (Cuba), Gregorio Hernandez Rios "El Goyo" (Cuba), Santiago Jimenéz, Jr. and Los Texmaniacs, San Antonio, Texas.