Opera Cultura’s mission is to explore the Latino/Hispanic cultural experience through music theater and opera and provide opportunities for the community to participate as creators, learners, and performers. Opera Cultura accomplishes this mission, in part, by supporting and producing the work of composer/artistic director Hector Armienta, showcasing work by opera composers of Latino descent, and training young people. In 2012, Opera Cultura received a grant from CFF to support the San Jose premier of an original musical drama Zarzuela performance of La LLorona in collaboration with the School of Arts and Culture at Mexican Heritage Plaza. A CFF grant supported the launch of their signature fundraising event, A Salon Performance – Zarzuela Music and Beyond, which took place in June 2013 and, most recently, funded Armienta’s new song cycle opera, Cuentos De Peregrinación, which premiered in San Jose in 2014.
