By Bel Hernandez Castillo

There’s something magical about boleros—the romantic lyrics, the gentle strum of guitars, and those unforgettable harmonies that wrap around your heart. The Boleros de Noche performances presented as part of LA Phil’s 2026 summer season at The Ford, felt like a true homecoming. 

This year’s lineup started off with the dynamic ensemble Arturo and Jose Luis of Bolero Soul, delivering a heartfelt tribute to the golden era of romantic Latin music. It was followed up by the reunion of La Marisoul with Los Hermanos Carlos, making for a powerhouse bolero trio.  La Marisoul delivers vocals that drip with heartache, longing, and love, while the Carlos brothers’ harmonies wrap around her like a warm summer breeze. The crowd didn’t just watch—they felt it, often singing along, swaying in their seats, and cheering in between every heart-tugging verse.

La Marisoul, best known as the powerhouse vocalist of La Santa Cecilia began her career singing boleros.  “That’s the root of what I sing—traditional boleros and rancheras,” she explains. “I learned from the musicians that played at restaurants on Olvera Street.”  She is a Grammy Award winning artist who credits her songs as being inspired by life, love, heartbreak and the drunken rants of the neighborhood.

It was clear that for many, boleros are more than music—they’re memories. The Ford was a perfect backdrop for this concert, with palm trees lit in vivid hues framing the stage, the hillside seating enveloping the audience in a close shared beautiful sensory experience of sight and sounds. 

While the bolero’s origins trace back to 18th-century Spain and Cuba, it was Mexico that truly made the genre its own, becoming a cultural epicenter for its evolution. Many of us grew up hearing the voices of Los Panchos, Pedro Infante, or Javier Solís serenade generations with their soulful bolero renditions. Boleros De Noche at The Ford Theater brought that timeless sound back to life, creating an unforgettable night of music, nostalgia, and connection that felt both deeply personal and universally moving.

Boleros De Noche, now a yearly tradition at the Ford, began in 2015 with a mission to preserve the bolero tradition and create a space to keep the tradition alive. They moved to The Ford in 2018 and are now celebrating their 9th year at this venue. Boleros De Noche has evolved from a small grassroots concert series into a major cultural event. 

This year’s LA Phil summer season at The Ford runs through October 31st, features everything from retro cinema, hip-hop and poetry to mariachi legends and cutting-edge dance of all genres. Boleros De Noche at The Ford proves that great programming doesn’t need to be big and flashy to be powerful. It just needs to be authentic. And this show? It absolutely was.

Performance line up at The Ford  Follow on social media: @TheFordLA 

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Juanita’s Foods is committed to preserving and passing down Mexican culinary traditions to future generations, much like La Santa Cecilia and Mariachi Divas have done so through music. In celebration of National Menudo Month which runs through the end of January, these traditions will be in full display at the private concert entitled Menudo, Mariachi y Mas! Juanita Foods will present.

Menudo, Mariachi y Mas! aims to celebrate those traditions through food, music and culture by offering sweepstakes winners the opportunity to experience the best of Mexican culture over the course of a weekend in Los Angeles. The campaign invites menudo lovers across the country to partake in Juanita’s Menudo, Mariachi y Mas! Sweepstakes for a chance to win an all-expense paid trip to Los Angeles for a private VIP concert featuring GRAMMY Award-winning La Santa Cecilia and two-time GRAMMY Award-winning Mariachi Divas!

“We are so excited to have La Santa Cecilia and Mariachi Divas join Juanita’s for our Menudo, Mariachi y Mas! promotion.  Together we will celebrate the best aspects of Mexican culture…both traditional and modern!”, said Ruben Morales, Juanita’s Foods, Chief Revenue Officer.

This total immersive cultural experience will take five lucky winners and their guests on a tour of LA followed by a private VIP concert. Winners will be treated to a special meet and greet with the bands and photo ops will be made available.

The Juanita’s Menudo, Mariachi y Mas! promotion will run on iHeart radio and Spanish Broadcasting System during National Menudo Month in January across ten of Juanita’s major US Hispanic markets. Listeners will be encouraged to enter for a chance to win through the promotional landing page. In Los Angeles, listeners are to tune-in to local radio stations La Raza 97.9 FM, Mega 96.3 FM and Real 92.3 FM for a chance to win tickets to the private VIP concert. In markets including Dallas/Ft. Worth, Phoenix/Prescott, San Francisco/Oakland/San Jose, Sacramento/Stockton/Modesto, San Diego, Houston, Fresno/Visalia, Las Vegas, and San Antonio, listeners will have the opportunity to win the grand prize trip to Los Angeles including two roundtrip flights and two-night accommodations at a five-star hotel. Per diem and ground transportation will also be provided.

Juanita’s Menudo is the leading menudo brand in the US, is During the month of January celebrate National Menudo Month by enjoying Juanita’s authentic, delicious menudo all month.  Join the festivities by visiting Juanita’s website, Facebook or Instagram for details on entering for a chance to win tickets to Juanita’s exclusive Menudo, Mariachi y Mas! event in Los Angeles on February 18, 2023.   Use #NationalMenudoMonth and #MadetoShare to share on social media.

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Slated for Sat., May 29 from 6 to 9 p.m., the fest’s music headliners include reggaeton artist Jay Wheeler, norteña group La Original Banda Limon, urbano star Rafa Pabon, pop singer Tefi Valenzuela and L.A.-based band La Santa Cecilia. Other confirmed performers are Dafne, Diego Latoo,  El Chapo de Sinaloa, Grupo G, ICC, Jessi Uribe, Jawn Darko, Lady Vixxen, Los Dioses del Ritmo, Los Wizzards, Melanie Pfirrman, Paola Jara, and Yanet Guadalupe. 

A well-known “artivist” and movie star, Dawson is a co-founder of Voto Latino, a nonprofit that encourages young Latinos to vote and get politically involved, and has also supported various causes from the environment to farmworkers. Coincidentally, she was cast as Dolores Huerta in the 2014 biopic Cesar Chavez about the late labor union leader, which won her a special achievement Alma Award. Her film and TV credits include Sin City, Rent, Seven Pounds and the series Jane the Virgin. She will star in the upcoming series Ahsoka Tano, a spinoff of the series The Mandalorian.

Barrera, who got her start in the U.S. as one of the leads on Starz’s Vida. Soon after the series was canceled, Barrera landed the lead in the upcoming musical feature, In The Heights, based on Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Tony Award-winning musical. The Mexico-born artist starred in telenovelas like Siempre Tuya Acapulco and Tanto Amor before coming to the U.S. She also co-stars in the upcoming installment of the horror franchise Scream. 

The fest’s fashion segment is curated by Adriana Pavon, a Mexican designer and founder of México Cultura y Orgullo, a nonprofit initiative supporting indigenous artists.

Cinco de Mayo LA will also feature a comedy skit by MexicanGueys, an L.A.-based duo composed by cousins Jairo Orozco and Bryan Rojo of the podcast Spilling the Frijoles. 

The fest will also include mixology segments and recipes, highlight the importance of getting the COVID vaccine and spotlight In the Heights, the movie.

A production of Brilla Media, the event is presented by the Latino Community Foundation and will raise funds for the California Rural Legal Assistance, a legal aid nonprofit serving farmworkers.

“Cultura, Musica y Arte – it’s the medicine we all need right now, and that’s why LCF is honored to support the Cinco de Mayo LA Festival,” says Jacqueline Martinez Garcel, LCF’s CEO. “As we celebrate, let’s also make sure our loved ones get vaccinated. We miss those fuerte abrazos!”

The festival will be broadcast on the VMe national network, Viva Live TV’s OTT platform and streamed on the Facebook fan pages of Spanish Broadcast System stations like New York’s La Musica Mega 97.9 and 93.1 Amor, Los Angeles’s 97.9 La Raza and Mega 96.3, Miami’s El Zol 106.7, Zeta 92 and Ritmo 95.7, San Francisco’s 93.3 La Raza, Maria Marin Live and Cinco de Mayo L.A., among others.

Organizers hope the fest will also be am in-person in the streets of Los Angeles next year in addition to its webcasting.

Other festival sponsors are Converse, WSS, Disney and Pixar’s upcoming animated film Luca, the Friends of the National Museum of the American Latino and MyCajita.

Strategic partners, producers and media allies for this year’s Cinco de Mayo L.A. festival include EsTiempo, Latin Heat Media, Viva Live TV, The Cerro Group, La Plaza de Cultura y Artes, Dustelli Music. 

For more information, visit https://www.cincodemayola.com.

Featured Photo: Melissa Barrera (Credit: Barrera IG) and Rosario Dawson (Credit: ABC)

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