Vaneza Calderon
Vaneza Mari Calderon is a multifaceted musician from Los Angeles’ San Gabriel Valley. Playing an active role in preserving her parent’s native sounds has inspired her to play and spread the traditional music genre: mariachi. From theater play productions, community centers/ cultural arts programs, prisons to backyards, Vaneza makes this Mexican folk music accessible to people of many backgrounds and ages. She has facilitated collective group songwriting since 2016 throughout LA, while also taking this craft across the country and to the internet. Understanding the value of multicultural enrichment through participation, she focuses on an inclusive collective process which is rooted in the “corrido” form.
Currently, Vaneza is working in correctional facilities and community programs as a guest teaching artist with the Alliance for California Traditional Arts. When she is not performing as La Victoria, her Mexican folk based music project, she can be found freelancing throughout Los Angeles and beyond. Although her beginnings were set in Mexican folk music, she loves to play the electric bass with the Chicano rock band Ollin.