Enrico Lopez-Yañez is the newly named principal pops conductor of the Pacific Symphony beginning in the 2023–24 season. In addition, he is principal pops conductor of the Nashville Symphony, where he has collaborated with a broad spectrum of artists including Nas, Patti LaBelle, Itzhak Perlman, Stewart Copeland, Kenny Loggins, Toby Keith, Trisha Yearwood, Kelsea Ballerini, Leslie Odom Jr., Megan Hilty, Tituss Burgess, and others. Recent and upcoming collaborators include Cody Fry, The Beach Boys, Ben Folds, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Vanesa Williams, and Pink Martini.

Mr. Lopez-Yañez has appeared with the Baltimore Symphony, Buffalo Philharmonic, Pittsburgh Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, Phoenix Symphony, Seattle Symphony, Dallas Symphony, Detroit Symphony, Indianapolis Symphony, and Omaha Symphony. As artistic director and co-founder of Symphonica Productions, LLC, he curates and leads programs designed to cultivate new audiences. An enthusiastic proponent of innovative concert experience, his exciting educational, classical, and pops concerts are performed by orchestras across the United States. He made his San Francisco Symphony debut last September.

Lupita Infante was a semifinalist on Mexico’s The Voice and her debut album La Serenata received a Grammy nomination for Best Regional Mexican Album, while its opening track, “Dejaré,” was nominated for Best Regional Mexican Song in the Latin Grammys.

She was born in Los Angeles to Marisol Esparza, a Mexican immigrant from the state of Zacatecas, and Pedro Infante Torrentera, the son of legendary singer Pedro Infante (1917–1957). She grew up loving and deeply respecting everything that makes Mexican music special, and paying tribute to the greats—including her own family—is a central theme throughout her recordings and live performances.

After years of honing her craft and simultaneously working her way through college, Ms. Infante graduated in 2017 from UCLA’s Herb Alpert School of Music with a degree in ethnomusicology. She pays tribute to the tradition and beauty of her heritage while also providing a youthful bicultural perspective on the regional Mexican genre. She believes in the power of progress and questions some long-held traditions through her songwriting and fashion style. Women’s empowerment is a subtle yet central theme throughout her music in a tradition historically dominated by men.

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Founded in 1994, Mariachi Garibaldi de Jaime Cuéllar has enchanted audiences with their dynamic musicianship and lively stage presence for over twenty-five years. Under the direction of Jimmy “El Pollo” Cuéllar, son of Jaime, Mariachi Garibaldi regularly shares the stage with some of Mexico’s most beloved performers. They have appeared at the Auditorium Theater in Chicago, Teatro Degollado, Valley Performing Arts Center, The John Anson Ford Amphitheatre, Bakersfield Fox Theater, Chandler Center for the Arts, Smith Center for the Performing Arts, Tempe Center for the Arts, and Gallo Center for the Arts. Recently, they were featured performers for Camila Cabello’s Tiny Desk Concert performing “La Buena Vida.” Mariachi Garibaldi enjoys a professional partnership with Ballet Folklorico de Los Angeles and together they have entertained thousands of people at sold-out venues.

Originally from Bakersfield, California, Jimmy Cuéllar began his mariachi career as a teenager alongside his father, and was a founding member of Mariachi Garibaldi. His dedication to his craft drove “El Pollo” to finetune his skills on the violin, guitarron, vihuela, guitar, and guitarra de golpe, securing him a place with Mariachi Los Camperos de Nati Cano. He was featured on the Grammy Award winning album cELLAbration: A Tribute to Ella Jenkins, and the following year, Llegaron Los Camperos: Concert Favorites of Nati Cano’s Mariachi Los Camperos received a Grammy nomination for Best Mexican Album. He added to his Grammy success with Cien Por Ciento Mexicano by Pepe Aguilar and Amor, Dolor, y Lagrimas.

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Founded in 2011 by Kareli Montoya, Ballet Folklórico de Los Ángeles has graced venues including the Anaheim Convention Center, Orpheum Theater, Nokia Theater, Greek Theater, John Anson Ford Amphitheater, Santa Barbara Bowl, Valley Performing Arts Center, Staples Center, Tempe Center for the Arts, and Rady Shell at Jacobs Park. BFLA has worked with musicians Lila Downs, Pepe Aguilar, Mariachi Divas, Mariachi Los Camperos, Mariachi Nuevo Tecalitlán, Mariachi Vargas, and Mariachi Garibaldi de Jaime Cuéllar.

BFLA assisted Disney Studios with the 2017 release of Coco, performing Pixar’s Coco Live at the Hollywood Bowl and on Disney+. They also performed at the 90th Academy Awards with a rendition of Coco’s Academy Award winning song, “Remember Me.”

Kareli Montoya’s professional career began at age fifteen, when she became the youngest dancer to perform at the legendary La Fonda de Los Camperos. She continued her professional dancing career while attending Cal State LA, where she received a bachelor’s degree in social work in 2011. Having become a first-generation college graduate, Kareli traveled to Mexico to study with Ballet Folklórico de la Universidad de Colima.

During her time in Colima, Kareli continued to acquire new techniques and a stronger passion for Folklórico which then led her to a return to Los Angeles with the goal of establishing her own professional dance company. From this drive, the Ballet Folklórico de Los Ángeles and BFLA Performing Arts Academy, currently known as Thee Academy, were born. She has choreographed for Disney Studios and for the off-Broadway musical Americano.


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