A six time winner of the Festival de la Cancion Latinoamericana and a former opera singer, is your source for Mexican and Latin American music. Juanita's specialty is boleros and rancheras and her immense range, deep emotional expression, composition talents have put her in demand with mariachis from Tijuana to Cancun, Mexico and throughout California, as well as in the solo field both as a recitalist (Madrid, Jaca, Spain: Lima, Peru:, Mexico City, Mexico) and with the Stockton and Sacramento Symphonies plus San Diego Orchestra. She also tours as an ethnomusicologist, author, and vocal music educator in concert, workshops and conventions with companies such as Silver, Burdett Ginn (Pearson) and MacMillan/McGraw-Hill Publishers and trains performers privately.
Press Info
"Juanita has it all-she is great musical talent"
Lalo Guerrero, Legendary Grammy winning Mexican Composer (Zoot Suits)
"Move over LInda...make way for Juanita!"
Pete Escovedo, Legendary Latin Jazz Percussionist
"Juanita...a classically trained soprano. It's her primary and formidable instrument...sound starts from the region of her kneecaps...she also shines on piano...a sophisticated range of music."
Calvin Ahlgren, San Francisco Chronicle Datebook
Juanita...an elfin woman with an outsized voice that glides over a huge tonal and stylistic range...and a playful seductive style."
Leo Stutzin, Modesto Bee
"a truly enchanting musical recital..."
Guidepost Magazine, Madrid, Spain
"Highly praised concerts filled the auditorium..."
Lima Times, Lima, Peru.
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Bio
Juanita is one of th USA's up and coming Latin American music singers in Spanish and English. A former opera singer, Juanita loves folkloric and rhythmic aspects of Mexican and Latin American songs, especially lullabies, huapangos, boleros and more.
Although known foremost as a singer, she also plays the piano and composes. Juanita's songs and six recordings and songbooks have won national awards including, among others, Parent's Choice, NAAPA, Festival de la Cancion latinoamericana, Parent's Council, and her works have been republished by many, including Mel Bay Publications , Silver, Burdett, Ginn and other educational publishers. She is also an ethnomusicologist and holds a BA in music from yale University and an MA from UC Berkeley with much post-graduate vocal and operatic study.
Juanita has been featured as a singer in Candlestick 3-Com Park (Now PacBell Park) for the SF Giants, soloist for the national PBS Cesar Chavez movie "A Fight in the Fields," and for the Stockton and Sacramento Symphonies plus the La Jolla chamber Orchestra and upcoming with Pasadena Pops. She represented Peru at the LA Olympics and collaborates often with the Mexican Consulate, for example, in the upcoming fall 1999 concert release of her new CD "Mujeres" celebrating Mexico's legacy of romantic songs by women composers.
Juanita's voice-over commercials/CD-Roms and composing include Bank of America, the CD-Rom Reader Rabbit Series in Spanish, the voice of many international dolls,