welcome to comunidad del valle. i'm damian trujillo, and today the youth mariachi is playing with mariachi vargas in their upcoming concert here in san jose, plus also the ballet folklorico of logan high school. this is your comunidad del valle. [music] male announcer: nbc bay area presents "comunidad del valle" with damian trujillo. damian: and it's time to give. we do begin today with the community foundation of silicon valley and their program "silicon valley gives." it happens to fall in sync with cinco de mayo it's where you all get a chance to dig in and to help your local charity. with me are the folks from the silicon valley community foundation. with me are manuel santamaria and mari ellen reynolds. pronounce your other last name for me. mari ellen reynolds: loijens. damian: see, i don't want to mispronounce it. thank you so much for being here on the show.

now, tell us about the silicon valley gives because we've been doing it annually here. mary ellen, maybe you can talk about that though. what is the purpose of it, and, boy, it's really catching fire. mari ellen: well, we're so excited to have nbc bay area help us get the word out that svgives is a way that everyone in the community can participate in lifting us all up. no gift is too small. five dollars, pick one charity you love, or ten charities you love, and give. it's so easy. damian: because people are posting right now on facebook and twitter, "remember on may 5th that this is your charity you should donate to." mari ellen: absolutely. so, if you have a charity you love, be sure to post on twitter or facebook and say something about that charity and hashtag spgives2015. people are searching right now to check out who they want to give to. damian: and people are really giving. i mean, they're really opening up their wallets. what are we looking at as far as donations? mari ellen: absolutely. so, we have about 850 charities signed up so far. more are signing up every day, and we've already raised over

$3.6 million in matches and prizes. so, if you give on spgives, your non-profit will get your donation but also a match or a prize. damian: that is awesome! we have some video of the sacred heart community services, one of my favorite charities, one, because my wife is on the board, but also because they do a lot of good work. you see the faces here, manuel, and these are folks who, unfortunately, need some help. manuel santamaria: that's right. damian: and they're not alone. there are a lot of folks who need help. manuel: that is right. so, you know, the event actually makes it so that non-profits in three counties, san benito, santa clara, and san miguel, get their day in the light, if you will, for, you know, to gather more donors for their causes. it really highlights the work that a lot of the non-profits in these three counties are doing. sacred heart is one of them, which is fantastic work, you know, homelessness, safety net. but there's many organizations, big and small. so, like mari ellen said, "no gift is too small." damian: and i mean, because where we're kind of, i mean, we're several years removed from the recession. some people are still actually in the recession, but i mean the

need keeps growing no matter how far we might dig out of it. manuel: the need keeps growing. in 2008, we saw the bottom, poncho guevara, who's the executive director of sacred heart, he actually has many stories of individuals still that were clients, were actually donors, and now they're clients. during the recession, and as it's gotten better, you still see the lines. you still see the need. it is very important to actually support these organizations every time of the year, not just cinco de mayo or svgives. damian: it just happens to fall on that date. manuel: exactly. damian: now, mari ellen, i mean, some people might think, "i only have $10 to give. i don't know what big a difference that's going to make." mari ellen: oh, $10, well, but if you think about it, last year we had tens of thousands of people participate, and if each one of those people just gives $10, what a huge difference it makes. eight million dollars was raised last year. this year we hope we'll hit ten, but we're only going to do it by everybody giving a little bit. and that's the beauty of spgives. it's all about community. it's all about everyone doing just a little bit

to help us go a little bit further. damian: what does it say about the residents of silicon valley to donate $8 million on that one day? mari ellen: incredible! incredible generosity. we're so fortunate that the people here care so much about their community, but i know we can do more. it was a first time last year. nobody had heard of it. no one really understood what it is. this year, you go on facebook and twitter, already you see people hash tagging and tweeting about their favorite non-profit, and i would encourage everyone, even before cinco de mayo to get out there, get on facebook, get on social media, and start talking about some of your favorite non-profits, whether it be sacred heart, pets in need, aki, yu-ai kai, so many wonderful organizations right here that could use your help. damian: can they find them on your website though, all the charities that have signed up? mari ellen: absolutely. if you go to svgives.org. damian: we do have that information that shows-- go ahead. mari ellen: yes. svgives.org. go online, see what charities are signed up, and you can see even who's getting a match or a prize.

some of these special matches are happening during certain times of the day, so you want to be sure you're maximizing your gift. you can also make your gift right now if you're not, let's say you're going to be a little too busy partying on cinco de mayo to actually make your gift that day. you can plan your gift today and have it scheduled so that you can participate on may 5th. damian: all right. thank you so much for the work that you're doing. manuel: you're welcome. mari ellen: thank you. manuel: thanks for having us. damian: and up next round, comunidad del valle, centro legal de la raza.

stay with us. and support services for unaccompanied minors. here on comunidad del valle today are one of the attorneys at centro legal, magdalena guadalupe, and a gentleman named william. welcome to the show. [speaking spanish] magdalena guadalupe: thank you. thank you for having us. damian: first of all, what an unaccompanied minor is. what does that mean for those of us who don't understand the language? magdalena: yeah. so, an unaccompanied minor is a child, a migrant child that has come from a home country, possibly honduras, el salvador, guatemala, and who has made the

journey to the united states without the company of a legal guardian, or a parent. and so when they come to the border, and if they're detained, then the government classifies them under this term. but it really does mean a child who is under 18 and who has made the journey here without a legal guardian or a parent. damian: how many of these children is centro legal looking after, and what are your duties once you have them in your case load? magdalena: we have been responding to, i mean, a huge need in the community. we have over 200 cases. we've conducted over 2000 intakes with these children, and we are really, we're representing them. we represent them in court and their hearings before immigration judges. we try to connect them with services, but mainly, our main goal is to make sure that these children, that their rights are heard and that they have their day in court

and that they can stay here. damian: all right. william does not speak english. [speaking spanish] that's okay. we have a bilingual audience, so that'll be okay. william, i was afraid to even come to college, leave my house. [speaking spanish] william: okay. [speaking spanish] [speaking spanish]

damian: crossed three different borders, and he's here now trying to make the best for himself. why? william: [speaking spanish] damian: okay. how does it feel to leave your family behind? [speaking spanish] william: [speaking spanish] damian: [speaking spanish] william: [speaking spanish] william: [speaking spanish]

damian: talk about the courage of these children. magdalena: absolutely. damian: tell us about what you've seen. this is probably one of many similar stories you've heard. magdalena: right. i mean, i have clients as young as 11 months old, 5-year-olds. the group between 14 and 17-year-olds, they have gone through so much. i mean, children have been coming to this country for years, and in the last two years we've seen a huge increase. i mean, just in last year, 2014, we saw over 68,000 unaccompanied children, migrant children, come to this country. and you know, we see children come for various reasons, escaping poverty, but in the last few years we have really seen children come fleeing for their lives. we have a huge increase of violence in their home countries, like william mentioned, the maras which are a gang, organized crime, organized gangs

in central america. and so these kids are literally fleeing for their lives, and that's why it's so important that our community responds to this need. damian: he wants to be a judge. what are his chances? magdalena: he has amazing chances. i mean, he's a great student. he has straight as in school and, you know, i have no doubt in my mind that whatever he puts his mind to, he's going to achieve. damian: [speaking spanish] now, you just had a fundraiser just recently because, obviously, this isn't for you. but talk about the need and how the folks can help. magdalena: right. so, you know, right now, there is a huge need for legal services for these kids, and we are responding to the need. we do have some grants from the state, from the city of oakland, private foundations, but this, we still need more funds for legal services. for example, they can donate on our website, centrolegal.org,

but really just trying to get these services out to the children in our community. while the crisis has subsided somewhat, it's not over, and these kids are going to keep on coming, and it's up to us to respond to that need and make sure that they have a fair process. damian: i don't know if it's your office's responsibility, but how are you housing them and making sure that the day-to-day lifestyle is there? magdalena: right. so, a lot of these children, when they're detained, they get placed in shelters, and eventually they get reunited perhaps with a parent or a family member, and so they have housing. but you are right, there are some children that perhaps they don't have family members here, and so they're being housed in shelters, and that's how they're having housing. damian: wow! it's incredible. well, you can lend a hand at the central legal de la raza. they've been undertaking this since this whole crisis started. there is a web address for more information. also a phone number for you to call. thank you so much for what you're doing in this community.

magdalena: thank you. damian: suerte william. damian: now, we'll be back here on comunidad del valle with folklorico dance group at logan high school. stay with us.

damian: all right, it's the 25th anniversary of ballet folklorico de logan high school on comunidad del valle. boy, you know, when you're talking about high school students, they're into track, they're into baseball and football. how do you convince kids to get into folklorico at the high school age? jaime huertas: the boys, they're the girls. there's, if you want to find them, they're the girls. damian: right? jaime: ah, yes, definitely. what it is is that, well, it's a program i developed 25 years ago, and it dealt with kind of the culture of the campus. it's culture pride through dance. you know, people want to learn culture through classes. well, this is for dance, and so it's kind of like a legacy when you come to logan high school. if you're really into dance, you kind of go into it. yes, there's less boys. obviously, it's peer pressure, but we do have boys, and it's learning culture to dance, and that's what it is.

damian: lisa, what is it do you think that attracts the teenagers to folklorico? lisa reynoso moreno: well, i think that preserving culture, especially now in this day and age is just becoming a lot more prevalent amongst everyone, and especially the young people coming to educate themselves and wanting to learn more about folklore and, just, you know, their country, their roots. damian: yeah, and you're talking about the 25th anniversary. you have a gala coming up, a real festival of, a spring festival to celebrate. jaime: yeah, we're celebrating our 25th anniversary. each year we have our show at the end of the year like a spring concert, and each program has a band program choir. we have one in the performing arts center. so, this year is special because of that 25th anniversary, and it's a 2-hour production, and we have mariachis and we're going to have a conjunto tejano. we're going to have, also musica folklorica de puerto rico puerto rican folk music because i am puerto rican, and we want to show them some of the culture in latin america, so we have live musicians.

then we have special singers, and martha soledad is well known in the area is going to sing with us, and mariachi mexicanismo and special guest dance school ballet folklorico de [speaking spanish] who will collaborate together and-- damian: well, let me ask you this first because if you're from puerto rico, i mean, the folklorico is centric. i mean, they go region by region in the states of mexico. what is it about it that the boricuas are attracted to it, if you will? jaime: no, i, there's boricuas attract too because i grew up in san francisco and was born here with family from puerto rico. damian: you had no choice, and it was all over. jaime: i know. it's all over. i know. it's all over. and i just got involved with folklore mexicano, but being puerto rican, i always wanted to teach the folks what is-- because people don't know. they don't see their own, unless you're in new york or chicago, or miami. so, we teach the kids that. we have in a consultant from berkley, who is from puerto rico, and they teach bumbai, from puerto rican, so we're doing that. so, we do have a girl in the group from el salvador.

so, she's learning, first, a latino, it's mostly--my niche is for folklorico mexicano, but we have other latinos in there to learn culture because we are latinos, and we're lucky, you know, that's the basic. that's the root. damian: and so, lisa, i mean, for those who might not have been to mexico before, this will take you to every region, every state on what the attire is in that state and what kind of dance--? lisa: oh, absolutely. we'll have about seven different regions, including with, you know, traditional music. like jaime mentioned, we'll have a conjunto norteño, a mariachi; we'll have singers. also the, you know, boricua music. so, it's going to take you through, you know, the ups and the downs of mexico, and just what a, what a beautiful culture we have to offer. damian: i know, it really is. you know, my two girls dance with [speaking spanish] of san jose, and in the morning, at six in the morning, they'll knock, knock, knock-- lisa: oh, absolutely. damian: they'll be doing that. i mean, do you get calls from the science teacher, saying, "hey, you know what, we--" jaime: yeah. that is true. they will call me, "what is this? your kids are moving. they're moving their feet." well, yeah, we could have had a show

the next day, and they're performing." and so it's important, you know, and they do that, and they, like i said, they're 15-, 16-year-old, 17-year-olds learning how to dance, and it's kind of, it's beautiful. and when they continue, hopefully, at the high school, continue the culture, and they do. some of them continue dancing with other groups, professional groups, community groups. like we're in the local bay area, so they'll go moreno's group, or -- they'll go [speaking spanish] or [speaking spanish] or mexico dances. so, they continue dance and expressing themselves, you know. damian: one of my broadcasting role models was sylvia chacon, and she was into it though with jeff logan. lisa: oh yes. jaime: wow! she's a dear, dear close friend of mine, and actually i just talked to her this morning, and we dance together. we knew each other. we dance with moreno's group back in 1977, '76, and she's still, and she's, of course, you know, she is, and she, her daughter, her kids dance. and we called, and she's going to be part of the show. she's coming to the show. obviously, her kids. damian: she can still put it on and-- lisa: she has skill.

jaime: yeah, she still has it, you know. damian: oh yeah. well, it's the 25th anniversary of the ballet folklorico de logan high school. there is information on your screen. log on for more information. any final thoughts from either of you for what you all do? jaime: it's going to be a beautiful show, and it's high school kids you see dancing. these are high school kids, and you're going to see how well polished and how professional they are to see high school kids at that level and dance in a beautiful show. you're going to see a lot of great dancing. lisa: and we just placed, we're going to be participating in the mi pueblo competition, folklorico competition. damian: oh, nice! jaime: and we're in the finals. lisa: yeah, we are in the finals on saturday in san jose. come check us out. damian: congratulations, and happy anniversary. jaime: thank you. i like that. thank you. lisa: thank you. damian: next round, comunidad del valle mariachis playing with mariachi vargas upcoming in san jose. stay with us.

lores, ♪

♪ porque cantando se alegran-- ♪ damian: that's wonderful. this is mariachi academy of half moon bay and some of these kids, teenagers, will be playing, performing with mariachi vargas de tecalitlan, who will be in san jose on mother's day weekend, may 9th, at the san jose civic. and with me here on comunidad del valle are a couple of folks with mariachi media luna out of half moon bay. now, what a proper name because you're from half moon bay. you named it media luna, so that's kind of appropriate. belinda arriaga is here with the group called "alas." and then angel sencion plays a vihuela with mariachi media luna. welcome to the show. belinda arriaga: thank you so much for having us. angel sencion: thank you. damian: i mean, this is such a delight. talk about your excitement when you heard that you might be playing with mariachi vargas. belinda: well, for us in half moon bay, it's a dream come true because we're a cultural, agricultural community. we're a small community, and we don't have access to all the urban arts and opportunities that many other youth do. so, coming out of half moon bay and starting from a really grassroots project with no funding, nothing but hard work

from the community and the parents and the children to make this happen, it's a real dream come true to play at the best mariachi in the world. damian: absolutely! so, these are the kids of farmer crews, basically? belinda: a lot of them are, yes, and a lot from the different other tourism aspects of the community and real hard-working families. damian: got it. mijo, tell us what you play and why you like playing it with mariachi media luna? angel: i play la vihuela which is a very special instrument. damian: you got to have fast hands and fast wrists so for that, right? angel: yeah. damian: tell us why you like playing it? angel: i like playing it since it's, sometimes it's like everything from my heart. it's like a good instrument for me. so, like, it makes a good sound of music, and it doesn't make me get tired that much. damian: oh, that's great. angel: and it makes a good sound for me and my voice. damian: let me tell you something that you probably didn't know about your grandfather, your great

grandfather probably listened and watched mariachi vargas. do you know who they are, and tell us how excited you might be of playing with him? angel: it's very special for me to sing for them and all my family, and i think they're very happy right now, my family. damian: talk about the talent that you bring with angel here and everybody else who plays with the mariachi group series. belinda: well, all of our youth are really highly talented, and it's amazing to see the gifts they bring. angel, especially, really grew his voice this summer. he got to experience the mariachi vargas summer voice camp in texas. and he got to study with some of the past vargas teachers, and he really grew his voice in that experience, and he's brought that to the table with our program, as well as many other of our youth. damian: people say that scholastically children grow when they're introduced to the arts. when they're introduced to folklorico like our last group, and mariachi music and whatnot. what have you seen?

belinda: well, that's been the main goal of our program. we started ayudando latinos a soñar so that we would infuse our culture arts with the base to really highlight education and enhance their self-esteem, their confidence, and their studies. we also have a rich tutoring program that we partner with notre dame university, and so we're excited about that. and we're also excited about the other mariachi group that's going to be there, mariachi academy, who's bringing three different academy programs together under mariachi academy's to perform, and i know those youth have excelled as well in their performance and education. damian: well, i'm excited. it's mariachi vargas live with all of these children from half moon bay and from across the bay area. los mestizos will also be dancing there. may 9, san jose civic auditorium. it's on mother's day weekend, so what a better way to treat your mom and abuelita and take them so see mariachi vargas! thank you so much. we're going to be playing a clip of you guys in a little bit. belinda: thank you so much for having us. it's an honor. angel: thank you. damian: good luck. thank you very much. and so i'll show you a mailbag.

if you're interested in next week's show, drop us an email. also follow me on twitter. there's my handle @newsdamian. pick up a copy of el-observador newspaper, and support your bilingual weeklies all across the bay area. we thank you for sharing a part of your sunday with us once again. we leave you now with these young mariachi's who'll be playing with mariachi vargas de tecalitlan. [music] [music] [music] [music]

[music] [music] ♪ ay, ay, ay, ay, canta y no llores, porque cantando ♪ ♪ se alegran, cielito lindo, los corazones. ♪ ♪ ay, ay, ay, ay, canta y no llores, porque cantando ♪

♪ se alegran, cielito lindo, los corazones. ♪ [music] [music] [music]

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