Rita Moreno & More Set for 2014 VivaFest Festival Season

The organizers of ¡VivaFest!, San Jose's Latino destination festival, announced today its 2014 schedule. Appearances by Academy Award and Grammy Award winners Rita Moreno and Paul Williams and Grammy award nominees Jose Hernandez and Mariachi Sol de Mexico highlight the 2014 schedule which includes music and dance workshops, a Gala mariachi concert, outdoor festivals, a speaker's series and concert recitals in the folk music of Mexico. Many events, including the Gala mariachi concert, are free to the public.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

July 25 - mariachi and ballet folklorico conference with an expanded 7-day schedule of workshops followed by a vibrant season of music and cultural events. New this year is a class on the basics of coding for musicians offered by software engineer and vihuela master artist Juventino Mejia and a workshop on Jalisco harp offered by master artist William Faulkner.

July 30 - ¡VivaFest! presents "An Evening of the Music of Angels," a concert recital by Jalisco Harp Maestro William Faulkner at the San Jose Women's Club.

August 1 - ¡VivaFest! and Symphony Silicon Valley present Grammy nominees Mariachi Sol de Mexico headlining "Songs in the Key of Mexico," a free concert at San Jose State University.

September 14 - ¡VivaFest! and Mundo Fox celebrate Mexican Independence Day at Discovery Meadow with a free day of family activities.

September 16 - ¡VivaFest! opens an online exhibition of "The Artistic Mestizaje," a mural by Carlos Perez in a project co-presented with the Google Art Institute. The exhibition features digital views of the mural taken by Google's street team and an in-depth examination of the artistic heritage depicted by the artist in a panel discussion on the modern convergence of culture with the artist and curatorial staff from Google.

September 26 - ¡VivaFest! and the Commonwealth Club of California present a conversation with Paul Williams and Tracey Jackson, about their new book, "Gratitude and Trust: Six Affirmations That Will Change Your Life." Celebrating the theme that "recovery is not just for addicts" the book provides insight on the benefits of the recovery process. Williams is an Oscar-, Grammy-, and Golden Globe-winning Hall of Fame songwriter and President of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP). He is a major force in the recovery movement and a graduate of UCLA's Drug and Alcohol Counseling Certification Program. His recent work also includes major Latino creative projects with Guillermo del Toro. Tracey Jackson is a screen writer, author and blogger and wrote the films "Confessions of a Shopaholic," "The Guru," and "The Other End of the Line," among others. Her first book, Between a Rock and Hot Place: Why Fifty is Not the New Thirty, was published in 2011. She runs GratitudeandTrust.com with Paul Williams.

October 17 - ¡VivaFest! and the Commonwealth Club present a conversation with Latina icon Rita Moreno. Moreno is one of the few artists to win a Grammy, Oscar, Tony and Emmy awards and the National Medal of Honor. She continues to maintain a busy performing schedule and is the author of the recently published book, "Rita Moreno, A Memoir."

October 25 - ¡VivaFest! and Milagro Marketing co-present Dia San Jose, three days of cultural events celebrating Mexico's Dia de Los Muertos - a traditional celebration of heritage, family and ancestry.

More events and artists will be announced later this summer.