The National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures (NALAC) has announced the recipients of its 2024 NALAC Fund for the Arts (NFA) grants, which total $510,000. Since establishing the NFA over 15 years ago, NALAC has distributed 884 grants, totaling more than $7 million, to Latinx artists and arts organizations throughout the U.S. and Puerto Rico.
In a press release, F. Javier Torres-Campos, Interim CEO and President of NALAC, said, “Each year, NALAC takes great pride in championing the transformational contributions of Latinx artists, organizations, and cultural workers through the NALAC Fund for the Arts.”
Conjunto Heritage Taller
This year, 38 grants have been awarded to artists and ensembles and 12 grants have been awarded to arts organizations. Among the awardees are Texas artists Abinadi Meza, from Austin, and Sandra de la Rosa, from Houston, and the nonprofit music organization Conjunto Heritage Taller in San Antonio. Learn more about the Texas recipients below via descriptions and bios provided by NALAC, and read about all of the artist and organization grantees via the NALAC website.
Dani Reyes-Acosta, from Denver, Colorado; Gabriela Díaz Arp, from Atlanta, Georgia; Gabriela Garcia Medina, from Los Angeles, California; and Livia Perini, from Brooklyn, New York received this year’s Adán Medrano Legacy Award in Film, which recognizes emerging filmmakers. Additionally, this year, in partnership with Espolòn Tequila, NALAC has launched the Modern Maverick Artist Grant. The inaugural awardee is Janeth Aparicio Vazquez, a visual artist from Los Angeles, California.
José Castillo Rocha, NALAC’s Grant Manager, remarked, “The NFA is always thrilled to collaborate with new partners to expand opportunities and resources for the Latinx arts and culture sector. As we forge ahead, we remain committed to exploring innovative avenues to ensure that Latinx cultural producers have the support and recognition they deserve.”
Abinadi Meza
Abinadi Meza is a Latinx-Indigenous artist based in Texas. He makes installations, sound art, experimental film, and public art; his work has been presented nationally and internationally.
Sandra de la Rosa
Sandra de la Rosa is an artist from (b. 1991) San Luis Potosi, Mexico. She earned her MFA in 2019 at the University of Florida and her BFA at the University of Houston in 2015. She is the current President of BOX 13 ArtSpace, an arts organization that promotes the advancement and creation of experimental art in Houston. Ms. de la Rosa has exhibited her work across Texas and nationally in shows that emphasize the visibility of artists of color, immigration, and border issues. Her work focuses on issues that undocumented immigrants and DACA recipients face. Ms. de la Rosa is a former DACA recipient.
Conjunto Heritage Taller
The Conjunto Heritage Taller (CHT) is a community-based nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation and perpetuation of traditional Conjunto music through instruction and performance. CHT offers low-cost classes on the button accordion and bajo sexto to students of all ages and seeks performance opportunities at community events. CHT’s student base is intergenerational, ranging in age from 7-80, and its motto is “Música Tradicional for Youth of all Ages.” Our vision is that this music, born in this region by the melding of the European accordion and the Mexican bajo sexto, be afforded folk music status and be enjoyed globally.
