Meet the team
Meet the team
JORGE RODRIGUEZ
CEO/FOUNDER
Born and raised in East San Jose, CA I am the first and only musician in my family. At a very young age I had a very genuine interest in music. At the age of 8, my mother enrolled me in the Alum Rock School District mariachi program which was free at Miller Elementary. Later on life, at the age of 22 I was offered a job position to teach trumpet. Eventually in 2014, I ventured off and Co-Founded a mariachi program called Mariachi Academy of Music. The first session started with only 8 students at the Gilroy Center for the Arts in Gilroy. The word spread quickly and the following week our program enrolled 40 students. Committed to give back to the community we successfully offered classes every day of the week to different communities in the Bay Area. Locations such as Rocketship Charter Schools, Pleasanton Unified, Castro Valley School District, Sherman Oaks Elementary, Cesar Chavez High School in Union City, and South Valley Middle School in Gilroy.
With all these programs that we overseed, I was simultaneously managing my professional performing group called Mariachi Estelar. Since 2014 the group has participated in many special events including the Pixar Coco Wrap Party and the 49ers halftime show. Mariachi Estelar is a dynamic group that not only commits to offer professionalism and quality music to their guests, but also commits themselves to preserve the rich history and heritage of Mariachi music through their philantrophic and community outreach efforts.
Today I am the founder and director of the Silicon Valley Mariachi Foundation. The free mariachi program changed my life as a child and now I want to give back to my community and make a difference in kids lives. This festival not only hopes to bring the community of San Jose together, but it aims to give the youth a platform to express their artistic talent.
Rubén Darío Villa
Artist / Designer / Curator of Culture
Rubén Darío Villa is a first-generation, Chicano artist, designer, curator of culture and community builder born in San José and raised in Gilroy to Mexican immigrants. A first-gen college graduate of Santa Clara University, Villa snuck into tech, designing some of the world’s most beloved apps and leading creative teams at Apple and Google. In true first-gen fashion, Villa was concurrently running an international, pop-culture inspired car freshener side-hustle, Fúchila Fresheners. After being laid off by Google in January of 2023, Villa opened his art studio in Gilroy as a multimedia artist exploring the concept of “Chicanostalgia” and Chicano identity more broadly.
Day to day, Villa is a freelance designer, brand strategist, artist, speaker, writer, and active community leader in Gilroy devoting 120% of his time to empower minority and women-owned businesses and non-profits as well as mentoring Latine youth looking to break into the Silicon Valley.
Villa sits on the board of Digital NEST, a local non-profit training latinx youth in rural communities to kickstart a career in tech. Villa is Vice Chair of Gilroy Arts and Culture Commission, Chair of Gilroy Arts Roundtable, and sits on the City of San José’s Public Art Advisory Committee.
Villa lives in the Garlic Capital of the World, Gilroy, with his best friend and wife, Veronica, their ridiculously cute children, Luna de Aztlan and Teocalli and their pets Waldo and Chocoflan.
Melinda Chacon
Event Consultant
Melinda Chacón was born and raised in San José, California. She grew up with a deep understanding of inequality and has been a life-long advocate
for social change and equity. She is committed to supporting efforts that lift up her community through the arts, philanthropy, and activism.
As an event producer, she has masterminded all sizes of events throughout the Bay Area. For the past 20 years, she has produced concerts, festivals, trade and private events. Since 2017, Melinda has trained and organized more than 800 volunteers for the annual San José Jazz Summer Festival, a three-day event that places stages throughout the downtown area.
Melinda takes pride in delivering on client expectations while contributing her own sense of style and professional experience.
In her free time, Melinda loves to cook, dance, travel and spend time with her nephew Milo.
Rigo Campos
