WORLD ARTS WEST IS PROUD TO PRESENT

CARLOS MORENO

WITH THE

MALONGA CASQUELOURD
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
FOR EXCELLENCE IN THE FIELD OF
ETHNIC DANCE AND MUSIC

Carlos Moreno grew up in a culturally rich environment in La Perla, a river town in the Valle de Nazas in Durango, Mexico. Both his parents taught Mexican folklórico and instilled in their son a love and appreciation for the beauty of Mexican art and culture. Carlos began his formal dance studies at the age of 11, demonstrating a passion for dance and tremendous ambition to excel. After high school, he went on to study folkloric dance in Torreon, Guadalajara, and Ciudad Juarez.

Immigrating to Livermore, California in 1958, Carlos Moreno found work and studied English, never giving up on his dream to pursue his creative and artistic goals. Having systematically developed the financial stability he needed to make California his permanent home, he met and married Angelina Garcia in 1964, giving birth to an artistic collaboration that continues to be at the core of his dance company’s success today.

With the support of the Livermore Latin Organization for Betterment, Carlos Moreno founded the Ballet Folklórico Mexicano de Carlos Moreno in 1967, with a mission to empower the community and to educate the general public by providing a greater understanding and appreciation for Mexican culture and folklore through music, dance, and traditional art forms. The company started with only 12 young people who were taught several dances for that year’s Cinco de Mayo festivities, and within a very short time, the company was receiving requests to perform at official functions and events. Now it is one of the oldest companies of its kind in the U.S., maintaining a reputation for excellence as an ambassador of Mexican culture.

Today, he is the General Director of the company, his wife, Angelina, is the costume designer, and his second son, Carlos Moreno Jr., is the Artistic Director. A cultural treasure, the Ballet Folklórico Mexicano de Carlos Moreno continues its more than 40 years of success made possible through the passionate support and hard work of the dancers, their families, many volunteers, and their devoted audiences.