Maestra Imelda Chávez

Imelda Chávez began dancing in Los Lupeños’ Escuela de Arte y Cultura at the age of 7 years old. She saw the group performing at the fairgrounds and fell in love with the twirls of the colorful skirts. After taking a few years of classes, Imelda was invited to join the performing youth ensemble Los Niños Lupeños. That experience gave her the goal to enter the adult Performing Company which she did when she was a teenager.As part of Los Lupeños, Maestra Imelda performed in many places and in many venues for over 25 years including multiple mariachi festivals in San José as well as the First International Mariachi Festival in Guadalajara in 1994. She toured with Los Lupeños in England and Ireland. She also performed in dozens and dozens of small shows all over the Bay Area and California. Some of her favorite performances were the Cinco de Mayo plays that Los Lupeños would perform for elementary schools. The excitement from the children was the most memorable to her. One of Imelda’s favorite regions to perform are dances from the state of Veracruz. As an Academy Instructor Maestra Imelda feels that it is important for a good performer to have knowledge of all of the steps and choreography so they can easily jump into any spot. Confidence and stage presence are also important and these are things that she wants to bring out in her students.