Eugene Rodriguez was born in Los Angeles and moved to Northern California in 1980. He attended The University of California, Santa Cruz and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. In 1989, Rodriguez started what was to become the Los Cenzontles Mexican Arts Center, because he wasn’t finding musicians to play the kind of music he wanted to play. He set out to train young musicians and create a family-like environment where area youth could explore music. He enjoys finding new, direct ways to feel traditional music and create bridges to other cultural music and is excited that Los Cenzontles continues to evolve, both as a band and an arts center serving its home community. In 1994, Rodriguez was nominated for a Grammy Award for his production of Papa’s Dream with Los Lobos and Lalo Guerrero.