About Us
José Iñiguez - Tenor & Founder
José Iñiguez, the seventh of 11 children, grew up in the small town of Mattawa, Washington. His father, a Mexican immigrant, was the foreman at an orchard. In spite of the hard times the large family went through, traditional Mexican music was something they could all enjoy.
Through the encouragement and support of his family, Iñiguez began singing at family events at the age of 12. During his teen years, he joined middle and high-school choirs. He became interested in classical music after watching an opera performance at PBS (Public Broadcasting System). During his senior year in high school, he entered his first state vocal contest and discovered his inner drive to perform.
Jose’s father’s goal was to have educated, successful children and he insisted that they go to college. Not only did all 11 children obtained Bachelor’s degrees, but seven earned a Master’s degrees and one is now a Medical Director at Seamar newest Health Clinic in Burien by being the first to go to the Ivy League University of Dartmouth in New Hampshire.
Even though his father insisted on a practical career, José chose to study music in college. Music proved to be difficult because he did not have the music foundation afforded by private lessons.
He changed majors and obtained a degree in business. But during his four and half years at Central Washington University he studied under Vocal Professor Sydney Knesselroad Phd. Jose currently studies under Jerry Halsey from in good Voice in Seattle, WA who is retired from the Munich Opera. Jose is one of only a handful of Tenor’s in the nation to combine Opera & Mariachi bolero music in his concerts. Many have described Jose vocal range and power as spine tingling and something mesmerizing.
Iñiguez was nominated for the Governor’s Individual Heritage award for 2015 and is an award-winning 2016 Latin Music artist by Univision for his music program ENCANTO which takes place at the Benaroya Hall, the mecca for classical music in the city of Seattle. Iñiguez and the artists that perform with him at the ENCANTO concert, take the audience on a cultural journey that pairs the ethereal beauty of opera aria and classical piano with the charm of mariachi bolero. In 2017 Jose was awarded the distinguished Central Washington University Leader-under-40 Award. In 2018 José was awarded an honorary Seattle Metropolitan Latino Chamber of Commerce Leader Award and in 2019 was awarded Mid-Columbia Libraries & Tri-cities Latino Community Network Latino leader award for his work in business and his support of Education, as many of his concert proceeds have went to supporting students dreams of attending a higher education.
Through his work in in the community he established three Iniguez Family Scholarship Endowments to honor the memory of his parents, Santiago Iniguez & Guadalupe Rodriguez, at Columbia Basin College, Central Washington University, and Eastern Washington University. You can see his story on PBS as it is currently being shown through out the country.
Simon Iñiguez -VP & Co - Director of Technology
Simón Iñiguez was born in Othello, Wa. He was raised in Mattawa, WA for most of his life until moving to the Spanaway area in 9th grade. Iñiguez graduated from Spanaway Lake High School in 2001. Iñiguez earned his BA in Law and Justice with an emphasis on Law Enforcement and Corrections in 2007 from Central Washington University. He earned his Masters in education in 2015 from City University. Simón is a graduate of the Danforth Educational Leadership Program at the University of Washington (Seattle) in 2019. #D31
Simón has a unique professional background that spans working in the juvenile justice system to supporting adults with medical and psychiatric needs and as a Head Counselor in middle school. He currently serves as the Assistant Principal of Evergreen High School in the Highline School District (Burien, WA). He was a co-creator of a Latino Mentoring program, Hermanx Unidx in the Seattle Public Schools. He is also a co-founder of the CWU Latino/a Alumni Association.
He lives in Seattle with his wife Luz and two daughters Celesté and Camíla.
Rosa Melendez - Secretary
Rosa M. Melendez was the Regional Director (Region 10 - Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington) for the U.S. Department of Justice - Community Relations Service (CRS) from 2000 to 2014. The Community Relations Service is the Department's "peacemaker" for community conflicts and tensions arising from differences of race, color, and national origin. Created by the Civil Rights Act of 1964, CRS is the only Federal agency dedicated to assist State and local units of government, private and public organizations, and community groups with preventing and resolving racial and ethnic tensions, incidents, and civil disorders, and in restoring racial stability and harmony.
With passage of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, CRS also works with communities to employ strategies to prevent and respond to alleged violent hate crimes committed on the basis of actual or perceived race, color, national origin, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion or disability.
Ms. Melendez was in the Law Enforcement field for over twenty-five (25) years. She started with Salt Lake City Police as a Police Cadet and retired from law enforcement as the U.S. Marshal for the Western District of Washington. She spent 17 years with Seattle Police Department, and during her tenure with Seattle, she worked in the Patrol Division, Personnel Division, Internal Investigations Unit and the Community Service Section. She became the first woman of color on the Seattle Police Department to be promoted to the rank of Sergeant. She left Seattle Police Department as a Lieutenant. In 1993, Ms. Melendez was nominated by Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) to the position of U.S. Marshal. She was confirmed by the U.S. Senate and appointed U.S. Marshal by President Clinton in 1994. She became the first woman of color to become a U.S. Marshal. She served as the U.S.Marshal from 1994 to 2000. The duties of the U.S. Marshals Service include protecting the federal judiciary, apprehending federal fugitives, managing and selling seized assets acquired by criminals through illegal activities, housing and transporting federal prisoners and operating the Witness Security Program.
Ms. Melendez has received numerous awards for her commitment to her profession and her community service. She feels her mission in life is to be the voice for those who are not heard.
Guadalupe Cavazos - Treasurer
Guadalupe Cavazos is an attorney who owns and operates a small but vital law office in Seattle focusing mainly on Family Law and Immigration including providing Mediation and Workplace Investigations services in both English and Spanish. To maintain life balance and continue her connection to the arts, she is a self-taught jewelry artist, silver smith, wool-felting artist and paints on silk. She continues to be committed to supporting community building and self-expression via the arts.
She was born in Tamaulipas, Mexico, a community bordering South Texas and her family immigrated to the United States and settled in the Rio Grande Valley. For twenty five years, Guadalupe grew up as a migrant farmworker mainly in the Eastern Washington area. Despite the barriers or because of them, she attended Washington State University (Go Cougs!) where she graduated with a degree in Political and Social Sciences. Upon moving to Seattle, she worked in King County Superior Court Administration and the Seattle City Attorney’s Office helping battered women and children obtain Domestic Violence Protection Orders and providing court advocacy. Fueled by her commitment to social justice, Guadalupe attended law school at St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, Texas where volunteered most of her time at the Legal and Social Justice Clinic helping battered women gain immigration status under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). In 1997, she received her Juris Doctor and worked as a City Manager in Donna, Texas, a small but significant border community along the Rio Grande Valley. During her time as City Manager, she worked closely with local County Commissioners, State of Texas elected officials and other strategic partners to develop national and international border initiatives focusing on, among other things, promoting the local arts, both emerging and traditional venues.
In 2005, Guadalupe returned to the Northwest where she worked as a Tribal Spokesperson, an Assistant to the Director of HR in the City of Tacoma and focused on employee and labor relations. Continuing her pursuit in social justice, Guadalupe moved to Seattle and worked with the Access to Justice Board for the Washington State Bar Association. In 2008, Guadalupe was recruited to work for the U.S Census Bureau in the 2010 Decennial Census as a Field Operations Manager supervising over 1200 field employees and was later promoted to manage the South King County Census Office.
From 2015 to 2019, Guadalupe served on the Casa Latina Board and spent her last year as President of the Board and continues to support local organizations empowering Latinx. She continues to be an effective advocate for equity and social justice in the legal system, and a passionate promoter of inclusiveness in the arts.
Maria Sotelo- Co-Communication Director
Maria Sotelo enjoys living in the Pacific Northwest where the landscape and weather bring joy to the eyes and where the people are kind and welcoming. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Public
Accounting from the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education (ITESM) in NL, Mexico. After she graduated, she then attended EGADE Business School and received a Master of Business Administration. Maria has had the opportunity of working in the advertising industry as an independent Media Consultant in Spanish. She is also a Realtor® at Berkshire Hathaway Home Services where she has had the pleasure of assisting clients through a smooth process with successful transactions. She’s been a volunteer at Highline Medical Center Foundation at its annual Gala night. She is also a volunteer at Washington Talking Book and Braille Library where she records audio books in Spanish for Washington residents unable to read standard print. “Listening and reading testimonies from patrons about how audio books have changed their lives, motivates me to do it better”. She loves singing at her church choir. Maria joined the Board of Directors of Encanto Arts on June 2019 as Co-Chair of Communications. “This is a great way of helping an amazing organization with a powerful mission!
Francisco Diaz - Co-Communication Director
Paco Diaz (Francisco "Paco" Díaz) was born in Mexico City, but he has lived for several years in Seattle, WA. Paco is passionate about communications and being able to interact with the community. He considers himself a social communicator who puts his energy into projects that help us to discuss relevant issues that motivate us to participate more in order to build a stronger community. Paco Díaz has a University degree in Public Accounting from the National Polytechnic Institute, but his passion has led him to get prepared and develop in the field of communications. He has experience in radio, television, writing articles for written press, in addition to being an EMCEE at public events. He currently works as a Financial and Administrative Coordinator at UNAM Seattle, teaches Spanish classes at Casa Latina for over 11 years now, works in the Community Relations Department at Sea Mar Community Health Center and in his work as a communicator he focuses on social media where he produces and hosts Ah! Pa ’COmentarios through Plataforma Latina TV, a project where he is co-owner and founder. Follow him on social media as Paco Diaz en la Red. Paco records audio books in Spanish for Washington Talking Book and Braille Library. His first audio book was the first one to be published in Spanish in the Library!
Ricardo Iñiguez - Historian
Ricardo Iñiguez serves as the Assistant Principal of Wenatchee High School where he began his administrative career in 2005. He graduated from Wahluke High School in Mattawa, WA. He then attended Central Washington University, and received a B.A. of Education and a M.Ed. of School Administration. After graduating, Ricardo worked as a middle school and high school teacher in high poverty and diverse schools. In 2005, Ricardo was nominated for the KCTS 9 Golden Apple Award for his Education & Computer Literacy parent program, "Padres Unidos para un Futuro" (Parents United for a Future). Most recently during his tenure at Wenatchee High School he has been named the Distinguished League High School Assistant Principal of the Year for the 3A/4A Columbia Basin League for the 2009-2010 school year and in 2017 he was named the WA State Assistant Principal of the Year. Ricardo has served on the WA State Education Opportunity Gap Oversight and Accountability Committee and as the Chair of the Latino Civic Alliance. He currently serves on the WA State Para-educator Board and recently as a Rotarian of the Rotary Club of Wenatchee Ricardo was recognized as a Paul Harris Fellow.
Jason Lowry - Co Director of Technology
Jason Lowry is currently a Senior Executive, Customer Solutions with Q2 Solutions, a global provider in laboratory solutions for clinical trials. He previously served 8 years in the United State Marine Corps and was deployed overseas in support of Operation Restore Hope (Somalia), Operation Distant Runner (Rwanda), and Operation Southern Watch (Persian Gulf) specializing in electronic countermeasures and navigation and communication systems for rotary winged aircraft. Jason received numerous meritorious unit citations including those for his volunteer work with the combined federal campaign and with community relations efforts in Hong Kong and youth mentorship in Memphis.
Jason graduated from the University of California – Berkeley with a B.A. in Molecular and Cell Biology and continued graduate studies in Endocrinology with a focus on Cancer Biology and is a published author in Carcinogenesis. After graduating, Jason’s career has focused on improving healthcare through supporting laboratory testing for diagnostic and research applications.
In addition to serving on the board of Encanto Arts, Jason is also the Chair of the Veterans and First Responder Committee at the Columbia Tower Club and is passionate about cancer research, supporting live music / performing arts, and providing educational opportunities to those from rural and underserved communities.
Seattle Musicians Union - Talent fulfillment
The first beginnings of the Musicians’ Association date back to the fall of 1889. At that time there was a national organization known as the Musicians Mutual Protective Union #30. There was no branch in Seattle, the nearest one being in San Francisco. The first Board meeting of Charter Members was held on Nov 2nd, 1890 and the new branch was officially admitted to the MMPU on Dec. 17, 1890.
It was a rule of the M.M.P.U. that a new branch could not organize without permission from the nearest union so it was necessary for the Seattle “boys” to communicate with San Francisco to make the necessary arrangements. Charles E. Bray, Frank Hopkins and T.H. “Dad” Wagner formed a committee and telegraphed to the San Francisco local for permission to form a union. The S. F. union didn’t have any objections because Seattle was so far away and permission was granted. The official number given to the seattle M.M.P.U when they were organized was 76. The local has kept this number ever since.
The Board of Directors created a Constitution, By-Laws, Directory and Price List of 1892. The years 1892 & 1893 were a period of extreme hard times and the Price List (wage scale) had to be suspended while musicians played for anything they could get. There was talk of dissolving the union and in order to keep the union intact, it was decided to suspend the price list.
The Musicians’ Union then became a union in name only and it became common practice for members to go out and play for nothing and then pass the hat. This hat passing was the start of the ten-cent dances.
The American Federation of Musicians Local 76 was originally chartered on March 1, 1898. On January 14, 1958, African American members of the segregated AFM Local 493 were amalgamated with those of Local 76, forming one integrated Local. For further information on Local 493 and it’s predecessor Local 458 we recommend an article at HistoryLink.org by Peter Blecha or “Sweethearts of Jazz” written for “Columbia” magazine by David Keller in 2009. KCTS 9 YouTube video on Local 493. In December 1994 our title was officially changed to “Local 76-493”, celebrating our rich history among all of our members.
Please visit our Flickr & Pinterest pages for more photos and history of our organization.
Seattle MusiciansMembers of the Musicians’ Association of Seattle, Local 76-493. T
Andrew Pang - Encanto Arts Composer & Arranger
Andrew is the composer and arranger for Encanto Arts. Andrew received his Master’s in Viola Performance from Seattle Pacific University; while there, he took many courses on education and learned how to run a music studio. He’s also interned and coached at Marrowstone-In-The-City, which is Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestra’s main orchestra camp over the summer, for kids below the age of 14, and has just started music directing at Village Theatre Kidstage in Issaquah. He is currently music directing an original musical at Rose Hill Middle School.