UC Merced Arts Opens Season with East L.A. Band Las Cafeteras

UC Merced Arts has announced its 2025-26 season of performances, exhibitions and public art programs, beginning with the return of East L.A.'s electrifying band Las Cafeteras.

The band's Día de los Muertos-themed production, "Hasta La Muerte," comes to Merced on Wednesday, Oct. 8 at the Art Kamangar Center at The Merced Theatre. The performance begins at 7:30 p.m.

Tickets - $15 for general admission and free for students with ID and for children - are available at arts.ucmerced.edu/boxoffice and at the door starting 30 minutes before the performance.

"This season, we're excited to celebrate artistry that is both homegrown and international - highlighting the extraordinary talent of Merced artists and presenting them alongside other world-class creators from across California and the United States," said Collin Lewis, Executive Director for the Arts at UC Merced.

"We're thrilled to welcome Las Cafeteras back to Merced to celebrate Día de los Muertos and to open the season with 'Hasta La Muerte,' a celebration of life and memory."

The 2025-26 UC Merced Arts season also will feature concerts, theater, dance, film and exhibitions across multiple venues. Many programs are offered free of charge, including visual art exhibitions at La Galería, the annual UC Merced Children's Opera, and the nationally recognized Shakespeare in Yosemite program with a new production of "Love's Labor's Lost."

The season schedule:

• Las Cafeteras, "Hasta La Muerte," 8, Merced Theatre

• "20 Years of UC Merced Art & Architecture" - through Dec. 13, La Galería at UC Merced

• Merced Symphony: Side-by-Side Spectacular - Oct. 29, Wallace-Dutra Amphitheatre at UC Merced

• "Central Valley Landscapes:" paintings and photographs by Richard Gomez and Christopher Viney - Jan. 29 - March 13, La Galería at UC Merced

• American Patchwork Quartet - Feb. 6, Merced Theatre

• "A Song for Cesar" screening and concert - March 17, Merced Theatre

• PUSH Dance Company - April 3, Merced Multicultural Arts Center

• Shakespeare in Yosemite: "Love's Labor's Lost" - April 23-26, UC Merced & Yosemite National Park

• "If All the Sky Were Paper" - May 1-3, Merced Multicultural Arts Center

• UC Merced Children's Opera: "The Ghost in the Opera Houseˆ- May 23, Merced Theatre

Tickets for "Hasta La Muerte" and other performances are available at arts.ucmerced.edu/boxoffice