Latino Group Honors Ballerina, 5 Others

Life has been a fairy tale come true for Monica Galindo.

The 26-year-old Oxnard native attended some of the country’s top ballet academies, and has danced with the San Francisco Ballet and the State Street Ballet in Santa Barbara.

Through her classes in creative movement, which she teaches at nearly every public school in Ventura County, Galindo shares the joy of dance with more than 10,000 children.

For her contribution to the cultural arts, Galindo has been named one of six 1998 Latino Leadership Award winners by El Concilio del Condado de Ventura.

Galindo began her training at age 9 and in her mid-teens received full scholarships to the academies of the American Ballet Theater, Pennsylvania Ballet and Joffrey Ballet.

When she was a senior in high school, Galindo received a full scholarship and stipend to the San Francisco Ballet.

She has danced the role of the Sugar Plum Fairy in “The Nutcracker” and the lead in “Cinderella.”

Currently her work with children includes a focus on fairy tales.

“I feel that I have touched the spirit and the talents of a lot of youngsters out there, especially the Hispanics,” Galindo said. “Not only do I show them that you can do ballet, I expose them to everything in the arts.”

In the past decade, Galindo said, “Latinos in Ventura County have come together to reveal our pride in our heritage rather than to repress it.”

Although not all children will follow Galindo’s lead into ballet, she said they can all walk away from her class knowing there are no boundaries to what they can become.

“I would like them to remember me as the ballerina who brought her students to believe in themselves and their dreams,” Galindo said.

The other award recipients are Laura Flores-Espinosa of Santa Paula, Daniel D. Villanueva of Somis, Juanita Sanchez-Valdez of Ventura, Sister Carmen Rodriguez of Oxnard and Vanesa Estrada of Oxnard.

The awards will be presented during the ninth annual El Concilio Latino Leadership Awards dinner on Jan. 31 at Embassy Suites Mandalay Beach Resort in Oxnard.

Reserved tickets are $50 per person. Call 486-9777, Ext. 225.