* About the Director

Ricardo A. Gabaldón (Jr.)

Ricardo Gabaldón was born and raised in Santa Maria. He was a four-year member of the Marimba Band & Ballet Folklórico and continued to assist both groups after graduating from Righetti HS in 1996. He attended Fresno State University where he majored in Spanish and Chicano Studies with a minor in Music. He also danced with the university’s well-recognized ballet folklórico, Los Danzantes de Aztlán. He holds teaching credentials in both Spanish and CTE: Media, Arts & Entertainment. He recently earned a Master’s degree in Ethnomusicology and a graduate certificate in World Music and Cultures from Liberty University. He has also received a Diplomado in Danza Mexicana from the Instituto de Danza y Música Tradicional Mexicana Mizoc. He has been teaching high school since 2004, four at Clovis East High School where he began a Marimba Band and Ballet Folklórico, followed by six years at Orcutt Academy HS, and is now in his tenth year at Righetti.

“Teaching at Righetti and following in my dad’s footsteps as director of the Marimba Band & Ballet Folklórico is a personal and family dream come true. I know that I have huge shoes to fill, but I am determined to continue the legacy of imparting culture with my students and our community.”