“Look at the stars.” I’m sure we’ve all heard this direction once or twice, whether it be from a friend, a sappy date or an awe-struck elder. It is a universal requirement, even in Southern California where smog and city lights cloud the skies, that if the sky is dark and the stars are bright, we must look up and admire them. 

This is the hidden goal behind Chapman's Musician of Color Association’s (MoCA) upcoming event Noche de Estrellas, which will be held on May 13 at 7 p.m. The event will take place on Memorial Lawn featuring a performance from student group Mariachi Panteras. Speakers will include local writer and actor Antalia Vallez and author Sarah Garcia of LibroMobile, a local arts cooperative and bookstore. 

Students are encouraged to bring blankets and find a comfortable spot on Memorial Lawn where they can enjoy some music and buy drinks from vendor Lizzard Mama Golosinas. Founding member of MoCA David Garcia, who graduated from Chapman in 2022 with a degree in music education, told The Panther he looks forward to coming back to campus to attend Noche de Estrellas. 

“(This event) was born (because) of one of our professors,” Garcia said. “He remembers how in the 70s Chapman was a place for people to gather as a community.” 

MoCA was founded in January of 2021 at Chapman University, but has since grown into a larger organization outside of Orange County. Garcia told The Panther that the club was born in light of the Black Lives Matter protests and the music department’s hunger for change. 

Their overall goal is to be a source of empowerment for people of color, particularly musicians of color. They work to advance diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility (DEIA) efforts and are currently in pursuit of achieving nonprofit status. MoCA now works with the non-profit Active Learning in the Arts to implement culturally relevant music programs in Title I schools located in Mountain View, California. 

“When we know we have a community, we feel more empowered to make decisions about our lives,” Garcia said. “(So) how do we broaden that community? How do we reach people across the street?” 

Noche de Estrellas is one of the many events MoCA has held in an effort to reach the greater Chapman and Orange County community. 

Graduate student Jordan Boggess, who is is pursuing a single subject graduate credential in music and is also a MoCA founding member, wrote in an email to The Panther that MoCA has held several events in the past, including a music education summit, student mixers and a benefit concert that raised $1,000 for an afterschool program at Castro Elementary in Mountain View. 

“MoCA, in its first year, hosted a successful DEIA Music Education Summit titled the ‘Impact of Radical Transformation,’” Boggess wrote. “The goal of this summit was to collectively work to transform the culture within music education towards one of radical empathy, compassion and self-love.”

Noche de Estrellas will follow in the footsteps of their past events in hopes of building a community, but will be a more leisurely event where people can come and go, converse and enjoy a relaxed Saturday night. 

“At Noche de Estrellas, people can expect an evening of dancing, conversations and amazing michelaguas, aguas frescas and more from Lizzard Mama’s Golosinas for purchase,” Boggess wrote. “There will also be fun and exhilarating music from two student DJs as the dance floor is open for salsa dancing and more.”

Junior music education and vocal performance major Jessica Tonai told The Panther she understands students’ anxieties about attending an event where they may not know anyone or are not familiar with the organization, but she hopes students won’t let that fear stop them. 

“Just bring your friends,” Tonai said. “(We’re) basically bringing together people who we feel are really cool and will be great resources for the community.” 

Community, empowerment and connection are all words the members of MoCA use when speaking about their organization. They hope to lean on these words as mantras and supply a lifetime of support to the musicians of color they serve. 

Noche de Estrellas may be just one of the events MoCA has, and will, put on, but it is still a valiant effort on their part to reach out to the community and continue to grow the roots they already have in Orange County. 

So clear your Saturday night schedule, stroll through Memorial Lawn to hear music or settle onto a blanket with a cold agua fresca. And remember to look up at the stars, if only for a brief moment. 
For more information about MoCA, Noche de Estrellas and future events, visit their website or Instagram. Noche de Estrella tickets are free and can be reserved at this link.