Mexico Archives - Chicago Reader

Lit & Luz, Space Gators, Duma, and more

by Micco Caporale and Salem Collo-Julin October 31, 2022October 31, 2022

I think today is some sort of special occasion? Oh yeah! It’s the first day of Lit & Luz, a festival focused on art, literature, and language shared between the U.S. and Mexico. At noon, things kicked off with a virtual keynote from poet, editor, and translator Anthony Cody. From 6-7 PM, artist Balam Bartolomé […]

Feature

Sandra Cisneros feels the love of the universe

by Aaron Cohen September 6, 2022September 6, 2022

When Sandra Cisneros talked about romance, writing, and faith over Zoom from her bright home in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, she discussed her own poetry but also referred to Peanuts. In the strip Lucy complains about not finding love while ignoring Snoopy’s embrace. Almost on cue, Cisneros then got a face lick from Nahui […]

Music

Tatiana Hazel knows she was meant to shine

by Catalina Maria Johnson July 6, 2020August 18, 2021

Chicago native Tatiana Hazel has been on a journey that merges fashion, visual design, and music since she was 13 years old, when she began posting videos of herself singing and playing acoustic guitar on YouTube. Now in her early 20s, the Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter has developed a solid following while deepening her talent for […]

Music

El Shirota bare their postpunk soul for our weird times on Tiempos Raros

by Catalina Maria Johnson June 5, 2020August 18, 2021

The debut album of Mexico’s El Shirota, Tiempos Raros (“Weird Times”), resonates mightily as the world convulses from the effects of America’s racist violence in the midst of a global pandemic. Founded by lead singer and guitarist Ignacio Gomez in 2013, the band went through several lineup changes before settling on their current configuration in […]

Food & Drink

As for the Chicago chef who stole Diana Kennedy’s book. . .

by Mike Sula May 22, 2020August 18, 2021

A new documentary about the great chronicler of regional Mexican food starts streaming tonight

News & Politics

This is how deportation fractures American families

by Clarissa Donnelly-DeRoven February 5, 2020August 18, 2021

A story of what happens when the undocumented parents and spouses of U.S. citizens are “kidnapped by ICE”

Music

Ed Maverick sings Mexican folk songs for crying in your bedroom

by Catalina Maria Johnson November 21, 2019August 18, 2021

At 18 years old, Eduardo Hernández Saucedo, aka Ed Maverick, has already become a viral phenomenon for his sweet, romantic bedroom-folk tunes; his 2018 hit “Fuentes de Ortiz” has topped 100 million streams. His pleasingly deep voice easily conveys yearning in straightforward songs that he builds around simple, colloquial phrases and strummed acoustic guitar—and each […]

News & Politics

Asylum City

by Sarah Conway, Michelle Kanaar, Apoorva Mittal, Kash and Borderless Magazine October 23, 2019August 18, 2021

The harrowing stories of six asylum seekers who now call Chicago home

Music

Antonio Sanchez composes jazz-rock anthems that celebrate immigrant journeys

by Catalina Maria Johnson September 26, 2019August 18, 2021

The most immediately striking aspect of Antonio Sanchez’s music is its lush, cinematic feel, which the drummer also demonstrates in the percussion-only music he composed for the 2014 film Birdman. A native of Mexico City, Sanchez began playing drums at age five, and after performing professionally in rock, jazz, and Latin bands in his teens, […]

Music

Sávila and Ida y Vuelta take Latinx diasporic beats across the centuries

by Catalina Maria Johnson August 30, 2019August 18, 2021

Portland trio Sávila explore their Mexican roots through the venerable style of cumbia, which spread among popular big bands in the 1950s and remains a staple of family celebrations and weddings throughout the Americas. Launched in 2016 by guitarist and bass-synth player Fabiola Reyna (founder of She Shreds magazine) and vocalist and percussionist Brisa Gonzalez […]