Through spicy tales of gossip, beautifully passionate visuals of traditional music and dance of the Yucatán Peninsula, and witty dark humor, Conchi León’s renowned play La Tía Mariela reminds audiences of the joys and heartbreaks of family dynamics as well as the power of oral tradition. Destinos: 6th Chicago International Latino Theater FestivalThe festival continues […]
Tag: National Museum of Mexican Art
Posted inArts & Culture
Little Amal invites Chicago to walk a little closer together
Although Amal, a towering 12-foot puppet representing a ten-year-old Syrian refugee girl, is silent, she speaks a universal language of empathy that has shifted countless perspectives, including in our Windy City. “From the very first journey, it was apparent that this was something the community was craving,” says associate artistic director Khadijat Oseni. A collaborative […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Museums are everybody
For “Yo Soy Museo” at the National Museum of Mexican Art, Chicago artist Alberto Aguilar mines the relationship between the museum and the artist, cannily playing with notions of display and presentation. Having the distinction of being the first exhibition in the museum’s history to not have to take out a single loan agreement, “Yo […]
Posted inGhost Light
Jorge Valdivia takes the reins at Chicago Latino Theater Alliance
The death of Myrna Salazar, cofounder and executive director of the Chicago Latino Theater Alliance (CLATA), in August, a month before the fifth annual Destinos: Chicago International Latino Theater Festival kicked off, was a huge blow to the performing arts community, including Jorge Valdivia, who worked closely with Salazar and CLATA in his role as […]
Posted inTheater Review
Whose life is it, anyway?
What is an artist’s relationship to their art? The complexities of that question form the central story in Franco-Uruguayan playwright Sergio Blanco’s Tebas Land, now appearing under the direction of Argentinean director Juan Parodi in its U.S premiere as part of the fifth Destinos: Chicago International Latino Theater Festival. Presented by the Chicago Latino Theater […]
Posted inFilm
The gorgeous luchadoras of wrestling
This is the Chicago theatrical premiere of The Batwoman and the U.S. theatrical premiere of The Panther Women.
Posted inArts & Culture
Remembering Myrna Salazar 1947-2022
Next month, the Chicago Latino Theater Alliance will present the fifth annual Destinos Chicago International Theater Festival. But it will be bittersweet; the woman most responsible for making the festival a reality, CLATA cofounder and executive director Myrna Salazar, won’t be there to see it. Salazar died on Wednesday, August 3, two weeks after celebrating […]
Posted inAgenda
Youth art, Slo ’Mo, and more
Summer is coming to a close, and Yollocalli Arts Reach, the free youth arts education program offered through the National Museum of Mexican Art, is looking back at another hot one in the city with an exhibition. See what mediums, styles, and ideas have been captivating Pilsen kids this season at Jardin Malinalli (2800 S. […]
Posted inGhost Light
Tonys, tech awards, and terpsichore
Lots of behind-the-scenes news in Chicago theater, and some well-deserved plaudits to note as well this week! At the Tony Awards this past Sunday, longtime Chicago sound designer and composer Mikhail Fiksel took home the top prize for his work on Lucas Hnath’s drama Dana H., which ran locally at the Goodman in fall of […]
Posted inGhost Light
Latino arts organizations tell funders: ‘Here we are’
Back in 1996, the late playwright August Wilson delivered an address at the annual conference for Theatre Communications Group, the national service organization for theaters in the U.S. Entitled “The Ground on Which I Stand,” Wilson’s speech (later released as a book) took aim at racism and Eurocentrism in American theater, particularly when it comes […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Black Ensemble Theater scores big with MacKenzie Scott grant; Victory Gardens announces new playwrights ensemble
$5 million helps BET regain lost ground from COVID, while Ken-Matt Martin reignites a VG tradition.
Posted inArts & Culture
Elsa Muñoz undrowns her community with every painting
Raised in Little Village, the painter creates quiet art to process grief.
Posted inColumns & Opinion
Arts 77 shores up the city’s creative infrastructure
Chicago’s new Arts 77 program will spend $60 million on cultural facilities and art.
Posted inMusic
The Sor Juana Festival shares vintage vibes for cruising in hot rods, warm summer nights, and nonstop dancing
Rockabilly probably isn’t the first thing that comes to mind when somebody says “Latin roots music,” but several generations of artists on both sides of the southern U.S. border have taken doo-wop, boogie-woogie, and early rock ’n’ roll to heart. The music—and its associated hot-rod imagery—has long connections to the Mexican American community (particularly on […]