Sergio Pitol, 85

Sergio Pitol, Inventive and Honored Mexican Author, Dies at 85
by Paulina Villegas, The New York Times, April 19, 2018

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José Luis Cuevas, 83

José Luis Cuevas, a Dark Master of Mexican Art, Dies at 83
by William Grimes, The New York Times, July 7, 2017

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Juan Gabriel, 66

Juan Gabriel, Music Star in Mexico, Dies at 66
by Jonah Engel Bromwich, The New York Times, August 28, 2016

Gloria Contreras, 81

Gloria Contreras, a Leading Mexican Choreographer, Dies at 81
by Anna Kisselgoff, The New York Times, December 10, 2015

Tony Gleaton, 67

Tony Gleaton, 67, Dies, Leaving Legacy in Pictures of Africans in the Americas
by Bruce Weber, The New York Times, August 18, 2015

Saner's "Primitivo": indigenous imagery and perspective

In the Face of Violence, a Mexican Artist Finds Sanity in Stereotypes
by Julie Schwietert Collazo, Hyperallergic, January 30, 2015

Roberto Gómez Bolaños, 85

Roberto Gómez Bolaños, the Mexican Comedic Artist ‘Chespirito,’ Dies at 85
by Elias E. Lopez, The New York Times, November 28, 2014

Carlos Santana finds a universal tone

Carlos Santana: 'I Am A Reflection Of Your Light'
Michel Martin, Morning Edition, NPR, November 4, 2014

José Emilio Pacheco, 74

José Emilio Pacheco, Mexican Author, Dies at 74
by Douglas Martin, The New York Times, January 27. 2014

Polendo's Juárez in transition: "Never mention hope. Say 'I'll do it!'"

Theater Mitu's Justin Nestor
in Juárez: A Documentary Mythology
below: Aysan Celik

Bill Clinton got lots of mileage from the name of his Arkansas hometown-- Hope. But the people of Mexico's Ciudad Juárez--infamous for entrenched government corruption and murderous drug cartels--would prefer that their city be known for tough determination rather than anything as passive as hope. That's one message from Juárez: A Documentary Mythology, a play conceived and directed by Theater Mitu's artistic director Rubén Polendo (Rattlestick Playwrights Theater through January 19).

Drawn from numerous interviews--including conversations with folks in El Paso, right across the US border--Juárez might remind many of Anna Deavere Smith's award-winning documentary monologues. But here, the profusion of real-life personalities--factory workers, activists, artists, counselors, journalists, academics and more--are channeled through six white actors, all handsomely expressive in the spoken and sometimes sung material. Unfortunately, an aggressively didactic approach--text and visuals packed with statistics and touching upon complex issues--threatens to unbalance the delicate connection between a New York audience and the Mexicans and Texans whose lives and perspectives we learn about. Still, from the start, Polendo--a son of Juárez who has family there--wins our sympathy for a city he believes can be restored to the safety and beauty remembered from his youth.

Juárez is, the play says, "emblematic of what the rest of the world is going to look like." It is "a laboratory for the future." As Alfredo Corchado's recent article for The Dallas Morning News indicates, recovery will be no simple process. But Juárez: A Documentary Mythology offers one way to remind Americans that all our fates are bound together.

Performances by Denis Butkus, Aysan Celik, Adam Cochran, Ryan Conarro, Michael Littig and Justin Nestor

Rattlestick Playwrights Theater
224 Waverly Place, Manhattan
(map/directions)

La frontera: Artists address immigration issues and violence

A Vale of Terror, Transcended
Artists Explore Immigration, Border Issues and the Drug War
by Laura Tillman, The New York Times, January 2, 2014

Juan Villoro: lessons from Mexican soccer

Mexican Writer Mines the Soccer Field for Metaphors

by Randal C. Archibold, The New York Times, October 25, 2013

Remembering Jenni Rivera's activism

Jenni Rivera, American Diva
by Lawrence Downes, The New York Times, December 10, 2012

Post-Sandy: Dances for the Day of the Dead

Gathering to Dance Amid Tragedy
by Julie Turkewitz, The New York Times, November 5, 2012

Chavela Vargas, 93

Mexican singer Chavela Vargas dies aged 93
BBC News, August 6, 2012

Carlos Fuentes, 83 [UPDATED]

Carlos Fuentes, Mexican Writer, Dies at 83
by The Associated Press, May 15, 2012

Carlos Fuentes, Mexican Man of Letter, Dies at 83
by Anthony DePalma, The New York Times, May 15, 2012

Sherman Alexie makes it perfectly clear...

Let's get one thing out of the way: Mexican immigration is an oxymoron. Mexicans are indigenous...In the effort to vanish our books, Arizona has actually given them enormous power. Arizona has made our books sacred documents now.

--author and filmmaker Sherman Alexie in The Progressive

Read more here.

Lila Downs set for Carnegie Hall

CAMI Music 
in association with
World Music Institute and The Latin Recording Academy
present

Lila Downs

Tuesday, November 15, 8pm

For over a decade, Lila Downs has toured the world, performing her dramatic reinvention of traditional Mexican music and original compositions fused with blues, jazz, soul and African roots.  Some would classify Lila as a Mexican artist, but there is no real way to categorize her music except to say that it is a distinctive and exciting blend of international sounds.  With her soaring voice, she takes her audiences on a musical journey that is always fascinating, simultaneously edgy and strong, yet sumptuous and graceful.
 
Tickets

Carnegie Hall
57th Street and 7th Avenue, Manhattan
(directions and parking)

Student designer wins Limón competition

Sheryl Liu (scenic design, UC Irvine) has been selected to create the new sets and costumes for the Limón Dance Company’s upcoming revival of Limón’s 1956 masterwork The Emperor Jones, scheduled to premiere April 29 in Culiacan, Mexico, birthplace of Limón, followed by a tour of Mexico and presentation during the Company’s June 7-12 New York season at the John Jay Theater.

The Competition was sponsored by the Limón Dance Company and the National Endowment for the Arts as part of American Masterpieces for the purpose of bringing a fresh point of view to this acknowledged dance classic, on the occasion of its first restaging by the Company in 25 years. An invitation was extended to a select group of visual arts institutions in Mexico, Canada, and across the US , who invited a small group of their most talented students to apply. The Company received applications from young designers around the country, including Tennessee, California, New York, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts, and 10 finalists were chosen.

Sheryl Liu was selected by the panel of judges that consisted of Carla Maxwell, Artistic Director of the Limón Dance Company; Roxane D’Orleans Juste, Company Associate Artistic Director; lighting designer Carol Mullins, and Clay Taliaferro, who learned the work directly from José Limón, danced the leading role, and will reconstruct and direct the revival.

SHERYL LIU is a third year scenic design student at UCIrvine. Her assisting credits include working in Alexander Dodge’s studio during the summer of 2009 on projects at the Old Globe, the Lansburgh, and the Roundabout Theater Company. Last summer she assisted Christopher Acebo at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Her designs for Salome and La bohème have been selected to be part of EMERGE: 2011 at the Prague Quadrennial, the world’s top international stage design exhibition. Design credits at UCIrvine include The Wild Party, The Laramie Project, Little Women, Cyrano de Bergerac, Into the Woods, and The Crucible.

THE EMPEROR JONES
Premiered July 12, 1956 at the Empire State Festival, Ellenville, New York
Choreography: José Limón
Commissioned Score: Heitor Villa-Lobos
Reconstructed and Directed by Clay Taliaferro

In the classic Eugene O’Neill play, Jones, a fugitive from a chain gang, sets himself up as emperor of an island domain. He becomes a tyrant, and his mistreatment of his subjects causes them to rebel, hunt him down, and bring him to an ignominious end. The dance makes no attempt to adhere to the play’s sequence, but rather seeks to give it another dimension. The various episodes which concern Jones’ encounter with visions and hallucinations encompassing his own personal, and later, his racial memories, are juxtaposed within the necessarily brief duration of a dance.

For further information on the Limón Dance Company and its upcoming programs, click here.

Boycotting AZ

Performers to Stay Away From Arizona in Protest of Law

by Larry Rohter, The New York Times, May 27, 2010