S1: On today's KPBS Midday Edition. We're having the conversations shaping San Diego. I'm Jade Hindman , keeping you informed and inspired while making you think. The San Diego Tijuana International Jazz Festival kicks off. We'll have a preview then our midday movies critics join us with their favorite Alfred Hitchcock films. Plus , we've got your weekend preview. That's ahead on KPBS Midday Edition. So if you want to hear the live music of renowned jazz artist , save the date for the San Diego Tijuana International Jazz Festival. It starts tonight. And here to tell us about what's in store this year are the founders of the festival , Dan Atkinson and Julian Placencia. Dan , Julian , welcome back to midday.
S2: Thank you. Happy to be here. Thank you. Very happy to be here.
S1: Glad to have you both here. We spoke last year about this time. And now you're getting ready to kick off your third edition. So congratulations to the both of you. How are you feeling as the festival is set to kick off later this evening?
S2: Well , well , I'll take that , because that show tonight is on this side of the border , and , uh , it's going to be packed. We're really excited about the. The turnout for this will be at courtyard in the East Village from 5 to 9 p.m. with three different bands and if I can say quickly about them , this has been our format for the last two years. We have a binational youth band with students from both San Diego and Ensenada , then a band from Tijuana that's making its first US appearance on this program called Colectivo Fronteras. And then finally this incredible band from Los Angeles and San Diego called Jungle Fire. And I think you played Jungle Fire on the way in to the interview here.
S1: Well , I mean , um , we'll be hearing more about , uh , those performances and Jungle Fire , too. Dan , you've been , you know , a part of the jazz scene here in San Diego for decades. I mean , what made you want to start a yearly jazz festival here. Huh?
S2: Huh? Well , it's sort of a funny coincidence. When I started my work in jazz in San Diego back in the late 80s. It was just a couple of years after the last. Really ambitious internationally. International level jazz festival took place in San Diego. It was in 1984 and it was called the San. Diego Jazz Festival. It took place at the Old Globe Theatre's outdoor stage. And really , since then no one has done this. So it's been on my mind for , you know , 35 plus years. And , uh , um , we really I got to thinking about this through a lot of different inputs and realized we should really do something that's distinctive here. That's about the incredible place that San Diego and Tijuana together is. So we wanted it to be binational in focus and in scope. And so that's our that's our mission is to serve the people of both sides of the border.
S1: That's excellent. Julian. I mean , when people think of jazz music. They often think of New Orleans. So how did Tijuana connect with the genre? I know there's a long history there.
S3: There is. There is a long history all the way back to prohibition area where Tijuana became this this fun , vibrant place , uh , throughout the 20s and into the 30s. And of course , uh , they didn't have like , uh , some , uh , deejays or , or some playlist to , to put on these , um , bars and cafes that lined up all across Avenida Revolucion. But a lot of people talk about the music and the dancing. So it had to have been live music , and a lot of it was done by jazz musicians that , uh , came over , uh , from New Orleans , like , uh , Jelly Roll Morton and many , many others that used to cross the border to find some work and do some music.
S1: And among the musicians you have performing in both San Diego and Tijuana is pianist and composer Danilo Perez. Can you tell us about his music , Julian? Sure.
S3: Sure. I first heard about Danilo when I was studying music in Havana , Cuba , back in 2006 , and through other , uh , players from around the world that come to Cuba for the education. Uh , he was big. He was like a hero to many. And I was just there learning about the music because I had done more of a rock in other genres like blues , but it was really open , you know , opened my mind to this music , Latin music , although I grew up in Tijuana , but I , you know , actually in Tijuana , we grew up so close to the border. We were also like learning about all this world of Latin jazz and Latin music. So it's very exciting to to have them here in Tijuana. I think it's his first time in Tijuana. Okay.
S1: Okay. All right , well , I gotta I gotta listen to some of this music. Here's Danilo. Danilo Perez with Historia de un amor. Wow. That's that's that is nice. What jumps out to you about this piece and Danilo style?
S2: You know , I think this. Oh.
S3: I'm sorry. No , that's okay then. Go ahead.
S2: Um , Danilo is just a brilliant , brilliant musician. And the way that he plays this piece is so original. It's just it's still , you know , kind of blows my mind , frankly , that that he plays this this way. This is a this is a ballad. This is a bolero that you'll hear all over Mexico , all over Latin America. And I always thought it was a Mexican song , but it turns out that the composer was from Panama , which is also , you know , Daniel's origin. So I think they're going to play this piece at one or the other of the of the concerts that he's giving here.
S1: Well , and also performing this year will be the Mingus Dynasty Band , playing the music of legendary composer and bassist Charles Mingus. And Dan , you say you actually consider Mingus as a border artist. Tell me about that. Why? Yeah.
S2: Yeah. This is this is my radical proposition for for the jazz world. Mingus is an icon in jazz. He's considered to be one of the three top composers in jazz , alongside Duke Ellington and Thelonious Monk. So this is a figure of extreme importance in this music. Um , I think what people often don't know is that Mingus was born in Nogales , Arizona. His father was in one of the Buffalo Soldier units stationed right along the border. And then he spent the first half of his life in South Los Angeles. So he's really , uh , someone from the southwest , from the West Coast and Tijuana figured in his life from early on. If you read his autobiography , he was there multiple times. And at a certain point , he wrote a set of pieces about Tijuana called Tijuana Moods that was one of the major albums of the late 50s. And , uh , the The Legacy Band. Mingus Dynasty is going to play some of those pieces for us , both in Escondido and in Tijuana.
S1: Well , let's take a listen , because I know you like to incorporate the local ties into the music you bring to the San Diego Tijuana International Jazz Festival. So from that album , Tijuana Moods , here's a track from from it called Tijuana Gift Shop. So , Julian , what stands out to you about this one?
S3: Well , my grandmother used to work at a gift shop there on Avenida Revolution , and it was like late 40s and through the 50s. So for me , it's , like , really exciting to think that maybe Mingus walked into one of these gift shops where my grandmother was attending to and it's it's just a beautiful album. We're very proud that he was here for whatever reason , and that he was inspired and that he talked about the album being one of his best at the time. And we have a big surprise. We're gonna , um , we're doing a mural , like a painting on one of the buildings there in Revolution , and it's in honor of Charles Mingus. So people will come over on Friday or Sunday , can also see this , uh , mural that we're doing in honor of Charles Mingus.
S1: Um , you know , as you have done in past years with the festival , concerts are happening on both sides of the border , and I imagine that creates some complications , but it's something you both feel strongly about. So tell me , why is making this a truly binational festival so central to this event? Hmm.
S2: Hmm. Well , you know , I have colleagues in the jazz world who are the directors and founders of some of the great jazz festivals out there , like Monterey. Um , there's a wonderful one in Seattle. In Vancouver. Um , also some of the European festivals. And , uh , I think what struck me in conceiving of this whole thing is that we could do something that was really different , we could do something that was distinctive and that was really about this region and , and really encouraging our region to understand itself and its own heritage in a different way. And I think jazz is a very international form of music. It certainly is rooted in the USA , in the African-American experience in particular. But jazz has gone everywhere on the globe. And , uh , so I think this is an opportunity for us to sort of understand ourselves and also kind of shine as a region that is a binational region. Right.
S1: Right. Well , and you mentioned , you know , the African-Americans , um , having such a strong role in jazz. And so Tijuana in that story has a special place in that many of the artists playing in California , in Southern California during segregation. Could there were some clubs that couldn't play in. And so they came to Tijuana. Correct. And played in clubs there.
S2: I'm sorry we lost your audience for a second there.
S3: Yeah , we lost the audience.
S1: Oh , it's all right. I was seeing a lot of the. The jazz artists during segregation weren't able to play in some of the clubs in Southern California , so they made their way to Tijuana , uh , to play in those areas. Absolutely.
S3: Absolutely. Yeah.
S2: Yeah.
S3: Tell me about the rich history of the of that. Yes.
S1: Yeah , yeah. And so Tijuana does hold a special place in the genre because of that. You know , Julian , what does this binational peace mean for you?
S3: Well , I , I grew up half of my childhood , uh , into adulthood. Part of it in Tijuana. Part of it in San Diego. Like like I mentioned in years past , my father was born in Tijuana. My mother was born in San Diego. And so we have families on both sides. So for us growing up , there was really no distinction. It was , uh , a lot easier to get across the border. And we really did see it as a , as a whole. Uh , we used to joke about how just one part was cleaner than the other , you know , as far as the eyes would see. But as a child , it was a happy childhood with very hard working parents and and also like , a very tight community. So when Dan approached me , it was , it was just like a natural thing. And of course , there are some complications , but we're happy to to. To be making it possible.
S1: And this year you're going to have music at three different locations. Can you tell us more about where shows are happening and how people can find more information? Sure.
S3: Sure. On the Taiwanese side , we added a day this year , so we have Friday , October the 2nd. Uh , we are on a smaller stage , but it's very important because it's all local talent. And then Sunday is the big event , uh , on the historic Avenida Revolucion , right in front of the historic Caesar's Hotel and Restaurant. And that will start at , uh , 2 p.m. , 230 on Sunday.
S1: And many of the concerts are actually free to attend. Is that right.
S3: On the Mexican side? There are 100% free for all the public. We invite all the community from both San Diego and Tijuana and around to join us. It's going to be a lot of fun.
S1: All right. And before we go , I want to play one final bit of music being featured at this year's festival. This is the band Jungle Fire with Autumn Miko. Just a little taste there you can see. You can see Jungle Fire as well as many other artists. Starting tonight through Sunday as part of this year's San Diego Tijuana International Jazz Festival , I've been speaking with the festival founders , Julian Placencia and Dan Atkinson. You can find more info about the festival at SD , TJ jazz. Julian , Dan , thank you so much for being here. Congratulations on year three.
S3: Thank you so much. Thank you.
S4: Up next , our.
S1: Film critics tell us about a festival for the Alfred Hitchcock fans here. More when Midday Edition returns. Welcome back to midday Edition. I'm Jade Hindman. October is upon us , and that means it's horror movie season. Redding Cinemas is serving up its annual Hitchcock tober film series , highlighting the Master of Suspense. The film series runs every Wednesday in October at the Angelika Film Center in Carmel Mountain. So this month , Midday Movies celebrates filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock here to share their love for hitch. Our KPBS Cinema Junkie Beth Accomando and movie Wallace. Podcaster. Yazdi. Beth Yazdi.
S5: Hey hey hey. Hello.
S6: My favorite time of year.
S1: Yes it is. Well , let's get into it because it is the greatest time of year. I'm here. Beth. So Hitchcock passed away almost a half century ago. Why do you think his films have remained so popular over these decades?
S7: I think in some ways it's because he was a genre filmmaker. I feel like genre films tend to last better than dramas made that are trying to tie in to current events or try to be very contemporary to their times. Genre films have these elements that are sort of timeless , and he also moved between TV and movies. So people knew him. They knew his face , they knew his profile , they knew his silhouette. And those are also things , though , that he was criticized for. He never won an Oscar. He won a life achievement award. He won some posthumous awards. But basically he was kind of looked down upon for working in television , for making genre films. Critics were often dismissive , saying , well , he only made one kind of film , these suspense films. But it took in part filmmaker and critic Francois Truffaut to help highlight the fact that Hitchcock was an exquisite craftsman. He made amazing films. So we have these this band of upstart French cinephiles at Kaiju Cinema to thank for elevating a so-called , like , pop entertainment filmmaker to the level of auteur And Hitchcock was infamous for treating his actors badly. He I think it's been described as treating them like cattle. I think he directed scenes from his limo because it was raining outside and he didn't want to come out. His wife , Alma Ravel , was a key collaborator who often is not highlighted that much. But I will say that the one thing I love about Hitchcock the most , and I think it makes him stay contemporary , is his macabre sense of humor. It was delicious. And here's a trailer for psycho , where he is having way too much fun promoting his film The Bathroom.
S8: Well , they cleaned all this up now. Big difference. You should have seen the blood. The whole. The whole place was. Well , it's it's too horrible to describe Yazdi.
S1: You get into the meta of all this kind of stuff. What are your thoughts on Hitchcock?
S9: So I think people mostly consider him as being synonymous with suspense thrillers with a psychosexual edge. But I think if one looks at his filmography , especially his latter movies , you know , you see a much wider breadth of filmmaking. I mean , sure , he's known as the master of suspense , but he's also , apart from making psycho and not by northwest. He also made pure spy thrillers , and then he made proper horror films. I think The Birds is one of them , for sure. To even comedic thrillers that he made kind of later on in his life. One other thing about Hitchcock is that he was kind of an anomaly in that , at the height of his popularity , he was a brand in himself. People went to watch a movie because it was a Hitchcock film , and not necessarily because of the actors or , you know , any other things which normally sells films. And few contemporary filmmakers today , I think , hold the same stature. I mean , Tarantino comes to mind. Maybe Scorsese.
S1: Well , the film series is Wednesdays in October , with one exception. And since this film is one of your favorites , Beth , tell us what the exception is.
S7: Well , it is psycho and it is going to screen on a Saturday , but it's Halloween , October 31st. This film really changed the horror landscape , and it anticipated the slasher films that we would get in the 70s and the 80s. And also it was one of the early serial killer films. It also shocked audiences , and I don't think today we can realize just quite how shocking this was. But they killed off Janet Lee , the star in like the first 20 minutes. Like that unsettled people and made them tense through the whole rest of the movie. This came out in 1960 , which was the same year that peeping Tom came out in England. And that was another kind of more stylish , brightly colorful slasher serial killer film that came out at the same time. So there was definitely kind of a shift going on in the cinematic world. This film is definitely a precursor to John Carpenter's Halloween , and it's a perfect example of Hitchcock's meticulous pacing , his really careful shooting. The performances he got are just brilliant. And take a listen here to how good Anthony Perkins is as Norman Bates.
S10: You know what I think? I think that we're all in our private traps , clamped in them , and none of us can ever get out. We scratch and claw , but only at the air , only at each other. And for all of it , we never budge an inch.
S1: Yeah , real , real creepy there. Real creepy.
S6: It's so good.
S1: Yazdi , what film kicks off the official series next Wednesday? That's what I want to know.
S9: Yes , that would be strangers on a train from 1951. So many of Hitchcock's films are set on trains , and this one is no exception. But this one has such an amazement of a plot. Two men with motives for murder decide that they will kill each other's targets. That way , no motive can be ascribed for either crime. It's based on a 1950 Patricia Highsmith novel of the same name , and it just works so well as something which truly defines suspense.
S1: Well , and Beth , this is one of your favorites as well. Yes.
S7: Yes. As Yazdi said.
S6: It's such a clever plot.
S7: And it's so much fun. And I think that's the thing that's a little unexpected in this sort of genre is just how much fun Hitchcock and actor Robert Walker have in describing and planning murder. I mean , I think people are very used to. Thrillers.
S6: Thrillers.
S7: Where murders and the tension is very high in a dramatic sense. But here , just listen to , like , how much fun Robert Walker is having planning a murder and how much fun Hitchcock is allowing us to have with him.
S11: Want to hear one of my ideas for a perfect murder? You want to hear the busted light socket in the bathroom or the carbon monoxide in the garage? Neither one. I may be old fashioned , but I thought murder was against the law. What is a life or two guy? Some people are better off dead. I don't like your wife. And my father , for instance.
S1: Up next in the series is Rear Window. And this is another favorite of yours , Yazdi.
S9: It is. People normally associate Hitchcock with these seminal scenes. You know , there's a shower scene from psycho. There is the crop duster plane coming down on Cary Grant. And not by northwest , but Hitchcock kind of surprised everyone with Rear Window in that the movie is set primarily in one location , and it tells the story of a retired photojournalist played by Jimmy Stewart , who is confined to a wheelchair due to a broken leg , and he spends much of his time on his Manhattan balcony , and he becomes increasingly convinced that a murder has occurred in a building across from him , and Hitchcock so effortlessly proves that a film can be set from a single vantage point and be just as much of a nail biter. Of course , when you have high wattage film stars like Jimmy Stewart and Grace Kelly , they are very welcome company. But the film smartly questions if the protagonist , and by proxy the audience itself , is simply going paranoid. Are they are they thinking too much? Have they really seen what they think they have seen? And in many ways , that structure of putting the audience in the place of the Jimmy Stewart character subtly also speaks to the voyeuristic nature of cinema itself.
S7: Well , and of course , what's fun about this , too , is he builds tension by having Jimmy Stewart's character decide to take an active part in this murder mystery that he sees unfolding out his window , and he plans to drop this note in the supposed murderer's apartment , but he is stuck in his wheelchair just as we , the audience , are stuck in our seats. Neither one of us can actually do anything to change anything. But here is where the voyeur that he is tries to become a more active participant.
S11: Come on , pick it up , Thorwald. Go on. You're curious. Why do you wonder if it's your girlfriend calling the one you killed for? Come on , pick it up. Hello?
S8: Hello? Did you get my note?
S11: Well , did you get it for a while? Who are you? I'll give you a chance to find out. Meet me in the bar at the Albert Hotel. Do it right away. Why should I? A little business meeting to settle the estate of your late wife.
S1: We look at this as though it's a movie. But there are real people in this world like that.
S5: Yeah , yeah , yeah. I met a few neighbors. Yeah.
S1: Well , moving on. In the series , we step back in Hitchcock's career to an earlier film , suspicion. So tell us about this one , Beth. Sure.
S6: Sure.
S7: This one is airing later in the month , October 21st , and we have Cary Grant charming , the shy Joan Fontaine and eventually marrying her in this film. But the young newlywed discovers some unpleasant truths about her husband , and that leads her to suspect that he might be a murderer. Here's the trailer to give you a little taste of the story. In that unique Hitchcock vein.
S12: There was something strange about Johnny a cigar. I knew it long before I married him. It wasn't anything you could put your finger on , and yet you were always conscious of it , conscious of something vague , restless and frightening. There was our first meeting on the hilltop.
S11: Now , what did you think I was going to do? Kill you? Nothing less than murder could justify such a violent self-defense.
S7: But you know when the suspected murderer is Cary Grant , I don't know how much can you buy into the fact that that could be true. No spoilers there , but , I mean , just think about it. Still , even with that , the film is a delicious romantic thriller. And really , Cary Grant and Joan Fontaine are so much fun to watch. They have great chemistry , very different kind of personalities that are coming across on the screen , but it is a really wonderful film.
S5: All right.
S1: Well , and the final film in the series is Vertigo , and this film moved to the top spot on Sight and Sounds greatest films of all time. Beth , what makes it so great?
S7: Well , the irony here is that the film was a financial flop when it came out , initially in 1958 , and that was despite a trailer that was designed. To play up all the things that had endeared Hitchcock to his audiences. So here's the original trailer for Vertigo. Vertigo.
S13: Vertigo. A feeling of dizziness. A swimming in the head , figuratively. A state in which all things seem to be engulfed in a whirlpool of terror , as created by Alfred Hitchcock in the story that gives new meaning to the word suspense.
S7: So Hitchcock actually ended up pulling this film from distribution in the 70s and the 80s not quite sure what his reasoning was , but that seemed to actually build a lot of interest in the kind of like the missing film. Like where was it? How come we haven't seen it in so long? And it may have actually helped when the film re-emerged to give it this kind of resurgence and to get people's attention on it and to get people to revisit it and really think about , well , maybe it wasn't a typical Hitchcock film , but it was a Gorgeous , seductive film about fear and about pent up sexuality. It stars Jimmy Stewart and Kim Novak in a tangled mystery in romance. It's a film that you can see clearly having an influence on a director like Brian De Palma across many of his films , but especially one called obsession. This is an especially cinematic film , so I feel like I can't play any clips because they wouldn't come across with the same impact if you're not seeing the visuals. But I tell you , this is such an amazing film to see on the big screen.
S5: All right , well , before.
S1: We wrap up , you each wanted to just highlight some films people should look out for outside of this film series. Yazdi. What are your suggestions?
S9: Yes , I have two. The first one is Rebecca from 1940. So this is early Hitchcock. The film was based on Daphne du Maurier's famous novel of the same name , and in this film , Hitchcock so effortlessly conjures such a strong sense of dread , Seemingly out of nothing at all , that I haven't been able to shake it off to this day. And I've seen this movie many times. The basic plot of the movie is that the young second wife of a man moves into his estate to only find herself out of her wits , and also find the place strangely possessed by his first wife. And the film is all elusive shadows and disquiet hiding just around every corner. And Hitchcock himself came of age during silent films , and so he often used the camera for storytelling as much as the script. And I think nowhere is this more evident than with Rebecca. Because the camera , like so many of his other films , kind of becomes a proxy for the audience. And completely opposite to Rebecca is the other film that I would like to recommend , which is To Catch a Thief , which was released in 1955. And in many ways , To Catch a Thief is the complete opposite of Rebecca. And for all those who associate Hitchcock with psychosexual thrillers , this film is determinedly and resolutely not that. In fact , it's like a souffle like concoction , a romantic comedy slash thriller set in the impossibly gorgeous French Riviera and shot in dazzling Technicolor and VistaVision. It's almost like Hitchcock is discovering color for the first time and pushing it to its boundaries , and it actually makes the case that Hitchcock can do breezy just as well as horror , which is , you know , which speaks to his versatility. And once again , the eternally debonair Cary Grant plays a retired jewel thief who becomes prime suspect when a series of copycat robberies start happening and he needs to clear his name. I have an irrational love for this movie and how stylish and chic the film is. I would say that to Catch a thief can go toe to toe with any romantic comedy made in the 75 years since its initial release.
S1: All right. We got to check that out. Well , Beth , what do you recommend people add to their viewing list?
S7: Okay , I'm going to go for something completely different. But Hitchcock made so many great films , so many entertaining films. But I want to point people to some that might be overlooked. So The Lodger is a silent film that he made in London , and it was inspired by the Jack the Ripper murders. It's an early window into Hitchcock , revealing elements of his style and theme that we would see again and again in decades to come , but it's really a wonderful film. Find a version of it that has a great soundtrack , and it really is fun to see directors at an early point in their career , because you will notice these things that are like , yep , that's absolutely Hitchcock or oh , that's something we never saw again. And the other one is the Wrong Man. With Henry Fonda , the idea of the wrong man occurs in a lot of Hitchcock's films , perhaps most memorably in North by Northwest. But here Hitchcock tries his hand at a more dramatic take on this kind of a story. It's actually based on a true story , and he delivers a really well crafted film that finds horror in an unexpected way , as Henry Fonda tries to prove his innocence. And you really get much more into the emotional life of the two main characters. And I think , like Gatsby was saying , I think Hitchcock doesn't always get credit for being a skillful director and for being able to invest his films with more depth than they sometimes are given credit for. So I really do suggest like just try to explore beyond the main titles that are always shown and try to see a little different side of Hitchcock.
S9: And it would be a fun game because there are so many commonalities in his movies , they're often about the wrong man. They often have this platinum blonde female character , as you know , the primary female interest. They often play with this kind of innocent female in an unfriendly , scary world. So it's kind of fun to see his themes kind of repeat in film after film. Interesting.
S1: Interesting. Well , I want to thank our midday movie critics , KPBS , Cinema Junkie , Beth Accomando and movie Wallace podcaster Yazzie Padilla. The Hitchcock Tober film series at the Angelika Film Center at Carmel Mountain begins next Wednesday , and you can go to the cinema and enjoy these films on the big screen , or create your own Hitchcock tober series at home , if you want to do that sort of thing. And thanks again to both of you for sharing your love of Alfred Hitchcock. Beth Yazdi thanks.
S5: Thank you. Thank you.
S4: Up next , a rundown of everything happening around town in your weekend preview. Midday edition is back after the break.
S1: Welcome back. You're listening to KPBS Midday Edition. I'm Jade Hindman. For our weekend preview , we've got an exhibit about male art , plenty of music , and the return of Charlie Dance's. Joining me with all the details is KPBS arts reporter and host of the finest podcast , Julia Dixon Evans. Julia , welcome.
S14: Hey , Jade. Thanks for having me.
S5: Glad to have you here.
S1: So let's start with trolley dances. What can you tell us about this beloved local performance project?
S14: Yeah , I mean , this is really one of my favorite things that San Diego does. And it started in 1998 by Gene Isaacs , who is a local icon and dance. And and it's still run by the San Diego Dance Theater. And it's like a series , a festival of new site specific dances created for the region to be performed outdoors. And it's all connected by the trolley tracks. So it's like dance plus public transit. What's not to love? And the dances aren't on the trolley though. In the very early years they did try that , but basically the trolley will take you to each of these makeshift theatres. These are like parks or clearings or even like sidewalks near the Blue Line trolley stops. And they bring in a bunch of really incredible choreographers. A lot of them locals come from , you know , all over. This year's choreographers are Jeannie Isaacs herself , there's Terry Wilson , Erica Buckner , Jessica Romanzo Flores Spencer , John Powell as well. And you buy a ticket , you pick a start time. These run hourly from 11 to 3. You start at the UTC transit center , and then it's a two hour tour with a handful of different performances at these stops along the route. The dancers like. Wait there for you , and they perform their little piece over and over again throughout the day. So also , if you're out and about and you happen to see a bunch of dancers at a trolley stop somewhere like pull up and watch , these are outdoor performances. They're in a public space so you can fully just walk up and watch. But if you do want to do the whole tour , you do need to buy a ticket. Um , but kids under eight are free. And then that ticket lets you ride public transit for the entire rest of the day. So yeah , this is this weekend.
S1: How fun. What kind of choreography , though? Well , can people expect to see?
S14: This is like contemporary dance , a really expressive movements and outdoors and really interpreting like the space , the place where each performance is.
S5: Very cool.
S1: All right. In classical music , the San Diego Symphony returns to Jacobs Music Center to kick off the season. What are they performing?
S14: Yeah , they're doing a couple of pieces that I think are really interesting together. One is Richard Strauss's A Hero's Life , which is this super magnificent sounding piece of music. It's very like cinematic. A lot of , like , film composers are inspired by this piece of music. It's a tone poem which basically tells a story , and this one is like a cheeky self-portrait of Strauss. It includes a bunch of , like , quotations from his previous works as well. And the other is a piece by a Russian composer , a contemporary composer , Sofia Gubaidulina. She died last spring at the age of 93. And this is her piece called poems or a Fairy Tale Poem. It's about the secret life of a tiny piece of chalk , and it's stuck inside a math classroom , but has this , like creative life when no one's looking. It draws these , like , intricate flowers and scenes on the chalkboard. And there's two performances. These are both conducted by Raphael Perry at 730 on Saturday and 2:00 on Sunday afternoon at Jacobs Music Center downtown.
S5: Oh that's great.
S1: All right. In visual art , there's an exhibit in San Ysidro that celebrates an almost forgotten art form mail art. Yeah.
S14: Yeah. So the mail art movement really , like , rose to prominence in the 1960s 70s. But it has its roots a bit earlier than that , and it's basically art sent in the mail , like small scale art on a postcard or collage art , or really anything that can be put in an envelope. So artists would include music or poetry or small objects to. And it was often like political or disruptive , if not in content , then in the way that it like avoided or disrupted these like traditional art distribution processes or gatekeeping. And here in town we have an expert on male art. Arzu Ocal is a professor of graphic design at you. She's literally written the book on mail art and these movements , and she's curated a new exhibit. It's at the Front Gallery and it's called dissent. Mail Art , resistance and Informal Networks , and it centers on one archive from artist Frank Ferguson that she got her hands on , exhibits 200 pieces of mail art. And it's also collaborative. Like visitors can make their own and send in a postcard to the gallery and they will hang them up. It opens with a reception on Friday from 5 to 8 , and then the exhibit will be up through October 31st.
S5: All right.
S1: Well , let's move on to books , because the North Park Book Fair is this Saturday. What can we expect?
S14: Yeah , this is all day on Saturday at 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and the couple of blocks along North Parkway at 30th Street. So are basically right outside verbatim books. There are going to be dozens of vendors , including indie bookstores , small presses and publishers , artists , comic book artists , makers , and just a ton of stuff to shop around. And there's also DJ's playing music all day , art making activities , and the return of the famous costume contest. This is like all ages. Pets are welcome and you're supposed to dress up as your favorite literary character. The contest is held like right at the DJ booth at the intersection of 30th and North Parkway , and there'll be categories for kids , pets , and adults. And there are all at different times. So check out their Instagram for for um and pick pick your pick your costume. Get working on it right.
S1: Sounds fun. Musician Juliette Venegas returns to the region for a concert. What can you tell us about that? Yeah.
S14: Yeah. Juliette Venegas is from Tijuana and she's just had this incredible career. She was part of this amazing Mexican ska band. Tijuana. No. And also a ton of solo work and like , folk pop punk music , all while really like stretching the genres with her distinctive sound. And she recently also wrote a memoir called norteno and released a new album with the same name. And this is a track from the album. It's called Leyendas de Tijuana or Tijuana Legends. From.
S15: From. Puerto Rico. Okay.
S14: So the show is 8:00 Saturday at the Caucus Credit Union open air theatre on the CSU campus.
S1: All right. And one more in live music. We know that KPBS has been collaborating with Sdsu , kicker Campus Radio for their Basement Beats program and podcast. But there's also a launch event and concert this weekend.
S14: Yeah , so this project Basement beats super excited about it. It's sort of like college radio station Basement vibes meets NPR Tiny Desk. They spotlight local and campus bands , and to kick off the series , they're doing a concert with DJs and live music from Mouton and the Micro Blades. And the show is right here at KPBS on the Sdsu campus. It's Friday night at seven , and we're listening to the Micro Blades right now , and there's such a great local rock band. They just put out a new single earlier this year. It's called Baby Legs. I'll leave you with that.
S15: Link Goldie with Bonnie ahead.
S1: You can find details on these and more arts events on our website at KPBS. I've been speaking with KPBS arts reporter and host of the finest podcast , Julia Dixon Evans. Julia , thank you so much and so much going on this weekend. As always , I love it.
S14: Or you could just stay home and watch Hitchcock.
S1: That's true.
S16: No reason why you love two parents , but they're gonna die cause you want someone.
S1: That's our show for today. I'm your host , Jade Hindman. Thanks for tuning in to Midday Edition. Be sure to have a great day on purpose , everyone.
