S1: It's time for KPBS Midday Edition. On today's show , the reason behind the International Latino Book Awards a hit 80s movie now turned musical , and your weekend preview. I'm Jade Hindman with conversations that keep you informed , inspired , and make you think. For our arts and culture show. I'll speak with two people involved with the International Latino Book Awards about the significance of storytelling. Then Beth Accomando goes behind the scenes of Working Girl with Cyndi Lauper. Plus , your weekend preview. That's ahead on Midday Edition. This Saturday , Latino authors from all over the world will come to San Diego for the 27th International Latino Book Awards. My next two guests are here to talk about the significance of these awards and the future of Latino literature. Kirk Whistler is the co-founder of the nonprofit Empowering Latino Futures , which runs the event. Also with us is award winning author Victor Villasenor. You might know him for his bestselling book , Rain of Gold. His most recent book , Gathering Stardust , is actually up for several awards at this year's event. Kirk , Victor , welcome to the show.
S2: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
S1: So glad you both are here. So , Kirk , I'm going to start with you. Uh , take us back to when the International Latino Book Awards first started. What was the landscape for Latino literature back then ? Okay.
S2: Great question. And going jumping a little bit further back than that. If you go back to 1980 , in the whole US , there was only 300 books published by a Latino author born in the United States. So almost nothing at that time. By the time we hit the year , the mid 1990s , it had improved , but it was nowhere near what it needed to be , with a few thousand books being published at that time that , uh. In 1997 , my compadre Edward James Olmos and I co-founded Empowering Latino Futures and created the first Latino Book and Family Festival. We've held 78 of them since then around the United States. But the next year , we started the book awards out of basically the fact that mainstream awards were paying zero attention to diverse authors and that and that's where we wanted to fill that void and and create something to so that then , uh , more people would pay attention to Latino books. And , and it has grown from like 11 awards of first year to where this year we'll be honoring over 200 Latino authors , books and publishers from all over the world. Wow.
S1: Wow. I would imagine that really helps Latino authors become more visible.
S2: Right , exactly , exactly. There was a time where mainstream , the big five publishers they set there , and they were looking for that next great unpublished author. Those days are totally gone today. They're not looking at anybody unless your name's Michelle Obama or something like that. But everybody else , you've either got to go with a small publisher or various ways of self-publishing and then either win awards or make significant sales for the main ones to pay attention. And the nice thing. Over the last five years , probably 30 of our authors winning authors have had major contracts. With with big publishers out of that. Wow.
S1: Wow. Well , someone who's very visible as you , Victor. And your latest book , gathering Stardust , is based on your own childhood memories with your grandmother. Talk more about the book and the inspiration behind it.
S3: Well , first of all , all my books are personal. They're all about my family , and they're all non-fiction , and and they're about familia. But let me step back a little bit. Um , I started writing. I had so much rage and anger towards racism , and. And if the Indians win , uh , it's a slaughter. If the if the cavalry wins , it's a victory. And and then all the racism in school and and then I flunked the third grade twice and then I'm dyslexic off the charts. So I didn't learn to read till the age of 20. So I was called a stupid Mexican all through school. But then a marine gave me a chess set just at the end of the seventh grade , and I learned how to play chess , and I became a chess champion. I beat all the smart students , all the faculty , and I found out that there are many forms of intelligence. I was very smart. I just couldn't read because I'm dyslexic and nobody knew anything about that. The words jump around on the page. Well , I want you to know that when I decided to become a writer , to take all my hate and rage instead of doing something horrible like revenge , I would write my A story. The story of my family. So the people respect the Jews because they have a book , that they respect the Greeks because they have Homer and all this. They respect every country has their own books and their own literature. And Alex Haley wrote roots and got that all going for the black establishment. So I started writing and and my first book , I got 265 rejections before I sold my first book. Because I write from my grandmother's indigenous point of view , and life is full of miracles. And my grandmother here on this book , she's on the front cover , and I'm a little child. She would tell me she didn't tell about all her people being massacred and all these horrible things and said , how did she raise you up ? She say she'd wake me up and say , look , there is the father , son , the right eye of God coming up and look at the happy flowers. Turning their smiling faces to greet the father. Son , look at the trees. Leaves shimmering. Look at the rocks getting warm. And then she told me that every day week is a is a miraculous gift from God. And then she told me that I came across that all children come across with their souls , their guardian angel across the universe , gathering stardust to help God plant heaven on earth , and that God can't do it without us. That God needs us to bring the stardust to help plant heaven on earth. And we've been doing that throughout the universe , that we're fabulous people. So I grew up thinking that all of us are so special and we're God's helpers and everything. And then I started Catholic school. And when the teacher , the nun , None told us that we lost the Garden of Eden. I said , oh no , no we didn't. And I , uh , after I learned some English , this was not kindergarten. This was in the first grade. I finally knew a little English. I said , oh , no , no. We were supposed to plant heaven on earth. We're gods. She said , since you know so much , why don't you come up here and say it ? So I went up to the class room and I said , all of us are wonderful people. There's only one race , the human race. And we come across the stars gathering stardust to plant heaven on earth. And then none started listening. Listening ? Then she realized I was contradicting everything about sin and everything. So she yelled , jumped up and grabbed me and said , that's all stupid Indian superstition. And she slapped me and slapped me and. Ha ! Mm. Those seeds are what helped me become a writer. When I had this beautiful story that were all good people and I wasn't going to quit. And when I got beaten up and horrible Floyd at school , I finally learned how to read at the age of 20. I decided to become a writer and bring to the world that women are our natural leaders , that children are angels. Yeah , that men are heroes. Yeah.
S1: Yeah.
S3: And that women , why they're natural leaders is because , you see , a woman can pull on the road and give birth and blood and all that and instantly be nursing again.
S1: I mean , all of your writing is so deeply personal and spiritual. Victor , I want to pull you in here because I'm curious.
S2: And and largely because of the Latino population here you have recent arrivals and you have people that have been here three , 400 years and that within the Latino community. So you have those variety of experiences , variety of type of books. With our book awards , we have 87 different categories to really play up all the diverse kinds of books. And at the American Library Association convention each year , we'll have a librarian come up and they go , oh , do you have books in this or that type of category ? And I go , no problem , we got you covered. Got it. And that and that's why we have the categories so that then there is that diversity. But here it's a real hotbed in part because of our climate. For those authors that maybe were born elsewhere and wanted to live in a nicer place as well as those that grew up here , um , because we certainly have authors that started their life as a farm worker , and now they're writing books and stuff along those lines. Yeah.
S1: Yeah.
S3: His organization has been the thing that has helped us. I was all alone. You know , I said 265 rejections and and I was fighting with New York and publishers , and they don't believe in miracles and they don't believe in them and the Mexican culture or the indigenous culture. And then when he comes along and starts all this up , I was finally not alone anymore. Mhm. It we have here a huge opportunity to , to , to to to bring world harmony , world understanding. Our president in Mexico right now is a woman. She's Jewish , and she was elected in an all male based country. And what has she done ? She said that indigenous people are the foundation of Mexico , where wealthy people , even my own relatives that are educated in Mexico , they look down their nose on indigenous people. She does not. And she has said that being a mother , being a housewife is a profession and she's giving him benefits. She is turning things around for women. That's so fantastic. And women are coming to her now. New Zealand , we have a woman running things and we're having Latino women and she's bringing them together. What is Mexico ? It's full of heart , and that's what we bring to this country. And that's what the planet needs to , to give heart , to have compassion.
S1: And it's just a matter of completely changing the narrative. And Kirk , you know , visibility can do that.
S2: But now with what's happening under the current administration and Ice and all of that , we're in a situation where it's now more important than ever. And actually , in the since Trump took office , I've had four people ask me , are you going to change the name of your organization from Empowering Latino Futures ? And I go , no , we're going to emphasize it all the more because that's what what it's all about. and and that because empowering others is so key. One of the things , if you're an author out there and you want to find a way into this profession , and in my mind , almost everybody has a book inside of them. How to get it Out. Go to Latino bookstores and you can learn about our event this weekend , about all our various author programs. We had the International Society of Latino Author programs , headed by Galileo Flores , that are very key. We still have a few more tickets for Saturday's event if anybody wants it. Once again , go to Latino books.org.
S1:
S3: Which I'm smiling. Big grin. Uh , Reina. Go ! Everybody say make it a movie. Go make it a movie. Make it a series. We're finally closing a deal with Sherri Marsh. Who did ? The Vikings , who's one of the strongest women producers in all of Hollywood. She's been coming to my home for ten years bringing her husband and kids , and we're finally closing a deal. And Lion Eyes , another book of mine , is in production right now. We need to bring Hart. We need to get out of our cautious heads and get into our hearts and have compassion. And the only people that are going to do that as women. And all my stories are about women and miracles. Wow.
S1: Wow. Kirk.
S3: Kirk. Yeah.
S2: Yeah. Um , just wanted to draw to everybody's attention in terms of our awards this year took 222 , uh , judges to judge all those different books that came in. And so there are insights when you're seeing these winning books. It really is a great way to to see what has already been pre-screened for you.
S1: All right. I've been speaking with Kirk Whistler , co-founder of Empowering Latino Futures , and Victor Villasenor , author of Gathering Stardust. The International Latino Book Awards will take place this Saturday at the Mira Costa College Concert Hall. For more information , go to Latino Books. We'll also have those details on our website , pbs.org. Kirk. Victor , it's been a pleasure. And , Victor , you have such an amazing story. Keep telling it.
S3: Thank you. I AI women are the future of the world.
S4: Thank you very much.
S1: Still to come. Beth Accomando goes behind the scenes of an upcoming La Jolla Playhouse production with Cyndi Lauper.
S5: When I was a kid , like 4 or 5 , I was singing all my mother's Broadway albums. That was how I played. I wasn't just Eliza Doolittle. I was also her father.
S1: I'll hear more when KPBS Midday Edition returns. Welcome back to KPBS Midday Edition. I'm Jade Hindman. Working girl was a hit 80s movie that is being reimagined as a musical for the La Jolla Playhouse. Pop rock artist Cyndi Lauper tackled her first movie to musical in 2012 to bring Kinky Boots to Broadway. Well , now she teams with book writer Theresa Rebeck and director Christopher Ashley to bring Working Girl to the Playhouse stage. KPBS arts reporter Beth Accomando speaks with the three creators about their collaborative process and love of Broadway musicals.
S6: To begin with.
S7:
S5: I met Kevin Wade , and my agent at was also Chris's agent , and I got hired to do the music , and I thought it would be a good idea because you know how much fun that would be to recreate 80s sounds and things that were so exciting at the time. And also the whole experience of working together in a theatrical project is such a community , and it's like the largest collaboration you could possibly do because you're collaborating with so many people. But to be able to collaborate with a woman writer , which I've never been able to do. Not enough. Not in music or in and I've never done it in this , but I thought would be so much fun. And Chris , his agent , was my agent. So that's how I met Chris.
S8:
S5: Oh , my God.
S7: I'm growing old. Wait a second.
S8: Um , and then Teresa joined us three years ago and really has been like , everything's really started to gel in beautiful new ways when Teresa joined the team. In fact , Teresa and I , we worked together one time before in the 80s. So it is a beautiful full circle that we're back together , collaborating.
S7: And what you do.
S5: What you do.
S9: Thank you. Yeah. Another story about a woman having a hard time but fighting for her dream.
S6: So , Cindy , what attracted you to working on a Broadway musical in the first place ? This is your second one.
S5: They said , well , you're an icon and you can't sing like that , or you're , you're not a celebrity , you're an artist , or you're too much of a celebrity and you know , whatever the hell it was back and forth and it was a pain in the ass. And then Harvey called me up one day , and I had just done a tour through Europe , and it was almost like , well , if you tour through Europe , you.
S10: Can prove that you're a rocker.
S5: And I was like , are you freaking kidding me ? So when Harvey called me , I was like , yeah , I'm ready because once they started doing it , I remembered that when I was a kid , like 4 or 5 , I was singing all my mother's Broadway albums. That was how I played.
S11: She asked you , white and red Indians , just your white. You'll be sorry , but your tears will be too light.
S5: I like became all these people. I think at eight I wasn't just Eliza Doolittle , I was also her father. I was everybody. And so when writing this stuff , it it just became more natural to do and fun and , you know , look at me now I get to work with Theresa Rebeck , Chris Ashley , all these people. And and I also brought , um , because it's 80s , I brought Rob Hyman in , who I wrote Time After time with , and Sammy James Jr , who wrote the title track for the movie school of Rock and also was used in the musical , and and he also was on my team in Kinky Boots and really wonderful writer. And we got Cheryl from salt and Pepper salt to do a little rap in the the second number of the show. So it's very 80s and it was an extraordinary time musically and a very hopeful time , as Teresa brought up before that , it was it was a time of challenge and opportunity.
S9: I just wanted to say , you know , I've really never worked in this space either. And so you do have to be invited in. I'm really grateful to Chris , who's been doing this for so long , and we have known each other a long time , but we took very different paths. I ended up doing a lot of straight plays. He ended up doing a whole lot of musicals and other things as well , but you have to be sort of invited in when people want to break open your world and say , do you want to try this ? So there's , you know , there's a moment like this project is got a lot of hope and dreaming in it from the source material. And I was grateful to be invited in by Chris. You know , that there's like , somebody believes in you and you grab on to that belief. And that's very. So that's been really fun. And also to be invited into a world that Cyndi Lauper was writing the music for was really important to me. I can't say it wasn't influential in me going , yeah , I want to do that. But it was both Cindy's importance to me and my life story , and also Chris's importance to me as a fellow artist and somebody who believed that I could do this , that those things became like crucial to the building of the project , which is very much about hoping and dreaming. Cindy's got a lot of lyrics about that are so meaningful to me. Like there's a moment in the in one song where she lets it has this , this person say big dreams come from little people , and it just hits me every time , because I think that that's been true for me , and I love hearing it articulated over and over and over again. And it's at the heart and soul of this. So I'm grateful to be here for sure.
S8: And just following up on that , I mean , I think there's been so much kind of there's so much joy in the story that we're telling. There's so much kind of infectious. You make you want to dance in the in the score. There's so much heart in the work , in the lyrics and the and the book of this. We've just added Sarah Libby , our choreographer , because as we are beginning to stage , and Sarah and I did watch hours and hours of 80s MTV videos together , which have absolutely inspired some of the dance and quite a lot of the video backgrounds as well.
S6: And in keeping it in the 80s. How would you describe the tone in the sense of. Is it nostalgia , but also mixed with a little sense of things haven't changed as much as maybe they should. Like , what's kind of the balance between making it feel that it resonates with an audience today and also kind of tapping into that nostalgia feel.
S5: Looking at you , you were in the 80s , too. You remember what that was like. And I think that people should remember what it was like and compare it to what it's like now. And you might find , yeah , maybe not so much has changed. But the one thing what Theresa said it was hope is Harvey Milk said people need hope. You got to give people hope. So I'm excited because this hopefully will be inspiring and hopeful. You want to make people laugh and cry and and stand up and and , you know , be hopeful. And I think that as long as we make a little happy pill for them , it's going to be good.
S8: It also is a story that only could happen in the 80s , right ? Like the tests impersonates a high powered executive in the world of Google. She wouldn't get very far before she was discovered. The 80s do a lot for us in the in the pre-internet way.
S5: Yeah , now we live on social media. Everything can be looked up.
S6: And for all of you , uh , Cindy , you alluded to a little of this , but like , what role did Broadway musicals play for you when you were young , when you were growing up , were they things that you felt you ever wanted to do , or was it just something like from your parents ? I'm just curious , like what role that might have played in your lives.
S5: That's how I played when I was little. I destroyed my mother's records. I got to admit , I played the King and I so many times that my grandmother we lived mother daughter house. She came downstairs and she took the record off of my little red record player , and she didn't say a word. She just went upstairs with it. And that was the last time I saw that record , because I played and sang so many , you know ? But you got to understand , I was imitating the voices. You got to really listen to that stuff. But , you know , I was I was like five. So she was going to kill me , I think. And , you know , Barbra Streisand , funny girl. Forget it. I was so close to Barbra. I was on the other side of her , you know ? That's how I was growing up , you know. I would imitate her all the time. And then once the Beatles and the Supremes came along and they had albums that said Meet the Beatles , Meet the Supremes , in my mind , I thought , oh , I met them , I like them , I'm going to play with them now. It wasn't that foreign to me because I was Rex Harrison and also Julie Andrews. I was those two people.
S8:
S9:
S5: You didn't play in the plays when you were little.
S9: Listen , I grew up on on student matinees at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park. And honestly , I almost killed myself one time because I didn't want to tell my mom that I wasn't feeling good. Because if I did , she would have kept me home from. I would have had to go to the doctor because I hadn't been feeling good the day before. And I didn't want to tell her that because I was going to a student matinee. I can't even remember which one it was , but I saw a lot of great stuff. Anyway , the end of that story as I came home and I said , I really don't feel good , and they took me to the doctor and I ended up having my appendix taken out. Like within an hour , I almost gave myself sepsis because I wanted to see , like The Tempest so bad. But so for me , there was that kind of real passion for the theater. It just never got translated into the musical side of things. So that's partially why I'm like , really ? Just so my mind is blown right now about what we're doing. It's in a great way.
S8: I love that I was I grew up for a while in upstate New York , and I would visit my grandparents who lived in the city , and they would take me to 3 or 4 shows on Broadway. Whatever was available. On HTC's first show I saw was A Chorus Line from the balcony all the way on the side. When we moved , Memphis was my first show I did at La Jolla when I got here to the Shubert Theatre , where Chorus line was , I went and sat in that same seat. That was the first show I had ever seen on Broadway and had a complete joy breakdown.
S6:
S8: I wish I could say that I had really planned it carefully and well , but it was like the stars coming together that after ten years of development , this show was ready at exactly this time. But I can't imagine a show I'd rather go out on. Oh.
S5: Oh.
S6: And you mentioned that musicals take a long time to finally get on stage. Did this change in any significant way in terms of how it was conceived or the kind of evolution ? What changed ? Chris , you're shaking your head.
S8: It changed every minute up to and including today and tomorrow. Like it's it. It's been a aggressive and joyous rewrite process every minute , and it will continue right up through opening night and beyond.
S5: I mean , isn't it great that there is a place like Lahore where you can I mean , this is the first time this thing is being put up on its feet. We've never seen it on its feet. So it's exciting. And the fact that there's a place like La Joya to try these things out and see what you need to do is really great.
S1: That was Beth Accomando speaking with Cyndi Lauper , Theresa Rebeck and La Jolla Playhouse artistic director Christopher Ashley. Working girl , a world premiere musical , will open October 28th and run through December 7th at La Jolla Playhouse. Still to come , Julia Dixon Evans joins me with a preview of this weekend's arts events. Midday edition is back after the break. You're listening to KPBS Midday Edition , I'm Jade Hindman. For many artists and art lovers , conventional art fairs can feel a bit out of reach and expensive. But one project hopes to disrupt that. The other places art fairs , south or open , will bring local artists and art spaces together in Escondido on Saturday. Here in San Diego , the event is co-organized by Harvest and Gather , a curatorial project of Kat Gunn and Meka Castaneda. KPBS arts reporter Julia Dixon Evans recently sat down with Gunn to talk about the fair. Here's that conversation.
S12:
S13: So other places art fair is another project that's run by Kay Knittel and based out of La San Pedro area. So really , it's this alternative to the art fair structure that brings in projects that go beyond the white cube gallery space in the commercial art world. Really. So thinking about grassroots movements , art defined projects , fluid projects , things that are maybe a little bit more unconventional for the white cube can gather at this art fair structure. And they just had their seventh version this past September. So me and my collaborator Mika Castaneda participated last year , September 2024 , and we were just so excited because it was like the art fair version of our curatorial project. And we just threw asking a couple of questions. We're like , hey , would you ever come down to San Diego ? And she said , yes. She runs a version in Santa Rosa called Opaque North. She even goes as far as Tokyo. So we're really excited that it's coming much closer to San Diego for the first version of Opaque South this weekend.
S12: Before I get to talking about Harvest and Gather your curatorial project , I want to ask a little more about that White Box gallery contemporary art fair culture. Like for those of us not that versed in that. What is it about those sort of art fairs that other places is trying to counter ? Mhm.
S13: I think one thing is accessibility that really sticks out to me. So with an art fair it is generally like you see the images. It's a ton of booths , there's a ton of galleries and maybe other projects there too. But it's really quite expensive to get there. And then when you think about all the people that those art fairs bring in , then you think about the cost of like all these people traveling for basically a convention in one city. There's even models of art fairs that are marketing themselves as affordable art fairs , and you're still paying one to 2 to 3000 to participate in those with other places. Art fair. It feels a lot more accessible because you're not paying more than just like 300 baby to really participate. And the fees that you pay for applying and for your booth goes straight back into running the fair and paying people who are also artists who run the fair. Right. Like artists need jobs that are more than just teaching or studio work. Like , there's always like a sidekick. An artist is trying to pick up. And it's another way that they get to interact in kind of like not just provide for themselves , but support their community as well. So there's something about the art fair structure that feels like a really , really expensive shopping mall to me. And I really love the more authentic , sincere take that other Places offers.
S12: Can you talk about Harvest and gather. This is your collaborative curatorial project with Micha Castaneda. You've recently had work in the Athenaeum , but also tons of smaller art spaces , a lot of artist run spaces in San Diego and beyond.
S13: And ultimately , as curators , we always are thinking about curating as a gesture that comes from this place of care. We are also artists ourselves , and the project is kind of an extension of our modular installation practices. But we are really just like seeking folks that we really believe in their practice. And we realize it's like , you know , over time we're like , oh , people see this as a gift to be asked to do a show , even if it feels kind of funny to show your work , like at a bonfire , at the beach , or during a picnic at the park or anywhere else , really. But those like , kind of like small gestures feel really powerful when you see the community that gathers and how excited they are by everything that's happening. And ultimately just excited to be able to gather with all these other artists that they really love and care about.
S12: And one of the things that I love about this project , Other Places Art fair , is it's gathering a whole bunch of artist run spaces who are then , you know , showcasing that the artists that they often work with.
S13: Something that really excites me about artists from spaces is that when artists are also hosting other artists , they just , like , really understand what it means to like , dream within your practice. Something that Micah and I love to ask , when we work with folks , it's like , oh , like , you know , you get to know them. Sometimes you're curating as a means of like just getting to know or understand someone's work. But we also love to ask , like , oh , and what are your dreams ? Like whether we're being invited into a space for a collaboration like the Athenaeum or Two Rooms , which is run by Lizzie Seltzer , who's also participating ? We just like , love to know , like , what are your dreams and how can we maybe help facilitate that as well ? So I think with the artists run projects and spaces around San Diego , I've always been so inspired because folks just like , have sometimes ideas that I feel are a little bit beyond convention , like it's going back into that unconventional space and it's so exciting when I think folks take it there or when it's like , oh , I have this idea for shows where it's just a series of things that pop up around the various beaches around San Diego , and it's really tapping into the very specific location we're at. San Diego is a space that has like a lot of beautiful outdoor locations. It has a lot of beautiful weather , and we're also very close to the border. So there's this also beautiful portion of the art scene where a lot of folks are in this cross-border space of working between San Diego and TJ. And I think that those moments are so , so beautiful. There's something I think about artist run spaces where , like , your own ego gets pushed aside a little bit because you are hosting other folks and like getting to know them through that. And it feels maybe just less transactional , which I really love.
S1: That was Kat Gunn , artist , curator and co-organizer of Other Places Art Fair South , talking to KPBS arts reporter Julia Dixon Evans , who joins me now. Julia , welcome.
S12: Hey , Jade , thanks for having me.
S1: Always great to have you here. So other places. Art Fair South takes place Saturday at California Center for the Arts , Escondido. What can people expect ? Yeah.
S12: So there'll be booths , but not like the traditional art fair. It's going to be more like open and accessible , more like a table , I guess. But then a lot of installation art , things like sculptures , site specific art pieces set up around the venue. There's one by artist Ramon DiSalvo. It's like his great Maze that was installed years ago , and he planted like a grapevine and is now grown across the whole courtyard. And he will also have other work there. There's other visual artists and art spaces from around the region that have brought their artists in , and also a pop up of Japanese artists who are going to be part of the opening event in Tokyo that's happening next month. So this is cool. I had this this part of this , like , growing global project. It's all 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday. Admission is free , though donations are accepted. And that will help sustain this kind of project for for your future years.
S1: It's definitely something you want to sustain. All right , so let's take a look at what else is happening in arts and culture this weekend in visual art , Oceanside Museum of Art is opening an exhibit that combines art and the natural world. Is that right ? Yeah.
S12: This is artist Francisco Amar. Who ? He's the gallery director for the front in San Isidro and also an incredible artist and musician. And this is his solo exhibition. And it's kind of a continuation of work that he first showed at Mesa College Art Gallery. That was , I believe , in 2023. And it came from his fascination with the canyons behind his house. And it's a lot of like found recordings , objects , clay from those canyons. It's the combination. It will look like this huge projected video projects , sculpture with sound recordings baked inside. So think , think like birdsong mixed with electronics. It's really incredible stuff. And he's also inspired by the idea of myth. And I think that is really nice insight of this , like abstract stuff that's also rooted in nature. It just seems to really work. The exhibit opens Saturday at Oceanside Museum of Art. It'll be up through March 15th and then the exhibition reception. Save the date for this , because Oceanside Museum does these a little while after the exhibit opens. That'll be November 22nd , and they usually throw a big party. Mhm.
S1: Mhm. And there are a few options for early Dia de Muertos events this weekend. Where can we find some local festivities. Yeah.
S12: Yeah. So there's two big ones. City Heights. They're going to be set up at the performance Annex and the officer Jeremy Henwood Memorial Park. There'll be a whole bunch of performances , acts from the Old Globe , Fern Street Circus , San Diego Ballet , Aztec Dancers , Victoria Mariachi , just to name a few. This is Saturday from 11 to 6 and it's free. And then on Sunday , there's another big Dia de Muertos festival in the Barrio Logan Cultural District. So basically along Logan Avenue in the heart of Barrio Logan. They're having a ton of live performances also. There's three different stages. There'll be ofrenda as youth workshops , lowriders , and of course , food. And this is Sunday from 12 to 7. And it's also free.
S1:
S12: They're playing at Lulu's Jungle Room in the Lafayette Hotel. They're led by David Castaneda , a singer slash percussionist. As someone who was once a percussionist , I have to say that there's nothing I'm more impressed by when someone can play drums and sing at the same time , and we're listening to a track that they put out this summer. It's called Nome de la Espada. Bingo.
S14: Bingo. Otra vez. No. Mi amor rosas.
S12: The show is Friday night at Lulu's. There's two shows , one at eight and then another at 10 p.m. for the Night Owls. And these are free shows as well. And there's always a bunch of people on the dance floor , especially for salsa shows. And then one more on my radar in indie Rock the Che Cafe. UC San Diego has an all ages Halloween event. It's there Halloween Mutual Aid benefit , and this helps fund their mutual aid meal assembly project and also keeps their community fridge stocked. A bunch of bands are playing Two Headed Girl , Beth and the Bay sides and the Micro Blades who were listening to now This is Bruce from their 2024 EP Echoes from the Rumor Mill and Fox.
S15: What supply chain is breaking and quivering and shaken by this brief winter freeze ? And the boys they were dancing is dancing it on the quiz.
S12: And this is an early show on Saturday. It's 5 p.m. and like all Che Cafe shows , it's all ages and a sober space. And if you come in costume , it only costs five bucks to get in , or $10 if you don't have a costume. So that totally incentivizes wearing a costume in my opinion.
S1: I think so. Well , you can find details on these and more arts events on our website at pbs.org. I've been speaking with KPBS arts reporter and host of the finest podcast , Julia Dixon Evans. Julia , thank you so much.
S15: Thank you. Terry and the boys , they were dancing and dancing at all the Queen bees.
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.
