S1: It's time for KPBS Midday Edition. On today's show. The arts and culture shaping San Diego. I'm Jade Hindman with conversations that keep you informed , inspired , and make you think. From a theater play that tells the story of unaccompanied migrant children to an elusive bird. Hear about the productions taking stage this weekend , then hear what's on Julia's arts calendar. That's ahead on KPBS Midday Edition. In spring of 2021 , hundreds of unaccompanied minors who were seeking asylum were sheltered in the San Diego Convention Center , where they waited to be reunited with their sponsors and families. That period is captured in a new play called Our Lady of San Diego Convention Center. Local company two theater is putting on the play , and they're taking it to 12 different venues across San Diego starting tomorrow. I'm joined now by Mario Vega. He's the playwright behind Our Lady of the San Diego Convention Center. Also with us is Toyo Theatre's artistic director , Patrice Ammann. She's directing the play. Mario. Patrice. Welcome to the show. Hi.
S2: Hi. Hi , Jade. It's so nice to be here.
S3: Hey , Jade. It's great to be here.
S1: It's great to have you both here in studio with me. Mario , before we get into this play , I want to talk about the specifics of this story. Under what circumstances did the children end up at the convention center during this time? And did they cross the border by themselves , or were they separated from their families at some point? What's the situation there? Yes.
S3: Yes. So the children who are at the convention center were overflow from the detention centers in Texas. They were unaccompanied when they arrived at the border and they came to seek asylum. So as they moved from the border to the detention centers in Texas , they were all bused to the San Diego Convention Center , which was being used as a shelter for them as they waited to get reunified with the family they had here in the United States.
S1: And were they all reunited?
S3: Um , yes. As far as I know , every child that was there was reunited with a family member they had here in the United States.
S1: Okay , good. Um , you were a youth care worker during that time. How was the play born from that experience? Yeah.
S3: Yeah. So I , I just got in my , my double vaccination. It was the first job I had , uh , out of college. And I was hired there in March of 2021 , and I was like a semi decent Spanish speaker. And then every kid there spoke Spanish. I was like , oh no. Um , so it was just , uh , taking care of kids , helping them eat , helping them process the kind of big emotions that they would have while being away from their families. And yeah , I worked there for a few months , and at some point I was like , oh man , I'm kind of forgetting how it was. And the kids that were there. So I wanted to to write it , to kind of keep the memory alive. Mhm.
S1: And I mean , what made this story a good fit for tuyo and your mission as a theater. Yeah.
S2: Yeah. We were really excited to hear that Mario was approaching telling the story. So I knew Mario when he was an undergrad student here at San Diego State. And in that space of 2020 to 2021 , the universities had moved virtual and it was really hard for students to find employment following graduation. So I had heard that Mario was working at the convention center. I'm very excited for him to have landed and then followed his journey into graduate school at UCLA , following his time at the convention center , and then again hearing him develop the ideas of this play. It's something the experience was so deeply impactful and so deeply heartfelt that to have that period of graduate school to really hone his voice as an artist was such a useful , like , helpful part of the development of the story. And so we saw its early development at UCLA in Mario's thesis project , which was wonderful. And Toyo wanted to bring that show to San Diego. We wanted to bring be a part of its developmental life. So we did an early workshop of it at the Old Globe Theater in their 360 project , under the generosity of the globe , and had a workshop of it last year. We then workshopped it again at the Latinx New Play Festival , each time getting the opportunity to go deeper to work in collaboration with Mario , to develop the characters and get a sense of how the story could do justice to the young women who experienced and lived the process themselves.
S1: I mean , so there there are four young women at the heart of this story , two migrant girls and two youth care workers. What can you tell us about these characters and the journey they go on in the play?
S3: Well , we have the two younger girls , Fatima and Lourdes , and they are away from their mothers and they are longing to be reunited with them. And Fatima is hopeful and Lord of this is more reserved. And as the play continues , they kind of shift. Fatima becomes less hopeful and Lourdes becomes more hopeful about their futures. So it's kind of a contrast about little girls gaining hope and losing hope. And how can they also find solace in each other? And between those , um , Um , shifts in faith.
S1: And two of the actors are children themselves. Um , talk about the importance of having them fill these roles.
S2: Yeah , we've been working with two of our younger actors the entire time that we've been developing the play over the last two years , and it has been such a gift to watch them grow as artists and as actors in the space , and also grow physically. I think we've gained at least two inches on each of the actors over the couple years. Um , it really is a big story for a young person to be telling , to put themselves in the shoes of somebody who's going through such a big change in their life and such momentous emotions that they might be feeling. Um , and we were really attentive to it. And Mario , as an artist , has been really attentive to creating a script that didn't really inscribe their trauma , that didn't center trauma as the moment of emotional release for the audience , but really inscribe their humanity and the dignity that each character holds , and the struggles and the challenges and conflicts that they're , but meeting them in a place of compassion throughout. And so it's been really cool to see the girls grow and really deepen and hone into the characters.
S1: I mean , because paint the picture for me , if you can. I mean , what was it like working with these children during that time when , as a youth care worker.
S3: I mean , I remember the first day that I walked in , I don't know what I was expecting. I didn't I didn't expect it to be like , um , just it was cots on cots on cots throughout the the big hall and the convention center , and just a lot of kids who looked lost and were carrying so much grief. And the grief was palpable. You could kind of feel it in the air. And then as it went on and getting closer with the kids , it was like , oh , these these kids are so hopeful about their future and the play centers , these kind of pre-teen teenage girls , but they were also very young kids at the convention center as well. They were five and six year olds. Um , so it was just kind of like , and we we would have 50 kids in one pod. So we'd be it'd be two , maybe like 2 to 4 workers a day in charge of 50 kids. So we'd kind of to navigate the feelings of , of 50 kids and them carrying where they came from and then wanting to know more about where they're going , and then also just being kind of constrained in the convention center. They couldn't really leave. They could see , you know , they could see the buildings , they could see Gaslamp , they could even see the ocean. Um , but they couldn't actually go to experience it.
S1: To put all of that into characters on stage is remarkable. Um , this play is is also looking at how broader systems , institutions and policies work. How do you explore those larger themes and the complexities that exist there? Mario. Yeah.
S3: Yeah. My goal was to explore the the consequences of them and how it impacts people. Unlike the , you know , there's policy and how it impacts people on the smaller level. And these girls are even though they are waiting to be reunited with their family , they are still struggling from the trauma of the border and the the violence and the fear that is around that. And so this play takes place in 2021 , a different administration , the one we have right now. But there is still certain things that are embedded in the system and not just whatever administration we are currently existing under. And this the goal of the place , a show like , oh , how does the border , how does imperialism affect children who are innocent in our world and don't have a say in it. Mhm.
S1: Mhm. And Patrice , anything to add there. Yeah.
S2: Yeah. The Mario has this really a wonderful way of uh concreting or boiling down into the essential moment. So there's one moment in the play where an Ice agent comes onto the stage and instructs the adult care workers not to hug the children , and in a moment , it just feels so counterintuitive. This kid has just fallen down and has gotten up and needs a hug to feel better. But it's also grounded in a place that it's a pretty solid argument. You don't want strangers hugging your child when you're not there from the perspective of the parent. And so it's complicated. It is heavy emotionally , but also so centered in everybody trying to make the best out of a situation that's really tough for everybody experiencing it and holding at the heart , the center , these little girls. Mhm.
S1: Mhm. You know , this play is especially timely given the Trump administration's immigration crackdown recently. The federal government has expanded its tracking and monitoring of migrant children actually detained them for long periods of time even , and made it more difficult for lawyers to represent them in asylum cases. How are you thinking about the current political movement and moment rather. And it's it's relevant to this play.
S3: Yeah , I remember when we were doing the workshop production at UCLA , we started in January of 2025 , and the intensification intensification of Ice had been increasing. And all the actors are like , oh man , it's like the the play is like so relevant. And I'm like , it's also the things that have just always existed. Um , and I think the play's a period piece that takes place in 2021 , and it depresses me that it's relevant because there are kids that are suffering under Ice and immigration. And I think. The way the play ends leaves it up to the audience more or less decide how they want the world to be. There is no clear cut solution at the end , but the reality is that if we exist in this system , children are going to suffer. Whether it's this administration , the last one or the next one. Mhm.
S1: Mhm. Yeah.
S2: Yeah. With Theo we're dedicated to telling stories that reflect our community and invite our community into the storytelling and the story experience. So we were really excited when Mario was conceptualizing this piece as something that tells a San Diego story specifically that tells the experiences and puts our stories in front of audiences who may not regularly see themselves reflected in artistic work. Yeah.
S1: Yeah. You know , Mario. Humor is also a central part of this story. Um , how did you want to approach the tone in bringing some heart and levity to this?
S3: Yeah , I think to make people sit through 80 minutes of , like , a migrant trauma play would be a miserable experience , and then it doesn't do much to uplift the people who suffer and even even working their kids. Kids were funny. Like , kids are naturally resilient and they would just say hilarious things. I mean , they're their kids. I'm also a substitute teacher , so I work with kids all the time. Um , I remember there was a moment we were all masked up and a little girl was like , oh , can I see you with your mask off? Um , and I took out my mask and she started laughing at me , and then she just kind of skipped that all the way.
S1: No filters. No , no , no , that's that's kids.
S3: And you know , in that resilience , there's joy and there's humor. So I wanted to capture that. Um , and then I also think that when you bring humor into a piece , when you get to get to those emotional gut punches , it hits a little harder with that contrast. You know , you feel the ice cream after you've had the spicy food a little bit more kind of thing.
S1: Yeah , yeah. Faith also runs deeply in this production. What does prayer and religious faith mean in this play? Patrice.
S2: Yeah , faith is essential to the storytelling. In this piece , we wanted to center the faith that Mario experienced with the girls in the center. Prayer was a part of their practice within the convention center , and it's structured , sort of reflective of the rosary process itself , of entering in with meditation , entering in with song , entering in with repeated practice , and then spending time absorbing the story to then come out again with repetition and music. The the beauty of a child's faith is at the center of the story. Not that it's unquestioning , it's the gift of being able to believe fully and to hold that hope , even despite the really difficult situations and circumstances that these children found themselves in and the children continue to find themselves in today.
S1: And , um. Like this. This was produced in collaboration with a nonprofit based out of San Isidro. Um , what was what was the what's the partnership and what's it been like? Yes.
S2: Yes. Um , we are partnering with Casa Familia for this production. Um , Casa was actually the organization that Mario and our stage manager , Andrea morin , worked with when they were working at the convention center. When they were employed , they were employed through Casa and the workshop. Last year , we were so excited to invite staff and leadership to come see the workshop at the globe. And they saw it. They love the show and they asked us if we wanted to partner in a grant application to support a future production , and we were so fortunate to have a positive reception to the grant application and get the production going. But it's really , by virtue of the generosity of Casa Familia Familiar and their commitment to the community to providing opportunities , resources. They were really essential during this moment of crisis and really like served our communities so deeply.
S1: Yeah , you touched on on this a bit on the role that music plays here. Um , there's a moment in the production where the characters , uh , they're dancing on the stage. How did you fold in music song and the joy that it can bring?
S2: Yeah , music is essential to our community. And Mario put it into the piece. Mario , anything you want to share , then? Yeah.
S3: Yeah. We , um , my good friend and collaborator and I , we wrote a kind of , like , a little song , a little hymn that that we sing at the beginning and about halfway through the show , we have a bachata that plays , which is like this Dominican style of , of music , and it's a song about leaving home and the pain of leaving home and what you leave behind. And we incorporate it into the play and there's like a dance , a very joyful dance that happens when the song plays , but the lyrics themselves Ah ah ah ah grief. Ah , poetic. And I think music is so important in the Latino culture and in migrant culture , because it's a little piece of home. You can't see home anymore , but you can hear it. And I think that's an important part of the play. Mhm.
S1: Mhm. You know art has a way of making us all think and it starts conversations. So I'm curious what conversation do you hope it will spark.
S3: Well let me think. Uh.
S2: I think we want our goal has always been to represent the stories with dignity and compassion. So we hope that it sparks a conversation about dignity within our immigrant community and compassion towards the struggle that many people are facing within this decision to start a new life in a new country , to open our hearts and extend compassion to the folks that we see around us.
S3: For me , even though these children since 2021 have been reunified with their families here in the United States. They are still asylum seekers. They still need to go to trial. They still need to prove that they're refugees. And I don't know how most of their stories have ended or will end. So I think one of the conversations that I love people to have is like , how can we make the world better for these migrant kids of the past , of today , of the future , because it is our responsibility to take care of the children of the world , I believe.
S1: How can people get involved if they want to learn more about the the issues you're exploring in this play?
S2: We invite them to come see the show. So we'll be performing across San Diego , but then to also reach out to resources. So they got familiar. All of the connections to Gaza are available on our website and also on Gaza website directly.
S1: And what are your hopes for the future of to your theater and the stories you'll continue to tell?
S2: We hope to continue to be producing and being able to take stories across San Diego County. Um , we love being able to tell stories directly for the Latino community , but also to see new folks and new allies joining us in this space with us. So we hope that we're able to reach out to new folks and make those who already know us feel more welcome.
S1: And Mario , as a playwright.
S3: I just want to keep telling stories about my community that can see themselves in on the stage , whether those be happy or sad. Uh , something that always makes tomorrow just a little bit better. Excellent.
S1: Excellent. I've been speaking with playwright Mario Vega and director Patrice Amon about the play , Our Lady of the San Diego Convention Center. The play will premiere tomorrow , Friday , at the El Salon Theater in San Isidro. From there , it will go to different venues across the region , and we'll link to more details on KPBS. Midday. Mario. Patrice. Thanks so much.
S2: Thank you. Jade.
S3: Thank you so much. Jade.
S1: Up next , the elusive black billed cuckoo wreaks havoc within a group of birders in Brooklyn's Prospect Park when some of its members glimpse the rare bird and others don't. Well , we'll speak with playwright Matt Smart about his world premiere play at the La Jolla Playhouse when KPBS Midday Edition returns. Welcome back to KPBS midday Edition. I'm Jade Hindman. A new play called A Black Billed Cuckoo focuses on a group of birders in search of the rare and elusive bird. But there's much more than birdwatching happening in the play , which makes its leap from the La Jolla Playhouse's acclaimed DNA network series to the main stage. KPBS arts reporter Beth Accomando speaks with award winning playwright Matt Smart about birding and a community of people inspired by the idea that any given day they might see something they've never seen before.
S4: So , Matt , you're back here at La Jolla Playhouse with a new play , Black Billed Cuckoo. Can you tell us what this story is about?
S5: This story is inspired by my time as a birdwatcher in Brooklyn , where I live , and it's about a small community of birdwatchers who lift each other up and challenge each other in different ways. And so it's about these five birders and their quest to see a black billed cuckoo.
S4: So what is it about birding that attracted you to using it for a backdrop for a play?
S5: Well , I love to first investigate a community or a history or an environment and then write about it or a place. And so when during Covid , like many people , I saw a an ad about a birdwatching group at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden where I'm a member , and I just thought , well , that sounds like an interesting thing to to pass the time and be outside and be in nature during social distancing. And then I just really stuck to it. I love the group and I find that both the birds are fascinating , but also the birders are quirky and unique and very big and interesting personalities. So it was like a perfect setting to to both create a story around , but also a community.
S4: And the bird of the title has particular meaning for you. And what is that?
S5: That's right. So I've been birdwatching about four years now with this group , and the very first day I went out in the Vale of Kashmir , which is a very cool part of Prospect Park , we saw a black billed cuckoo , but I didn't see it because they stand perfectly still there. They blend in colour wise with the trees behind them. So it was like ten feet away. Everyone's trying to tell me where it is. I just don't see it. It flies away. I don't think much about it. But everyone in the group was like very excited. You know , they were kind of freaking out about it. And then as time went on , I realized how much I had missed out on. As I learned more about bird watching , I was like , wow , that was like a really rare bird to see in Prospect Park. So it wasn't until about three years of pretty avid birding in New York City that I was finally able to see one , and I only saw it for about five seconds.
S4: And what about that experience kind of gave you a metaphor or something for the play , because you're not seeing the thing in front of you?
S5: Yeah , I just think that we've all experienced that in life. There's something that's just right in front of you that everyone around you is saying , look at that , look at that. It's right there. Whether it's you're in a bad relationship or you're doing something that you shouldn't be doing or , or even if it's just some , some kind of opportunity that's right in front of you , it's sometimes it's hard to see things for ourselves , and then we have to eventually see them in our own time.
S4: And you've been working on this play for a few years. When you started it , you were kind of a novice birder. What kind of in this process , the evolution of the play. What changed for you or what did you learn about birding that you ended up changing or adding to the play?
S5: Well , something that stayed constant for me is that it really gets you in the present moment. It's like a balm for the sort of society right now of like getting caught up in your thoughts or getting doom scrolling or whatnot. And so you go out and you're just your eyes , you're just your ears. You're really just looking for movement and looking for flashes of color and listening for the bird calls. And so that really allows you to be present. So that's stayed throughout my experience with it. There's just sort of real micro research things that I now know about like so for example , in the in an early scene , one character says , the other character that they saw , Brown thrasher and so I. And in the original version , like the other character doesn't respond to that , you know. But I now know if you burn a lot in New York City , you might see one brown thrasher the whole year. So I was like , oh , she would say something about the brown thrasher because it's kind of exciting. So it's just like small things that like , unless you really like Byrd and Prospect Park , you're not gonna really realize.
S4: And I understand that you took some of the cast and crew out birding here.
S6: Yeah , we went to.
S5: Doyle Park or Doyle Recreation Center. It's called. And it's a it just has a couple baseball fields , and you'd look at it and you kind of initially think , oh , probably not going to be too many unusual birds there. But I had gone there during the play was developed in the DNA new to play development series here. And I went there one morning during that and I saw all these great birds. So I took the cast there and they're to varying degrees. There's cast members that are like completely drinking the Kool-Aid and like , love birding. And like , during breaks , they go out to the back patio and we look for the birds. At La Jolla Playhouse. There's a lot of lesser goldfinch and hummingbirds around here , so it was really wonderful to to share that with them. It's it's exciting when you have a play that's about sort of an exotic community that you can create anywhere in the world , really just if you just go out with someone who kind of knows what to look for. That was wonderful.
S4: And you mentioned the La Jolla Playhouse DNA program and this play went through it. What does that offer a playwright in terms of developing a play and having time to workshop it and fine tune it?
S5: It's just a great opportunity to to try new things , see what works , see what doesn't. There's a key moment at the end. I don't want to give any spoilers. I won't talk about it. But where I was really trying , kind of a bold gesture with the sound that was played. And there was this just like a big reaction to that of confusion and whatnot. So it really helped me like redesign that part. And I think it now is something much more innovative and creative that all the designers took part in creating. It's a real time to kind of experiment and fail and then learn from it and make those scripts stronger.
S4: And you mentioned sound. So do we get to hear birds? Yes.
S5: Yes. That's a big part of the show is hearing the birds. The play is set in the fall though during fall migration , so there's not as much birdsong as there would be in the spring when there's mating and fighting over territory and whatnot. So we had to be kind of careful about what sounds we were hearing. And when we push the line a little bit about reality in terms of the spring versus the fall , but the sound designer and the team have really created a rich tapestry that will make you feel like you're in the park.
S4: And we've talked about the fact that these characters are birders , but can you tell us more about what the themes or the story is that you hit upon in this?
S6: Yeah , the.
S5: The main character is still grieving the loss of her husband almost five years before the play starts. And so there is a lot to do with grief and how her and her daughter navigate that differently and move through it differently. So that's a very serious part of the play. That's very important to me , but I feel like it always is dealt with humor and with kind of a good natured approach that it's not a dark play , it's not a I don't think it's even like a sad play , but there is a longing in it and a grieving that keeps revolving around the play.
S4: And do you have anything to say about San Diego as a birding city?
S6: Well , San.
S5: Diego is known as the dirtiest county in America. You can see almost 540 species over the calendar year. I've had a great time birding here. That day I took the cast out. I actually saw two life birds , which is when you see a bird species for the first time in your life. And then I actually just went down on Sunday to like mission Bay and the , the muddy , the mudflats , sort of by the dog beach there. And I got three more life birds that day. So I there was really , really spectacular. I saw it vermilion flycatcher and that kind of has this like reddish color that I've never seen before in my life. So that was very exciting.
S4: So do you also hope that your play may inspire people to also take up birding , aside from whatever emotional themes you hit upon , but is that something that you also would enjoy sharing with people?
S6: Well , I will , I'll preamble.
S5: This by just saying I hope if you don't. If you're not interested in birding , I still think there's a lot in this play for you. And if you don't get into interested in birdie , that's fine. But I do hope , yes , that it makes you look at the birds around you that you might see every day and not. I think people know what you know. What is a goal? What is a robin? What is a blue jay? What is a crow? I mean , the difference between crow and raven is fun to to to learn. But I do hope it , you know , because it is about getting out into nature and appreciating the natural world. And I think that can lead people to wanting to do things to help preserve the birds natural habitats , which are being destroyed by human development and whatnot. So , yeah , I certainly hope that's a byproduct of seeing the play , but it's definitely not necessary.
S4: Now , I had a chance to see your previous play here , Kill Local. This is very different in terms of overt subject matter and kind of tone , but do you see that there is something similar throughout your work? Do you see some consistency of style or theme that runs through them?
S6: Um , well , a.
S5: Lot of times , you know , my plays are saturated in place , and I do think as a playwright , you can write a good play that has 50 different locations. But I love writing plays that have one location where there's a sort of arena where all of it's going down. And so until local , there was like this abandoned building , you know , one floor that all happened here. It's just this one bench in Prospect Park in front of a sugar maple tree , and then also coincidentally kill local had four women in one man man in the cast. And this has the same. So that's kind of an interesting echo where it's like really kind of female centric. This play is so but I think all of my plays , you know , have to do with community building , community fracturing , community having community lift you up or , or push you down.
S4: And they also seem to have humor or comedy and use it in interesting ways.
S6: Yeah , I love.
S5: Telling the story that I care about , but making people laugh. There's such a , you know , the Man Who Lives form has like 380 some seats in getting that whole theater. Laughing at times is just a great it's a great joy. And it's it's I don't know why this amuses me , but , you know , if there's a joke that's in the very first draft and it still is working , and then there's a couple jokes that I wrote like this past week , and those are working , you know , that'll be exciting to see. You know , you just want it to really bring a smile to everyone's face.
S4: Well , I wanted to ask you about a quote that I read from your director , Shelly Butler , and she said that for you , the comedy isn't a detour from the emotion. It's the delivery system for it.
S5: Um , wow , that's really nice of Shelley to say. Um , it's a deep thought there , I think.
S6: I yeah.
S5: That sounds right to me. And I hope it can do that. You know , it's not like we're we're not laughing. The way I kind of interpret that is that we're not laughing at these people. We're laughing with these people. We're laughing about this sort of shared humanity.
S4: And you came through USDA's MFA program here. So what does it feel like returning in this capacity?
S6: Yeah , it's.
S5: Great to come back. I mean , it's sort of interesting because , you know , I graduated over 20 years ago now. And so at that time , I didn't know if I could make a career of this and what would happen. And so I'm very , been very blessed to be able to continue writing plays pretty much full time since then. And then when I was here in 2017 for Kill Local , I was still I feel like I was maybe still at the point where I was like , okay , am I going to just keep doing this for the long haul? And now , nine years later , I'm like , okay , this is what I'm doing , and I feel secure. And you know what I'm trying to accomplish? I still feel like every new play is kind of inventing , reinventing the wheel again. But there are things that I that I know about my voice and about my process that , you know , it. It makes it easier to to get to where you're going quicker. So it's just been. It's this has been pretty stress free and pretty joyful. You know , any kind of creative process , there's usually debate , there's disagreement. And and I won't say that there hasn't been that , but it's all been very healthy and it really has infused the work , um , to make it deeper. So it's been it's been great.
S4: And can you tell us what birds we might hear if we come out during intermission or walk out after the play? Yeah.
S6: Yeah. I mean , it's amazing.
S5: What we can see here at on the campus of UCSD. The crows are doing really well here. They're all over the place. You'll occasionally get a raven , which will be much bigger than a crow. And by itself , or in a pair , they sound a little bit more haunting. And there's Lesser Goldfinch , which is very pretty , um , songbird. And there's a lot of house finches , a lot of Anna's hummingbirds and Allen's hummingbirds. And those are some of the ones just around around campus.
S4: All right. Well , I want to thank you very much for talking about birding and about black billed cuckoo.
S5: Yeah , thanks for having me.
S1: That was KPBS. Beth Accomando speaking with playwright Matt Smart. His world premiere play , A Black Billed Cuckoo , runs through October 11th at the Playhouse's Mandell Weiss Theater. Up next , your weekend preview. KPBS Midday Edition is back after the break. Welcome back. You're listening to KPBS Midday Edition. I'm Jade Hindman. For our weekend preview , we'll talk about music , visual art , and some free ways to check out San Diego Design Week. Joining me with all the details is KPBS arts reporter and host of the Finest podcast. Julia Dixon Evans. Julia , welcome.
S7: Hey , Jade. Thanks for having me.
S1: Always glad to have you here. So let's start with design. First of all , can you help define what design actually is?
S7: I mean , it's a big question. So many art forms and industries and technology fit into design like architecture obviously , or art or fashion or city planning. And then there's also like user interfaces and everyday things , like the way that you hang up your kid's art or plate your dinner. And I feel like design kind of reflects and dictates the way that people use or move in or experience the world around them. But even that feels like it's not big enough of an answer. So last year I talked to Eric Weiss , who runs the Design Forward Alliance , and that's who puts together San Diego Design Week every year.
S8: I love this question. I get it every year. Somebody asked me this question and it is surprisingly difficult to answer. As you know , since design is such a multifaceted discipline and we touch essentially everything that's that's sort of manmade , you'll get , you know , a hundred different answers depending on who you ask. But the answer that resonates with me the most is that design is what makes everything cool.
S1: I love that. It is. It really is. So tell us more about San Diego Design Week. How can we experience some of this very cool design?
S7: So it's underway right now. Design week this is the sixth year it was launched in 2020. It's mostly a virtual thing that's really evolved over the years. It runs through Sunday. There's something like 75 events going on this week. There's panels , exhibitions , tours , walking tours , screenings , workshops , activities , and then a bunch of talks and lectures and most of the things are free. Not all , but definitely most and some of the best free events I did. A story you can find with like 15 picks and there's a handy map , but we only have time for a couple today. So tonight there is an exhibition at Mortis Studio in Golden Hill. This is by Tijuana based architect and artist Sarah Irene Garcia Huerta , also giving an artist talk. That's from 5 to 7 tonight , Thursday and tomorrow , Friday , we have a history tour of Arts District Liberty Station. That's at 10 a.m.. Should be really cool. There's also a panel at Qualcomm's campus. This is at 12:50 p.m. called Stop Designing Cars Like Phones , which wins the title award. For me , it's about the dangers of like , smartphone like interiors to a car and kind of the evolution away from super analog things like switches and buttons. And while you're there at Qualcomm , there is a Design Showcase tabling session. This is from noon to two , and you can check out like new projects and products from designers and artists from from San Diego with a focus on technology and sustainability. And one more. This is on Saturday , and there's a lot going on at the new School of Architecture downtown , including a bunch of art making workshops. One is Persian woodblock printing , which is really cool to be able to like , try that for free. But what caught my attention is this workshop called Ritual by Design. And this is about like building meaningful rituals around the things that you do every day. Like maybe it's you go for a walk , or maybe it's how you make your coffee. So this is at 4 p.m. on Saturday at the New School of Architecture downtown. But yeah , there's really so much going on. So if you have a little time to spare this weekend , Go through their programming and you'll probably find something that interests you.
S1: I love the ritual by design , I do. All right , we have one more visual art recommendation , and this time at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego in La Jolla. Yeah.
S7: Yeah. So on Saturday , they're opening a new special exhibit. It's called Visions Nocturnes Queer Nightlife in Contemporary Art , and it's based on the work of this artist and photographic researcher called Andres Peon Estrada. And he's really interested in nightlife as , as what he calls a living archive. So places like the dance halls , dive bars and other like safe spaces for the LGBTQ plus community and the way that these things show up in contemporary art and photography and film and so , so many , so many different places. And there's a ton of artists involved in this show. It's really immersive. And the project has also been expanded for us for this museum to include queer nightlife spaces in San Diego. So you'll get some of that really rich history locally , too. And they're having the free public opening on Saturday. So the museum is free , and they're open late 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. , and then the exhibit will be on view through January 17th.
S1: And it's also a big weekend in books in San Diego. Tell us about a few of your recommendations. Yeah.
S7: Yeah. So first is this evening. You just can go straight from work to Bird Park in North Park. This is Verbatim Books in the Park Till Dark event this month. They're also doing an official book swap. The way that these things work is you show up at 530 , there's a little bit of mingling time , but then at 6:00 it's quiet reading time until seven. And then at seven , everyone watches the sunset together and you go home. And if you want to participate in the book swap , just bring at least one book and add it to the verbatim table , and you can pick one of your own to take back.
S1: I love it , and a structured quiet hour sounds just right. You also have a romantic book on your radar. Yeah.
S7: Yeah. So San Diego author Adaline Grace has a new book out. It's called The Wretched Divine. It's about angels and demons in this ancient war. Her writing is largely considered romantic , like a blend of fantasy and romance. It's a super popular genre , and it's like what got a lot of people back into reading. And we did an episode of The Finest about this last season. I talked to Adele and Grace for it. We were at Comic-Con , and I loved what she said about identifying as a romantic author or not. I write fantasy.
S9: And the fantasy I write has romance. And it just like , you know , a lot of books by male authors. But I think now that women have infiltrated the category , it's like , oh , we have to create this whole new word for what we're doing. And it's the exact same thing that people have been doing forever. My actual dream is that weird? Just acknowledged for writing fantasy and that we get equal footing in that space?
S7: So yeah , the book launch for Adeline Grace is at Mysterious Galaxy on Saturday at 6:00. You need a ticket to get in , but that ticket will include a copy of the Wretched Divine Book. Awesome.
S1: Awesome. And before we go , what's going on in live music?
S7: Okay , so one of my personal favorite musicians , Jose Gonzalez , is performing at the outdoor amphitheater at UCSD on Saturday at 7:30 p.m.. Jose Gonzalez is this indie folk sensation , and he has a new album out. It's called Against the Dying of the light. It's really lovely , like mournful and hopeful and just so much of that lo fi guitar sound that I really love about him. And this is the opening track we're hearing now. It's called A Perfect Storm.
S10: To lead only a face of Certain defeat.
S1: All right. 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.
S7: Thank you. Jade.
S10: Ignoring all the combined risks.
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.
