Sabor a Mexico.

Mexican dance is one of the most precious treasures in the Aztec country. That is due to the fact that each state has its own musical and dance expressions.

That is why on May 19, starting at 3 p.m., the first festival of Mexican dance, “México a través de sus danzas,” will take place at the Organ Pavilion in Balboa Park.

The event is organized by the Mexican General Consulate in San Diego to celebrate the 150 anniversary of Cinco de Mayo. It also celebrates the 100 year history of the Mexican Consulate in San Diego.

The free festival is open to the public and participating dance troupes include Ballet Tierra Caliente; Wa-kushma (Wa: family y Kushma: dancer); Grupo Folklórico Yoneme de la Preparatoria Federal Lázaro Cárdenas and Danzarts, Sabor México, which will offer a showcase of representative dances from eight Mexican states, including Sinaloa, Baja California, Jalisco, Oaxaca, and Veracruz.

Mexican Consul Remedios Gomez Arnau said that Mexico is a diverse country, as reflected in its traditional dances.

“Regional dances are the center from which several elements circulate, including popular culture,” she said. “It is very important to point out that Mexico is a pluralistic country with deep popular, indigenous, mestizo roots, and that cultural expressions vary from one region to another.”

Jose Jaimes, director of Ballet Folklórico Tierra Caliente, which works with youth in Vista, in North County, said that dance is a perfect way to celebrate Mexico.

“Since the Mexican community in San Diego is huge, it is very important to promote our roots through dance, to identify ourselves and present us as we truly are: A strong, united, multicultural community,” Jaimes said. “This event not only celebrates our roots, but it opens many artistic and cultural doors in our community.”

Fernando Lopez Maldonado, teacher and director of Grupo de Danza Yoneme de la Preparatoria Federal Lázaro Cárdenas, in Tijuana, said that this event will promote cultural exchanges between both sides of the border.

“Most likely it will start a interchange relationship that’s more constant, in addition to offering people a variety of folkloric dances from different regions from our country,” Lopez Maldonado said.

Jaimes said that what makes Mexican dance unique is its diversity.

“Mexican folkloric dance stands out because it is a collage of many countries, including European and African, which make it different and rich in styles, musical sounds, and dress,” he said.

More than anything, Jaimes said, Mexican dance is a way to teach people about Mexican history through dance and music.

“Dance is a way of telling our country’s history and of showing that we’re a very rich culture,” he said.

To learn more about “México a través de sus danzas,” please call (619) 308-9950 or visit www.consulmexsd.org.

Festival Otaku, joven participante caracterizada al estilo japonés.

En la Explanada del Centro Cultural Tijuana el pasado sábado 5 de mayo se realizó la Tercera Edición de la Convención Otaku Tijuana 2012. Este es un encuentro esperado por los seguidores de Otaku, es el término japonés con que se designan a los fans con fuerte interés en el animé y el manga.

Cientos de seguidores del manga lucieron personajes de fantasía, coloridas vestimentas, accesorios originales, artículos complementarios y una actitud digna de un buen actor, lucieron jóvenes y niños caracterizados como personajes de comic.

Una fiesta nipona en Tijuana, en la que hubieron muchas actividades vinculadas con esta afición, en uno de los stands que se establecieron estuvieron trabajando las jovencitas Tarita Myrnaiz Zavala Rodríguez, su hermanita Mirna Vianey, y sus compañeras y amigas Eva, Allyson, Jennifer, Marianita y Ashley; hubieron muchos stands en los que se expendían y vendían diversos artículos y servicios.

Notas complementarias: El Centro Cultural Tijuana fue objeto de una publicación en el periódico de circulación nacional Milenio, en la que se destaca el papel preponderante que ha desarrollado esta institución por medio de la ejecución de programas vinculados con la cultura y las artes, cuyos resultados han contribuido a reducir la delincuencia y la violencia en Tijuana, ciudad que había sido calificada como una de las más violentas y peligrosas del mundo.

Como parte de su gira mundial “Cantos y cuentos urbanos 2012”, el cantautor y salsero panameño , uno de los máximos exponentes de la música salsa en el mundo, se presentará este viernes 11 de mayo, a partir de las 8:00 pm., en un extraordinario concierto en la Explanada del Centro Cultural Tijuana, en el marco calendarizado de los festejos del XXX Aniversario de la misma institución.

El Instituto Municipal de Arte y Cultura y la Unión de libreros de Tijuana invitan a la XXX Edición dela Feria del Libro de Tijuana 2012, en la que estarán presentes: escritores, conferencistas, habrá también espectáculos, pabellones infantil y juvenil y miles de libros de las diferentes editoras que existen en la actualidad en México, dicho evento se llevará a cabo a partir del 25 de mayo al 3 de junio en Plaza Río Tijuana.

El Museo Interactivo El Trompo y la Fundación Nacional de Artistas Independientes, están girando una cordial invitación para asistir a la inauguración de la exposición “El PRINCIPITO en mi mundo de colores”, trátase de una exposición itinerante de la obra del maestro Enrique Chiu, en un evento que se realizará el próximo viernes 11 de mayo a las 16:00 pm. en el mismo Museo El trompo.

A free music festival that is the culmination of a Cuyamaca College course on the music industry will feature nine bands rocking at the grand lawn at the Rancho San Diego college from noon to 5 p.m. on Saturday, May 5.
Among the nine bands performing in the all-ages event is an Orange County draw, Railroad to Alaska, a post-grunge/alternative metal group that in 2011 was named Best New Artist at the Orange County Music Awards and in 2012, won kudos as the Best Metal and Best Live Band.

Rounding out the blues, hard rock, pop, punk, indie, and alternative rock bands are King Legend, Fighting with Irons, Shining Through, NKNZ, the Illustrative Violet, Hugh Gaskins and the G String Daddies, Interrobang, and Human Crossing. The music festival will have two stages showcasing the bands each playing 30-minute sets of original music.

This year, festival-goers will enjoy two of San Diego’s best known food trucks — Super Q BBQ and Asian Persuasion — as well as face painting and carnival games for kids.

“But the main attraction is the music – San Diego and Orange County-based bands that play original music and are trying to get some recognition,” Setzer said. “It’s a terrific win-win situation – the students get the excitement and experience of producing a festival, the bands get a chance to perform in a well-organized setting, and the community can spend an afternoon on a beautiful outdoor site enjoying a free music festival in an alcohol- and tobacco-free environment.”
For more information, including links to bands performing at the festival, go to https://www.facebook.com/events/243368909092959/

Singer-Songwriter Sharon Dubois Kicks Off Pop Series at Liberty Theatre at Paradise Village on Sunday, May 6, 2012

San Diego singer/songwriter Sharon Dubois will kick off a new series of pop concerts at Liberty Theatre at Paradise Village on Sunday, May 6, 2012 at 7pm.

Sharon DuBois will be performing songs from her second album as a solo artist, “Here I Am.” All her songs are funky, fresh original compositions, written from the heart, giving the listener an intimate view into her innermost truth while holding nothing back.

Sharon DuBois has been singing since babyhood, under the guidance of her 10 older siblings and musical parents and surrounded by pianos, guitars, and a harp. Her first solo performance was at the age of 12. She studied at San Diego State University and earned an Associates degree in Music/Voice Concentration from Monroe Community College before studying voice at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York.

With more than 500 jazz standards in her songbook, Sharon has performed with a multitude of bands and artists from David Altman, Tony Cavagnaro, Daniel Jackson (Ray Charles) and Marshall Hawkins (Miles Davis), to the La Jolla Symphony Orchestra Choir. She sang with Charles McPherson Jr.’s Cold Sweat Band at Idyllwild’s Jazz in the Pines festival, 2010. She says her most thrilling and memorable performance happened as singer of the MCC Big Band at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, New York.

LIBERTY THEATRE at Paradise Village, 2700 E. 4th St., National City, CA 91950. Admission: $15 General Admission, $10 for Seniors/Students/Active Military. Box office & concessions open: 6pm. Doors open: 6:30pm. Concert begins: 7pm.

¡Celébrate! The Jewish Experience in Spanish Speaking Countries opens in San Diego

The Anti-Defamation League San Diego Regional Office is proud to bring the successful program ¡Celébrate! The Jewish Experience in Spanish Speaking Countries to San Diego this May.

¡Celébrate! is an unprecedented festival of film, music and lectures highlighting the historic and contemporary journey of the Jewish people.

The program will open with the Film Seminar Jews in Mexican Cinema featuring film director Isaac Artenstein on Wednesday, May 9, 2012, 7:30 p.m. at the David and Dorothea Garfield Theatre, Lawrence Family JCC in La Jolla. The seminar will feature the specific contributions of Jewish filmmakers in Mexico, utilizing clips from films like Norah’s Will, Novia Que Te Vea, and Tijuana Jews.

On Thursday, May 17, 2012 at 7:30 p.m. award-winning jazz guitarist-composer-producer Jaime Valle will play a program of Jazz Latino with Jewish Inspirations at 98 Bottles in Little Italy. The concert will include guest Jazz and Latin singer Coral MacFarland who will perform in Ladino, the Spanish-Jewish dialect spoken by Sephardic Jews. This concert is for ages 21 and over.

The program will conclude with a lecture on Tuesday, May 22, 2012 at 7:30 p.m. at the San Diego Historic Building of Ohr Shalom Synagogue. Radio host- journalist-researcher Enrique Chmelnik will travel from Mexico to offer an historic perspective on the issues of discrimination and tolerance in Mexico in the presentation The Struggle for Tolerance in Mexico.

¡Celébrate! passes are now available for purchase and includes admission to all three events. Tickets for each individual event can also be purchased separately. Space is limited.

For tickets please visit www.adl.org/sdcelebrate

Modelo posando vestido de noche.

El Instituto Municipal de Arte y Cultura siempre atento a las inquietudes culturales y artísticas de la comunidad a través de la Casa de la Cultura Altamira, realizó el pasado sábado 21 de abril el evento “Estación 1209 Fashion Show” que organizó la Universidad de las Californias.

En un ambiente de cordialidad y de convivencia se reunieron familiares y amigos de los egresados para avalar la manifestación en lo que sería el desfile de graduación de estos jóvenes egresados de la carrera de Diseño de Modas de la Universidad de las Californias.

Al desfilar por la pasarela los modelos de las diseñadoras egresadas, el fondo musical que prevaleció fue el rock y la balada, creando un ambiente agradable y festivo.

Algunas de las diseñadoras egresadas y que además han destacado por la impresión que han causado sus diseños, son: Nancy Guzmán, Mónica Gaxi-ola y Claudia Valdéz, quienes mostraron cada una seis atuendos, destacando vestidos de noche en distintos colores obscuros, vestidos de coctel en colores vivos y brillantes como el verde y el naranja, los modelos de vestidos de novia fueron los que causaron impacto entre la concurrencia, destacando la tradición entre estos atuendos con el uso del color blanco. La graduación finalizó con la degustación de bocadillos y bebidas generosas.

En otra información vinculada con la cultura y las artes tenemos la agradable noticia que los “Sábados de matinée infantil” regresan a cumplir su séptima edición de estar presentes en la Casa de la Cultura Altamira, iniciando este próximo sábado y finalizando el próximo 23 de junio.

En esta nueva serie se presentarán obras de teatro como “La flauta mágica”, espectáculo de títeres adaptada por Michel Guerra y José Medina, especialmente dirigida a un público eminentemente infantil. Otra obra es “El castigo de las risitas” y otros espectáculos.

El sábado 28 de abril La Casa de la Cultura “El Pípila” que se encuentra ubicada en Calle Décima No. 7828 en el sector de El Pípila, agasajará con un gran fiestón a los niños en el marco de la celebración del “Día del niño”, en el que habrán payasos, dulces, artistas y mucha diversión, con toda seguridad se divertirán en grande los peques que asistan a tan significativa celebración ¡A divertirse niños!

El pasado miércoles La Casa de la Cultura Playas hizo lo propio en su sector, celebrar con una gran fiesta a los niños del área, con presentaciones artísticas, presentación de una obra de teatro, dulces, regalos y muchísima diversión. La señora Yoly Contreras, asistente administrativa de esta institución hizo circular invitaciones a los distintos planteles educativos de Playas de Tijuana, asistiendo particularmente la Escuela Primaria “Valentín Gómez Farías, institución en la que toda la chiquillada gozó de este agasajo.

Omar Foglio, Sebastian Díaz y Ana Paola Rodríguez, agradeciendo después de la presentación del documental.

El documental: “Tierra brillante” codirigido por José Luis Figueroa Lewis y Sebastián Díaz Aguirre y producido por la firma tijuanense Bulbo/Galatea, ganó reconocimiento internacional al otorgársele el premio Grand Prix-Ateliers d’Art de France, dentro del Octavo Festival Internacional de Cine Sobre Barro y Vidrio, celebrado en la ciudad francesa de Montpellier y que fue exhibido en Tijuana en el Centro Cultural Tijuana en premier el pasado 12 de marzo.

El documental “Tierra brillante”, producido por Bulbo/Galatea y el Instituto Mexicano de Cinematografía a través de su programa FOPROCINE, presentado en inglés, español y purépecha, toca un tema de salud pública y aboga por el cambio en la producción de cerámica artesanal para evitar el uso del plomo, tema bastante conocido por el público.

La disposición del Centro Cultural Tijuana de abrir las puertas de la sala Carlos Monsiváis al talento local, se ofrece en forma abierta como plataforma y vitrina de exposición a cineastas emergentes, dentro del programa Creadores Independientes. El documental de referencia se proyectó en función especial organizada por estudiantes del programa de Doctorado en Ciencias Sociales, con especialidad en Estudios Especiales de el Colegio de la Frontera Norte.

En notas adicionales el Centro Cultural Tijuana exhibe la obra “Evolución de Tijuana”, este trabajo es un proyecto para el mural que el maestro Manuel Rodríguez “Varrona” pintó en el Palacio Municipal de la ciudad, la cual es la pieza del mes que se está exhibiendo en el Vestíbulo del Museo de las Californias.

El Centro Cultural Tijuana está convocando a escritores, académicos e investigadores mexicanos residentes en Baja California a participar en su programa de publicaciones 2012, y formar parte de su Colección Editorial. Con la premisa de que la expresión “literatura fronteriza”, continúa en discusión y aún se construye una definición precisa, el escritor y catedrático universitario Humberto Félix Berúmen, participó el pasado sábado 14 de abril en una lectura guiada de cuentos fronterizos en el Centro Cultural Tijuana.

El pasado domingo 15 de abril en el Parque México de Playas de Tijuana, se realizó una exhibición de autos antiguos, sitio en el que se reunieron autos de diversos clubs de la especialidad tales como: “Los originales”, “Dukes Tijuana”, “Dorados”, “Independent Tijuana”, “Mexican Volks Rijuana”, “Satánicos Tijuana”, “Clásicos Ensenada Car Club”, “Unidos Tijuana”, “Low Stile”,”Imperial’s” y “664 Tunning”.

La finalidad de realizar este evento fue la de recaudar fondos para construir un techo en los espacios designados para que los niños estudien el catecismo en las parroquias adscritas a la iglesia de “Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe”. ¡Bien por ese entusiasmo!.

Margarita Gralia, reconocida actriz.

La reconocida actriz Margarita Gralia, participó el pasado lunes ante nutrido número de ávidos asistentes en el Programa de lectura “Leo… luego existo, en una sesión de lectura en voz alta en el Vestíbulo de El Cubo, en el Centro Cultural Tijuana

Indudablemente Margarita Gralia, es una de las actrices favoritas del público tijuanense, por lo tanto su visita a la ciudad para promover este proyecto ha sido de gran impacto; ya en 2005 estuvo en la ciudad en el mismo programa dando lectura a poemas de Griselda Alvarez.

Margarita Gralia llegó a México en 1982, invitada por Raúl Astor para estelarizar junto a Héctor Suárez, aquel reconocido programa “La Cosquilla”, la actriz debutó en el teatro en 1972 en la obra “Lección de Anatomía”, su paso por los diversos escenarios teatrales de México ha sido fructífera y exitosa, ella ha participado en montajes teatrales importantes, además recibió el premio como Mejor Actriz de Teatro en 1990, que le otorgó la Unión de Críticos y Cronistas de Teatro por su trabajo en la obra ¿Dónde está el tenor? De Ken Ludwick y el premio a la Mejor Actriz que otorga la APT (Asociación de Periodistas Teatrales) por su participación en la obra “Bésame Salvaje” (1997).

En 2009, da a conocer su faceta de escritora al presentar su primer libro intitulado “Decide ser feliz” publicado por Editorial Planeta.

Promover la lectura y el amor por los libros se ha convertido en uno de los proyectos sustantivos del Centro Cultural Tijuana. La creación del programa “Leo… luego existo” es un importante vehículo que abre la puerta para el desarrollo cultural de la población, esto es parte del programa de actividades “Bellas Artes en todas partes”.

En la presentación de este programa han participado reconocidos actores y actrices como: Lilia Aragón, Carlos Bracho, Irma Dorantes, Regina Orozco, Blanca Sánchez y Cecilia Suárez, por mencionar algunos.

En nota complementaria en la Casa de la Cultura El Pípila, también están fomentando el gusto por la lectura con la apertura de un taller en el que trabajarán los días miércoles, iniciando esta semana con la presencia del actor Edmundo Flores, impartiendo el taller: “Letra a letra se tejen las historias”, con la participación de gran grupo de niños y adultos.

Para concluir el Instituto Municipal de Arte y Cultura está invitando a dar la primera pincelada en los murales de Casa de Cultura Playas, para este viernes 13 a las 11:00 pm., acto en el que se contará con la presencia de los artistas participantes: Patty Mayorga, César Borja, Adriana Escudero, Rocío Torres Maura, Ángela Gómez Rubio, Elvia Morales, Joe Papalia, Germán Rubio y Azucena Castañón, León Rhon, David Alemán y Antonio Proa.

Espero hayan pasado una agradable semana santa y les deseo felices pascuas.

La nutrióloga Dulce Reyes Borja, expuso una charla sobre una alimentación balanceada.

El pasado jueves en el Área de Nutrición Infantil Arcoiris del Centro Cultural Tijuana, la nutrióloga Dulce Reyes Borja, expuso ante la comunidad tijuanense una charla sobre la cultura de aplicar en la vida cotidiana una alimentación balanceada, destacando la importancia de adquirir buenos hábitos para un óptimo desarrollo en todos los campos de la vida.

La nutrióloga exhortó a tener a la vista en casa una imagen del “Plato del Bien Comer” , para recordar las cantidades de cada grupo alimenticio que el cuerpo necesita para desarrollar su vida rutinaria.

En su exposición, Dulce Reyes Borja comunicó al público estudiantil la importancia que tiene lograr un equilibrio en ingerir los diversos tipos de alimentos que se consumen para lograr un desarrollo pleno y mantenerse sano. Recomendó combinaciones que los niños pueden hacer en el desayuno, lunch escolar, a la hora de la comida o en la merienda, además de recomendar comer colaciones que evitarán males como el fatal sobrepeso.

Explicó la necesidad de hacer combinaciones al momento de comer, ejemplo: el huevo no comerlo con embutidos, combinarlo con verduras o cereales, porque el huevo es producto animal. Con el apoyo de estudiantes de Culinary Art School, expuso ante los estudiantes algunas sugerentes combinaciones.

Completamos esta nota con otras noticias importantes relacionadas sobre arte y cultura, ejemplo: en la exposición “Mingel. Beauty of Use. El uso de la Belleza. Objetos utilitarios del muindo”, el visitante hará un extraordinario recorrido por las culturas de los cinco continentes, admirando una colección de 550 piezas que se exhiben en el Centro Cultural Tijuana.

Para dar la bienvenida a la Primavera el Cecut el pasado domingo 1 de abril organizó extraordinaria Verbena Cultural, en cuya programación se incluyeron: música, talleres, espectáculos de narración oral, actividades vinculadas con el fomento a la lectura y recorridos gratuitos por las diversas exposiciones. En la gran final de la Muestra de Danza 4×4 Tj Night, Hozé Meléndez, fue el favorito del jurado y se hizo acreedor al triunfo y a un premio de $20 mil pesos, con su propuesta “Lo demás es agua”, en un evento que se realizó en el Centro Cultural Tijuana.

Para concluir, Playas de Rosarito, está invitando a la comunidad a su Playa Fest Rosarito Beach 2012, a realizarse del próximo viernes 6, al domingo 8 de abril. Habrá la participación de varios grupos musicales. Asista y pásela bien divirtiéndose con su familia. Para el próximo 5 de mayo, el extraordinario Luis Fonsi, estará de visita en la bella Ensenada, en donde se presentará en concierto en conocido hotel.

Susan Taborro, Guadalupe González, Gabriela Orihuela y Claudia Trujillo participan en el Concurso Belleza México Internacional 2012.

El próximo sábado 31 de marzo, a las 8:00 pm., en el Grand Hotel Tijuana se llevará a cabo la ceremonia de coronación de las ganadoras del Certamen Belleza México Internacional Edición 2012, en sus diferentes categorías como son: Señorita 18-24 años, Señora 25-38 y Señora Clásica 39-50, que anualmente se realiza en la ciudad de Tijuana, Baja California, evento que este año se engalana con la presencia estelar del cantautor tijuanense Alex Mora.

De acuerdo con información proporcionada por la Lic. Yadira Whitney de la Oficina de Medios del mismo evento, las actividades de este certamen dieron inicio el 1 de enero de 2012, hasta el pasado 25 de marzo periodo que comprendió el proceso de inscripciones, del 26 al 31 de marzo votaciones por internet, el pasado 26 de marzo se realizó el coktail de salutación a las candidatas e invitados, el 27 de marzo se realizó la noche de talentos, el viernes 30 de marzo se realizará el Fashion Show Mes de la Mujer en el Rancho Tecate y finalmente el sábado 31 de marzo la gran final de esta fiesta de la belleza femenina.

En el marco de la gran final de este certamen se cuentan dentro de sus actividades la presentación de las candidatas al Certamen BMI 2012, provenientes de diversos estados de la República Mexi-cana, quienes ya recibieron la banda correspondiente al estado que representan, con excepción del estado de Baja California sede del evento, donde participan damas de los cinco municipios, quienes ya recibieron también su banda oficial.

Una de las sorpresas en este evento fue la llegada de la Sra. Olguita Salazar, “Señora Venezuela 2009”y miembros del honorable jurado calificador, el anuncio de BMI 2012, el “Rea-lity”, programa conducido por Jesse Vázquez y que será transmitido por Síntesis TV, la especial presencia de Berenice Ortega, para quien la Fundación Belleza Sin Fronteras está organizando una cena con la finalidad de recabar fondos para el tratamiento de un tumor inoperable que tiene en su cerebro, (para más información sobre este caso en: http:/bellezasinfronteras.org/).

Las ganadoras en cada categoría de este evento re-presentarán a México en el Certamen Internacional “Reina Internacional de los Mares 2012” a realizarse en el país centroamericano de Costa Rica.

Algunos de los miembros del Comité organizador de este evento son: Lic. Yadira Whitney, responsable de la Oficina de Medios, Ana Reveles, Sra. Olga Salazar, Lic. Gabriela Orihuela Ley, Presidenta de Belleza México Internacional, Lic. Debora Reveles, Directora de Belleza México Internacional, entre otros.

Dentro del grupo de personalidades que entregarán las respectivas coronas a las ganadoras de este certamen se encuentran Violeta Trujillo y Lupita González, actuales reinas BMI, quienes entregarán la respectiva corona a quien resulte ganadora en sus respectivas categorías. ¡Muchas felicidades! a las ganadoras les desea La Prensa San Diego

In a back room of the Parque Zaragoza Recreation Center, nestled in an East Austin neighborhood, eight Mexican-American adults seat themselves around a table for their bi-monthly meeting. The walls around them are adorned with murals illustrating a mariachi band, Mexican soldiers and two women holding hands—one is wearing a dress that resembles the Mexican flag; the other, the American flag.

This small assembly makes up only a portion of the Austin Tejano Music Coalition—an association dedicated to promoting and educating Texans about Tejano music and the distinctive culture that surrounds it. Tejano is the music of United States citizens of Mexican descent. Yet the once-ubiquitous music has hit tough times lately.

An influx of Mexican immigrants in recent years has swelled Texas’ Hispanic population by a third and, in the process, changed the Lone Star State’s musical tastes, supplanting Tejano with Norteño–a regional Mexican genre with modern lyrics and a younger fan base. That demographic shift has prompted music industry impresarios to buy up radio stations to cater to the swelling ranks of Norteño fans as the Tejano fan base has dwind-led. And that, in turn, has further widened a generational gap between Mexican Americans in their 40s and older who favor Tejano and a younger generation exposed to a more eclectic musical diet.

“This is it. We need to get up and say ‘What needs to be done?’ We need to promote ourselves and make sure that people know we are here and that we are part of the community,” says Rosendo Gomez Jr., president of the Austin Tejano Music Coalition (ATMC).

Norteño music grew quickly in popularity among the young Hispanic population in Texas. The sound was more traditional than Tejano, as it did not incorporate American musical trends and was sung solely in Spanish. Before long, Norteño stations were displacing the Tejano radio stations in Texas, until there were none left. “When the Norteño stations moved in, we contacted them to see if they would play our music, but they refused,” Gomez says. “We had lost our station and we felt belittled, especially because when we had our Tejano radio station we would also play their Nor-teño music.”

For some, the shift to Nor-teño seems inevitable. “When regional Texan-based and often family owned stations were consolidated, the shift away from Tejano was in the cards. Norteño had a broader appeal all across the border states than the country and rock influenced Tejano, which was a regional evolution of Norteño to begin with,” says David Brown, the executive producer and host of KUT’s Music Matters. The regional stations were combined together under Univision, a larger Spanish media outlet that had nothing to say on the subject.

The coalition attempted to contact the Federal Communication Commission for help, but to the FCC, Tejano was in the same category as all of the other Spanish music radio stations. “It’s as different as country and rap,” says Aggie Sanchez, secretary of ATMC. “Just because the songs are in the same language doesn’t mean they have the same listener base, and people don’t understand that. They just say ‘it’s Spanish music.’”

But Tejano is not just Spanish music and both its history and lyrical content differ greatly from that of Norteño. “When I was growing up, we were always listening to Tejano music at parties and dances,” Sanchez says. “We would use any excuse we could find: birthday parties, quinceañeras, parties for grandma, even baptisms! Regardless of how old you were, your parents would take you to these Tejano events. It was a family thing, so that’s who I am, and the music is an important part of me.”

As far as the coalition is concerned, the main obstacle blocking the progression of Tejano music from popularity and the lives of the younger Mexican-American generations is that there are no public radio stations to promote the genre.
“Radio stations aren’t catering to the citizens of this country,” Gomez says. “The airwaves are supposed to be used for community service, and with the Norteño stations, we have no way of knowing what Tejano events are even going on in our area. They will not stress what’s going on in the Mexican-American community.”

Brown chalks up Tejano’s decline “not just to the consolidation of radio stations, but to the dilution of regional identities in general,” he says. “The good news is that since radio has dropped the ball, a lot of independent online stations have cropped up. The bad news is that until Tejano returns to the mainstream, there are not likely to be any more Tejano stars emerging anytime soon, which is not a good sign for a once vital segment of uniquely Texas music.”

The coalition has recently been taking it upon themselves to promote the genre through concerts, events and even a “Tejano Idol” competition. The ATMC is also planning on having a stage during Austin’s annual SXSW festival.

Vanessa Zamora estará de visita por Tijuana su ciudad natal, para presentar ante su público su sencillo que contiene el tema “Otra Vez”.

Vanessa Zamora joven valor tijuanense, quien se ha venido consolidando como una de las más prometedoras figuras actuales de la cancion, estará de visita por Tijuana su ciudad natal, para presentar ante su público su sencillo que contiene el tema “Otra Vez”, mismo que le ha valido el agrado de miles de seguidores por las redes sociales de todo México y que la han seguido y apoyado por la calidad de esta grabación.

La joven Vanessa Zamora, indudablemente que cautivará al auditorio por la frescura, lozanía y calidez de su agradable voz. La cita es el próximo viernes 23 de marzo, a las 8:00 pm.,en Black Box, escenario donde entregará al respetable con su guitarra en la mano, la interpretación de sus éxitos “Otra vez”, “Para siempre” y “Este final”.

En la actualidad Vanessa, radica en la bella perla tapatía, sitio en el que se encuentra echándole muchas ganas a la producción de su primer material discográfico bajo la dirección de Alejandro Jiménez y, el cual estará listo para el corriente año 2012.

Vanessa se complace en invitar a que la acompañen en un recorrido por varios eventos, acompañándose de su guitarra y sus extraordinarias interpretaciones, la artista estará presente el próximo 31 de marzo en el Certamen Belleza México Internacional.

Hay que seguir muy de cerca los pasos de esta joven promesa tijuanense, porque estamos seguros de que en un futuro próximo, si no se dispone de algún acontecimiento que entorpezca su desarrollo inmediato, será una realidad absoluta su proyección artística, porque cuenta con todos los elementos de formación: musicalidad, talento, voz, dedicación, entrega y sobre todo muchas ganas de hacer bien las cosas.

En otra nota relacionada con actividades culturales y artísticas de la ciudad de Tijuana, el Instituto Municipal de Arte y Cultura arranca el programa “Tijuana, ciudad de lectores”. Este programa tiene como finalidad promover el gusto por la lectura a gran escala y se inició en el Mercado Hidalgo de la ciudad.

En la ceremonia de inauguración estuvieron presentes la Lic. Elsa Arnaiz Rosas, Lic. Fernando Rodríguez, Presidente del Mercado Hidalgo, Elba Olmedo, Encargada de Relaciones Públicas y la Lic. Erika Lemus, en representación del Lic. Oscar Sanabria Peinado, Secretario de Desarrollo Social Municipal.

Celebrará el Día Mundial del Teatro, teniendo como sede al Centro Cultural Tijuana, con dos puestas en escena en la Quinta Edición del Festival Tijuana Hace Teatro, que inició el pasado 16 de marzo y terminará el próximo martes 27 de este mismo mes. Para concluir, Jan Hendrix, artista visual de origen holandés avecindado en México desde hace 30 años, quien participó en la VI Bienal de Estandartes ES 2010, fue distinguido por la Orden Águila Azteca en grado de insignia.

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So Demián Bichir didn’t take the Oscar for Best Actor, but being nominated is just enough a reason to celebrate Latino films and Latinos in film –and for those of you whose hearts became restless with Bichir, guess what? His talent doesn’t come solo. It’s three-fold. Why? His two brothers, Bruno and Odiseo Bichir are also actors with as much potential to follow in Demián’s footsteps. In even better news, they’ll be attending this year’s San Diego Latino Film Festival, so keep an eye out for them.

They’re not the only special guests to the festival this year, however. Opening up the festival you may have spotted Jorge Salina who was promoting “La Otra Familia” this past Thursday. If you missed him you’ve got another shot at running into him at the Hazard Center during his presentation of “Labios Rojos” tonight. Another guest on this year’s roster is Rafael Amaya, who returns for a third year to the festival. His popularity most recently picked up momentum during his appearance in “Reina del Sur”, one of the highest rated novelas in Telemundo history where he played Kate del Castillo’s drug-trafficking husband. During the festival, Amaya will be featured in “Adios Mundo Cruel” a satire to real life where he explains, “the artist reflects their reality and Mexico as our reality has many stories to tell, in all forms. “Adios Mundo Cruel” is a beautiful orchestration of different elements that serve as tools to tell a story within a chaotic scenario, that of a cruel world.”

A few other recommendations directly from the man who started it all are the “…Chilean film titled “¿Alguien ha visto a Lupita?” starring Mexican pop star, Dulce Maria. And for any zombie lovers out there, don’t miss Juan of the Dead. We’re also going to have great music and dancing at each of our after parties: [the next ones are] Centerpiece Party on March 14, and Closing Night Party on March 17. These parties are going to be lots of fun for everyone” expressed the San Diego Latino Film Festival’s Founder and Executive Director, Ethan Van Thillo.

As for new aspects to look forward to at the festival this year, Van Thillo says “there are a couple of new things at the festival this year. For one, we have a whole celebration of Latinos on TV. Because Lati-nos are underrepresented in the tv industry, we wanted to highlight the great work they are doing and call attention to the fact that they are still contributing wonderful things to US television. We also have a great showcase of New Chilean Directors, made possible in part by the Chilean Ministry of Foreign Relations. This is a showcase of up and coming directors from Chile, and they have given us four films that have great stories and great diversity. From a fictional story of the 2010 Chilean earthquake “3:34 Terremoto en Chile”, to a fascinating film about a Chilean immigrant in Nashville “Musica Campesina”, the films represent diverse voices from Chile, which is very exciting to see.”

In the arts scene, Lisa Franek, the festival’s Artistic Director encourages everyone to take advantage of the artistic blend of film and exhibitions throughout the venue, as well as at the parties. “As always, we try to incorporate many different art forms besides film into the festival. We’ll have live music at our parties, as well as in the theater lobby every night from 6-7pm, and there will also be an art exhibit in the theater.”

In case you’re wondering how the festival’s official poster came about this year, Franek explains “this is the third year we’ve had a competition for our poster design, and we received entries from around the world. This year’s winner was chosen by a jury of local artists. The winner they chose was a student from France who is studying in London.”

Overall, if you’re a local the festival is the place to be. If you’re visiting, it’s an event not to miss. It’s really wonderful to see what started as a student film festival nineteen years ago, today has bloomed into a internationally renowned Latino Film Festival just a year shy of celebrating 20 years of dedicated evolution translated into a long list of past, present and to-be special guest appearances, over 3,500 screened films from across Latin Ameri-ca to the United States.

Van Thillo has created mountains and still manages to offer students an array of media options through classes “We will continue our mission to serve the community with our media classes and tech camps for kids and teens, as well as our workshops for adults.” As for future plans he says “We’re also hoping to expand our exhibition programs to be able to screen films year round in our new facility on El Cajon Blvd, in addition to getting ready for our big 20th anniversary coming up for next year’s festival. It’s going to be a big year for us.”

The San Diego Latino Film Festival run March 8 – 18 at the Hazard Center in Mission Valley. For a complete list of featured films and guest appearances, there’s an online catalogue at: www.sdlatinofilm.com.

(De frente) el artista Carlos W. Ingoyen, en su exposición Enigma de dos culturas, dando una explicación.

Arnold Schwarzenegger exgobernador de California y el Native American Heritage Comision en 2010, reconocieron al pintor Carlos W. Irigoyen, como uno de los mejores artistas del estado, por ser él mismo, ciudadano de nacionalidad México/americana/nativo americano (rosebud sioux tribe).

Carlos W. Irigoyen, es pintor por herencia; él es bisnieto del famoso pintor y muralista y caricaturista crítico Raúl Murillo.

El artista, el pasado jueves 16 de febrero inauguró su exposición denominada “Enigma de dos culturas”, la cual se encuentra en exhibición en el 2do Piso del Instituto de Cultura de Baja California, en donde presenta a la consideración del público 15 de sus mejores trabajos. Carlos W. Irigoyen, antes de la inaugu-ración tuvo la gentileza de concedernos una entrevista y lo que a continuación presentamos es el resultado de este evento:

P.- ¿Carlos, cómo te ini-ciaste en el mundo de la pintura?

R.- Provengo de una generación de artistas, mi bisabuelo famoso muralista representa nuestra estirpe, soy el último que ha quedado de esa generación de artistas, traigo el arte en la sangre. Nací en esta frontera, aunque fui creado en los EE.UU., siempre he tenido bases muy claras y para mi resaltar mi cultura es muy importante. Mi bisabuelo me enseñó a querer a los mayas, toda su herencia se la dedicó a los indios mayas, construyéndoles una escuela; él no bene fició a su familia, todo se lo dedicó a los mayas. Mi bisabuelo murió en tierras mayas. Tengo 2 años y medio dedicados a cultivar el arte de la pintura. Después que mis hijos prácticamente se independizaron, pensé “es mi momento” y me inicié con una fuerza arrebatadora a pintar, trazar, crear indios mayas, aztecas e indios americanos.

P.- ¿Has tomado alguna clase de pintura?

R.- Jamás, la demostración de mi arte es empírico, intuitivo y creativo en grandes dosis. Me nace hacerlo, es una forma de expresar y al mismo tiempo vivo cierto conflicto interno, no acierto a identificar en gran medida el mensaje que representan el interior de mis pinturas. Tengo un gran amigo, arqueólogo, Felipe Dávalos, he compartido con él la escena y me ha mostrado algunos pergaminos que guarda en su hogar y encuentro mucha semejanza en ellos con mis trazos, sin haberlos visto jamás, yo no copio, soy auténtico. Cuando he visitado Chichen Itzá o Teotihuacán, me identifico plenamente con los grabados que ahí se encuentran y pienso “esto es lo mío”, pero no copio, creo.

P.- ¿Crees que tu desarrollo artístico tiene algún límite?

R.- Mira, trabajo en mi casa, creo y tengo mis propias metas, deseo conocer el mundo actual de la pintura.

P.- ¿Algo más que desées comentar?

R.- Quiero agradecer y felicitar a Tijuana por este esfuerzo para apoyar e impulsar el arte y la cultura en estos últimos años, Tijuana ya suena a nivel internacional y eso realmente me llena de orgullo. Quiero enviar un saludo a los lectores y mi agradecimiento a La Prensa San Diego, por esta oportunidad.

 La tendencia de la inmediatez y brevedad llega a la danza con un reto lanzado entre la comunidad dancística de Tijuana San Diego.

Así como un haikú o un cuento en twitter, el reto consiste en hacer una coreografía de 2 a 7 bailarines, con una duración de 6 a 12 minutos , en un espacio apenas de 4x 4 pies.

Esta descripción, que haría sudar a cualquiera, es una manera de retar a la comunidad dancística y también promover esta expresión rumbo al festival Cuerpos en tránsito que desde hace 15 años se realiza en Tijuana y en el que participan grupos de reconocimiento internacional.

“Queremos aprovechar la inercia de que la gente ya tiene confianza de reunirse en la calle otra vez” explicó Henry Torres, codirector de la compañía de danza Lux Boreal, “y para los creadores es un reto presentarse tan cerca del público, de una manera tan íntima, que se añade al reto del espacio que es muy chiquito, entonces el reto es ¿Qué se puede decir en ese espacio tan chiquito?”.

El reto es lanzado por la compañía de danza Lux Boreal y el Centro Cultural Tijuana (CECUT) como parte del esfuerzo de llevar el arte fuera de centros convencionales y a públicos que todavía temen acercarse a la danza contemporánea.

“Este es el segundo año en que hacemos este tipo de intervenciones” explica Jorge Medina, director de promoción cultural del CECUT. “El año pasado hicimos la intervención de Luz Roja, en los semáforos y esta vez vamos por la vida nocturna que es tan emblemática de esta ciudad”.

Cuatro bares que serán sedes de las eliminatorias en cuatro semanas a partir del 23 de febrero y hasta el jueves 15 de marzo son: bar Mofo; Jacas Tequilería; Le Conteiner y Hangar 27.

Ir a los eventos será totalmente gratis y ahí mismo se venderán bonos para Cuerpos en Tránsito, que tendrán un costo de $250 pesos para asistir a ocho espectáculos de la muestra, a realizarse del 23 al 30 de abril.

La gran final será el viernes 30 de marzo en el CECUT, con presentaciones de La Ballena de Jonás y Madame Ur y sus hombres, tendrá un costo de $100 pesos ($8 dólares) y el ganador se llevará un premio de 20 mil pesos ($1,600 dólares).

“La convocatoria no es exclusiva para bailarines profesionales, incluye a gente que hace teatro físico y se ha hecho un esfuerzo por invitar a estudiantes de danza porque en este caso se busca integrar a todas las disciplinas que se expresen con el movimiento” explica Ángel Arámbula, codirector de Lux Boreal.

“La idea es que también se empiece a sentir que la danza está sucediendo en Tijuana aunque faltan tres meses para Cuerpos: Es un reto pero con esas limitaciones se puede hacer magia” agrega Torres.

By Mariana Martínez

Immediacy is the trend of our times and this tendency has reached contemporary dance with a new challenge for the Tijuana/San Diego dance community.

Such as a short poem or haiku or a short story written on twitter, the dance challenge is to create and perform six to twelve minute choreography in a stage just 4×4 feet.

Performers are sweating already. The challenge is designed to entice the creative process and promote modern dance before the big annual festival Cuerpos en tránsito (Bodies in transit), an event created 15 years ago that now attracts performers from all over the world.

“We want to take advantage of the thriving night scene and the new trust people have in their city” Henry Torres, co director of Lux Boreal dance company explains, “for performers it is a challenge to be so close to the public, in a very intimate setting, added to space and time constraints, it makes them ask, what can I do in such a tinny space?”

The challenge was put forth by Lux Boreal along with the Tijuana Cultural Center (CECUT) as part of an effort to take art performances out of conventional spaces and offer it to a wider audience that might otherwise not be exposed to such expression.

“This is our second year with ‘get the ball rolling’ interventions,” Jorge Medina promotions director for CECUT, explained, “last year we did our Red Light intervention, where dancers performed on busy street intersections, and this year we are taking it to the busy Tijuana nightlife.”

Four bars are participating in the challenge with weekly performances on February 23rd, and March first, 8th and 15th. The bars are Mofo, Jacas Tequilería; Le Conteiner and Hangar 27.

The events are free to the public and special prices packages will be sold so people can pay just $20 dollars to enjoy eight dance performances at Cuerpos en Tránsito on the week of April 23rd to the 30th.

The final challenge will be held at CECUT on Friday March 30th, it will cost just $8 and it will include live performances by two of the hippest bands in Tijuana La Ballena de Jonás and Madame Ur. The winners will take home a $1600 cash Price and the three finalists will get to perform at Cuerpos en Tránsito in April.

“The challenge is not only aimed at professional dancers, it also includes physical theater, performers and dance students. The idea is to include all disciplines that involve movement as an artform” Ángel Arámbula Lux Boreal co-director explains.

“The ultimate goal is to fill this city with dance despite the main festival being three months away. It’s a challenge but limitations can brew some magic” says Torres with a smile.

The photographs hang on the Mexican side, next to the lanes where traffic lines up, waiting to cross into the U.S.

 On February 2, the Center for Cultural Investigation of the Autonomous University of Baja California mounted an exhibition of 18 large photographs, taken by photographer David Bacon, on the border wall, next to the garita, or gate, between Mexicali, in Mexico, and Calexico, in the United States. The photographs, which measure about 6′ by 4′, hang on the steel beams that make up the wall in the section of the border that lies between the two cities. They hang on the Mexican side, next to the lanes where traffic lines up, waiting to cross into the U.S. At times, hundreds of cars spend over an hour in the lines, giving drivers ample opportunity to look at and react to the images.

The show, called “Beyond Borders,” consists of images that document the process of migration. Some show the life of Mexican migrants in the U.S., while others were taken in migrants’ home communities in Mexico. Three photographs show children working in the fields in northern Baja California, including one taken just a few miles from the Mexicali gate itself.

In an interview with local media at the show’s opening reception, in a park across the street from the wall, Bacon explained, “As a photographer, I’ve tried to create images that aren’t neutral. They are, first, a reality check, showing what life is actually like, trying to do it through the eyes of people themselves. But they are also a form of social criticism – of poverty, of the discrimination and unequal status migrants face, especially in the U.S., but even in Mexico itself. Therefore, they’re also a call for social change. So what better place to show them than on the wall itself? The Center is using an object hated on both sides of the border, and reclaiming it as a site for developing popular culture, and even more, a space where people can be urged to make changes so that some day we live in a world where the wall itself will not exist.”

Luis Ongay, director of the Center for Cultural Investigation of the Autonomous University of Baja California, said that many people will see the show, because of its location where cars and pedestrians are crossing to the United States. “We know this is an open space, it’s bringing the museum into a public space.” He invites people to give their comments on its Facebook page: http://es-es.facebook.com/cicmuseouabc

Christian Fernandez, center subdirector, noted that the exhibit uses images that are part of a project of popular art and culture, and then shows them in a way that is accessible to ordinary people. “We have a show about migration, and the people looking at the images are those who themselves are crossing the border – migrating.” He pointed to two images, one depicting an old labor camp in the Palo Verde Valley, which housed bracero workers in the 1950s, and another portrait of a former bracero, taken in Oaxaca. “Some former braceros, who are very old now, come on Sundays to this park to meet and talk with each other. What will they think of the images that show parts of their own experience?”

Bacon especially thanked Natalia Rojas, who was able to create the very high quality prints. The prints were made on plastic-coated fabric, stretched across metal frames, and coated with an anti-UV protective film. Fernandez said he hoped that the prints would survive the next three months of the show, and that if they did, the center might then bring them to other sections of the border wall in Baja California.

Roberto Fernandez

Roberto Fernandez concedes that it’s sometimes lonely being a bluesman in Culiacan. The capital of the Mexican state of Sinaloa, Culiacan is best known for the banda or grupera sounds that also provide the drum beat to the narco-culture and violence that’s enveloped the region.

“There’s no blues scene,” Fernandez chuckles. “We are the only ones.” The frontman for the Malverde Blues Experience, Fernandez is a big man with a voice to match. His stage projection recalls in some ways Leslie West of the old US rock group Mountain, and Fernandez’s band mates lay out a thundering sound with slices of heavymetal, soul and the Texas boogie of ZZ Top.

As for the name of the group, Fernandez offers two explanations, both of them riddled with Mexican experiences of immigration, contraband smuggling, banditry and myth-making.

The name “Malverde” (literally “Bad Green”), says the lead singer, is taken from an Indiana friend’s bummer high on marijuana that could be considered a “blues experience.” Pressed further, Fernandez accepts that Malverde, of course, is also the patron saint of Sinaloa’s narcos and poor people who revere the outlaw figure outside the formal rituals of the Roman Catholic Church.

“The name seemed perfect to me because it situates us in that mythic context, which in the final analysis is the basis of all societies,” Fernandez muses. The music of Malverde Blues Experience, he adds, not only speaks to the realities of a violent hometown but to “universal situations that happen anywhere.”

In a land of mariachis, romantic trios, norteno stars and cumbia crooners, few probably would think of Mexico as a blues country. But swimming underneath popular musical currents and far removed from the radar screen of the commercial mainstream, a dedicated if struggling blues scene inspired by Mississippi legends, British interpreters and contemporary masters plugs onward against the grain.

Perhaps not surprisingly, the capital of Mexico City is the most visible front of the blues warriors. The big city hosts the annual Polanco Blues Festival, a smattering of radio programs, regular performances and even an Internet magazine devoted to the blues.

Different groups perform covers and original songs in both Spanish and English. Formed by veterans of emblematic Mexican blues bands like Real de Catorce, a defunct group named after an old silver mine, Callejon Azul (Blue Alley) is one of the most active combos on the circuit.

“It´s becoming a big movement in Mexico City, and one with quality,” says Marycarmen Velasquez, Callejon Azul’s lead singer.

“(Mexican blues bands) are not groups that play all covers. They bring original compositions that are musically fine-tuned and done by quality musicians,” Velasquez says. Although Callejon Azul samples some covers, Velasquez says her group concentrates on producing original tunes in Spanish. The blues singer says she was influenced by Koko Taylor but early on searched for her “own style.”

Callejon Azul songwriter and bassist Salvador Arceo says that instead of social commentary, his band prefers introspective themes that touch on sexuality, love and disillusion.

“More than anything we do personal songs, but all of them with the feeling of being human,” Arceo affirms.

Callejon Azul and fellow groups get out their music and word of their gigs through Facebook, Myspace and CD.

For Mexican blues lovers, or bluseros, the Internet magazine Cultura Blues (culturablues.com) is a must-read source of information about upcoming concerts like the January 28 battle of the harmonicas scheduled for Mexico City’s Rock Blues Factory club. In addition to the regular reviews, the current edition of the publication (January 2012) contains an old interview with Muddy Waters, a piece on a Jimi Hendrix record and a discography of Spanish-language blues music.

Located about six hours’ driving time north of Mexico City, Aguascalientes is another important center of the blues. Best known for its huge Nissan factory and mammoth, beer-soaked San Marcos Fair, Aguascalientes also stages the Aguas Blues festival every November. Last year’s edition of the free festival celebrated the 15th anniversary of an event that draws blues musicians from across Mexico and, when the budget permits, from abroad. The slogan of Aguas Blues is simple: “The Blues Lifts Up the Spirits.”

At the 2011 festival, an enthusiastic crowd of hundreds packed the elegant and acoustically fine Teatro Aguasca-lientes to hear blues messengers tell it like it is.

Longtime festival organizer Juan Manuel Munoz admits he was surprised by the first turnout for a festival showcasing music with a decidedly underground presence. Munoz says that while Mexicans have a different history than the African Americans of the US South, his countrymen can relate to the adverse social situations and deep emotional feelings that electrify the blues.

“We identify with the suffering, the pain, the social problems,” Munoz says. “From the inception, many blues players try to imitate the greats like Muddy Waters or those before him.”

A live wire on stage, Jimmy Hernandez has been at the core of Aguascalientes’ blues scene for 30 years. In his long career Hernandez has played with several bands, and his latest group is aptly called Los Amigos del Blues (Friends of the Blues).

“The music makes my heart vibrate. For me, it’s life,” says the singer/harp player. A music teacher by day, Hernandez says he was influenced by blues pioneers like Robert Johnson. He then picked up the harmonica after listening to British musician John Mayall. Concurring with other Mexican artists, Hernandez says creating and disseminating the blues is not always an easy task. Like US musicians, the obstacles confronting Mexican blues practitioners are many: juggling day jobs with the demands of the craft, virtual blackouts by commercial radio stations, sometimes difficult club owners and fans that don’t always turn out to smaller, routine gigs that help take care of the bills.

“(Day) work is our activity,” Hernandez says, “because here in Aguascalientes music doesn’t pay.”

Yet the blues keeps attracting new generations of players and fans. Luis Sifuentes followed in his father’s footsteps and played with the old man’s band, Los Amigos del Blues, at last fall’s Aguas Blues fest. The 16-year-old guitarist says he enjoyed seeing the different musical styles. An admirer of British axe men like Jimmy Page and Eric Clapton, Sifuentes says the blues is a minority musical preference among Mexican young people, but one that nevertheless attracts some like himself.

“You can improvise a lot. That’s what stirs my interest,” the budding bluesman says. “If we can compare (blues) with other musical genres, it is total improvisation.”

Even at his young age, Sifuentes exudes the commitment of a die-hard blues fan. “The blues is a music that does not deserve to die,” he adds. “It’s a great musical tradition that should continue progressing through the years.”

Blues promoter Juan Manuel Munoz could not be more in agreement.

“I think it’s a safe bet to say that (blues) is among the genres that aren’t easily forgotten, because it is feeling and that’s what motivates people,” he says. “The blues is more alive than ever.”

Frontera NorteSur: on-line, U.S.-Mexico border news Center for Latin American and Border Studies New Mexico State University Las Cruces, New Mexico

Por: Paco Zavala

El artista Adeeb Maki Jasim trabajando en su taller.

Inauguran extraordinaria exposición pictórica denominada “Ritmo Sufi: Variaciones de un mismo tema/ Variations on Sufi Thems” que presenta el artista iraki Adeeb Maki Jasim, el próximo viernes 27 de enero, a las 19:00 horas, en la Galería de la ciudad en el Palacio de la Cultura de Tijuana.

“El sufismo es la doctrina de los sufíes, es una mística musulmana originada en Persia, que ha inspirado la mas alta poesía en esa lengua”. Esta muestra pictórica reúne estas características, pero llevadas al lienzo con colores creados por el mismo artista, así estos trabajos tienen el sello personalizado de Adeeb Maki Jasim.

En la obra de Adeeb Maki Jasim, utiliza la idea del santuario como un enfoque y fundamento que al artista le inspira un símbolo que evoca al sufismo como una practica de “abstracción y minimalismo”. El sufismo, indicó el artista: “para mí corresponde a un ejemplo de amor, de una pureza espiritual o un sentimiento indemne, libre de intereses o anhelos”. Como tradición el sufismo también juega con temas de amor de niño: espontaneo, libre, nostálgico y de ensueño.

La exposición reúne 22 pinturas, de diversos tamaños, con dimensiones desde 39 x 47, 36 x 36 hasta 12 x 12 pulgadas. El artista indicó que: “despues de experimentar por más de 20 años, utiliza actualmente sus propios materiales, emplea además diferentes medios que contribuyen a lograr la tridimensionalidad de sus obras”. Y dice ademas: “Constantemente intento concebir una topografía para mi obra, como si estuviera creando una pintura esculpida, y así voy produciendo el efecto que me interesa lograr. Conforme añado colores, voy acercándome a una impresión o evocación similar a la de un mural o relieve sobre una pared. Pocas veces uso pincel, salvo para darle definición a la caligrafía”.

El artista ha exhibido sus pinturas en el mundo árabe, en EE.UU y en el Reino Unido, ahora lo hace en Mexico. Va a estar muy interesante el visitar esta exposición, ya tendremos oportunidad de comentar un poco mas sobre el artista y su trabajo en fecha posterior.

Para concluir adicionaremos las siguiente nota: El Museo de Historia de Tijuana, instalado en uno de los espacios del Palacio de la Cultura de Tijuana, a partir del pasado jueves 19 de enero, ya no cobrará más la entrada, ahora el acceso es completamente gratuito.

Esta decisión se tomó para beneficiar a la población, de esta manera tiene acceso a interiorizarse en la historia de Tijuana, en su proceso de desarrollo desde que se fundó hasta nuestros días.

El museo cuenta con una sala de exposición permanente en su segunda planta y dos salas de exposiciones temporales en su planta baja. Actualmente se exhibe la exposición temporal “Historia de familias tijuanenses”, en la que se muestran fotografías, objetos y documentos. El museo permanece abierto de martes a domingo de las 10:00 am. a 18:00 pm. Para información solicítela al 01152 (664) 688-1721 Ext. 107.

John Baldessari is one of the most influential artists working today. A native of National City, Calif., Baldessari has been making art for decades. In 1960, MCASD—then the La Jolla Art Center—gave Baldessari his first exhibition. His relationship with the Museum has continued, including the 1997 exhibition National City. MCASD is honored to welcome Baldessari back to the Museum, this time with an expansive survey of his entire body of printmaking.

Drawn from the impressively rich and deep holdings of contemporary prints assembled by collector, business man, and philanthropist Jordan Schnitzer, this exhibition represents the largest offering of Baldessari’s graphic oeuvre ever assembled.

Baldessari took on printmaking in the 1970s and has continued unabated. With laconic wit and visual restraint, he alters and crops photographic images to build a beguiling visual vocabulary. This retrospective of Baldessari’s prints, including more than 100 works made between 1973 and 2010 in media as diverse as lithography, etching, photogravure, aquatint, photo intaglio, embossing, silk-screen, and beyond.

For Baldessari his collaboration with numerous presses and printers and his nonstop experimentation with materials and media are testimony to his devotion to the endless potentials of printmaking. Baldessari places a high value on the art of printmaking, and this exhibition will reveal the rich results of this engagement.

A scene from the Michael Jackson The Immortal World Tour.

Who could forget the day Michael Jackson’s death was solely a heavy rumor waiting confirmation. Rumor or not, it was breaking news across all genres. I mean, we were talking Michael Jackson –the King of Pop, the little boy with the huge afro that stood out through his gracious voice amongst The Jackson Five, who later astonished the world with his unique dancing moves, frightened teenagers with his thrilling movie-like videos of werewolves, zombies and what not, and as the man who also raised controversies over his socially odd behavior but who lastly, really just brought a world of fans together one last time as we said goodbye.

Two years after his death, Cirque du Soleil brings to stage “Michael Jackson The Immortal World Tour”, a spectacle that wraps the beginning and the end of a career full circle in a way that only Cirque du Soleil knows how to do. From start to finish, the crowd is dancing, singing, clapping and yes, crying as well. As the show evolves, Michael’s songs are played and you will hear no one but his voice resonate in the arena, everyone on stage plays a key role in reflecting the effect that his music has on fans, after all, everyone onstage is not only a Cirque performer, they are a true Michael Jackson fan.

In interviewing Leo Moctezuma, one of the show’s performers of Latino decent coming from a proud Puerto Rican family, I asked what his most vivid memory of Michael growing up was, he quickly responded “Aside from watching Michael Jackson’s Moon Walker movie on repeat as a child and trying to learn all the dance steps from each video, I still remember seeing MJ live in Concert, The History Tour 15 rows back from stage on January 4th 1997 at the “Aloha Bowl” in Hawaii with my sister, where I went to High School. I cried, danced and sang almost every song.”

Needless to say, Moctezuma expressed how blessed and honored he feels to be part of the tour nearly fifteen years since that concert. Like a dream in the making, he’s thrilled to share this unbelievably unique experience with his family and most of all -other MJ fans. “I get to dance to his music that I grew up to, and actually do a lot of his original choreography! Michael has influenced me and the world in so many ways, I feel fortunate to help continue spreading his message through music art and basically keeping his spirit alive… Immortal!”

Something many probably didn’t know about the King of Pop is that he was a huge Cirque du Soleil fan. The show’s Publicist, Maxime Charbonneau shared Jackson’s admiration for Cirque du Soleil’s artistic creativity, “…he had seen most of our touring shows in California, and many of the resident shows in Las Vegas. Michael saw our first show to tour the US in 1989 and also visited the Cirque du Soleil International headquarters in 2003. Michael had a lot of respect and admiration for the creativity and artistry involved in Cirque du Soleil production. He saw some of our shows many times, and mentioned to us that he would have loved one day to work on a project with Cirque du Soleil.”

“Unfortunately, we weren’t able to make this happen while he was still alive. After Michael’s passing, Cirque got in touch with The Estate to start working on a unique concept, an ultimate tribute to Michael’s music, his legacy, and his work as a unique human being. Mixing both Cirque du Soleil unique vision to Michael’s music was a match made in heaven. It creates a unique experience for Cirque and Michael Jackson fans,” continued Charbonneau.

One thing you should know about Cirque du Soleil’s tribute to Michael Jackson through this show, is that it is just that -a tribute to his legacy. Don’t go in expecting to experience what would’ve or could’ve been the tour Michael Jackson was preparing so hard for before he passed. This is in no way trying to top, resemble or compete with that, it’s a show all in it’s own stemming from Michael’s admiration for the creativeness, passion and dedication that artists at Cirque du Soleil spill over the stage and onto the audience time and again. Nonetheless, you’ll thoroughly enjoy the music which is all Michael Jackson’s, the costumes resemble many of his signature outfits including the rhinestone gloves and black shoes. An interesting fact about the costumes is that not one single performer’s real hair is used during the show, as real as it may seem, everyone wears a wig and there are quite a few state of the art outfits reliant on technology to lighten up the arena so keep an eye out for those, you’ll be mesmerized.

Michael Jackson The Immortal World Tour will be stopping in San Diego for a two day run. Performances are scheduled for Saturday, January 21 and Sunday, January 22 at the Valley View Casino 3500 Sports Arena Blvd.