In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month LeaLA makes it official kick-off on September 19, 2024 with a special performane of El Mariachi a blend of storytelling and music, offering a unique tribute to Mexico’s rich cultural heritage.

Through humor, irony, and poignant self-reflection, this performance tells the captivating story of a disillusioned mariachi singer seeking to escape the stereotype of the “Mexican macho,” and his quest for artistic freedom while exploring the complexities of Mexican identity and cultural values. 

Author Juan Villoro will bring his celebrated story to life with a powerful reading, accompanied by esteemed writers Hernán Bravo Varela and Jorge F. Hernández, performing timeless Mexican classics by legendary artists such as José Alfredo Jiménez, Pedro Infante, Juan Gabriel, and Antonio Aguilar.

This first day sets the richness of the programming of the four day event which will be offering authors and book panels, readings, music, and activations. Also in the three day following, kids from LASD will be bussed in to take part on countless workshops and activities that LEALa will be offering for free activations and special workshops for kids, and all are free!

Highlights include thought provoking conversations on identity, poetry, women empowerment panels and a musical experience entitled Tocada Y Fuga created and performed by musician and director Sergio Arau accompanied by his wife and actress Yareli Arizmendi.

The same d will be a panel on film identity on September 20 at 5pm and immediately following there will be a 20th anniversary screening A Day Without a Mexican directed by Sergio Arau on Friday, Sept\. 20th at 4PM.

The full schedule can se seen HERE .

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“Our community’s need for the arts has never been greater, and the EAI wants to continue supporting our local artists and arts organizations, especially during this critical time,” said Lupe Arriola, EAI Chair.  “We look forward to enjoying the work of our grantees as we all move forward with making adjustments for furthering the arts, now and in the future.”

EAI grant-funding is focused on arts programming that brings sustainable arts initiatives to “art-poor” neighborhoods, and that advances opportunities for working and new artists in Eastern Los Angeles County, including Southeast LA and the San Gabriel Valley.  This funding cycle, the EAI awarded grants to seven organizations ranging from $6,000 to $25,000 and totaling $81,500.  The recipients are:

• Casa 0101-The Bronze Nightingale Development and Production: Explores the thriving jazz scene taking place in Boyle Heights and Little Tokyo post-War II.  Count Basie broke the color barrier when he was the first African-American to play at the Paramount Ballroom in Boyle Heights in 1946.   www.casa0101.org

• East West Players-Theatre for Youth-The Fantastic Kim Sisters Production in the Southeast: Follows the lives of America’s first K-Pop group, who made their career in the 1950s and 60s. Within the context of the Korean War, the production examines themes such as immigration, sexism, racism, fetishization of Asian women, and societal expectations. Includes standards-based study guide to help frame and explore the themes.   www.eastwestplayers.org

• Los Angeles Poet Society-Word Up in the Southeast: Cultivates community-based writing on culture, community, and social justice; nurtures future and current writers; and provides space for expression and work to published.  www.lapoetsociety.org

• Macha Theater Co/Films-The Nun and the Countess: Centers around Sor Juana Inez de La Cruz, a 17th Century cloistered nun who defied society’s view of women at a time when women could only marry or become a nun. Story highlights where “we have been, where we are today, and where our future might be taking us.”  www.machatheatre.org

• Maria Elena Yepes – El Circo Anahuac-An Aztec Opera, Continuing the Journey in the Southeast:  Based on an Aztec legend and the Náhua origin myth of the twin volcanoes outside Mexico City, Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl – with a surprising twist. Combining classical music, puppetry, movement, illusions, and choreography, blends the present with the fantastic, the real with the imagined, the historic with the mythical – challenging the imagination and fascinating people of all ages. A tragic/comedic tale of ancient Mesoamerica, displays the rich historic culture of the Nahuatl people, who populated the Americas from Oregon to Yucatan.

• Ruben Guevara-Confessions of a Radical Chicano Doo-Wop Singer in the Southeast: Based on excerpts from Guevara’s life memoir – an account of the trials of becoming a musician/doo wop singer, transforming into a Chicano Culture Sculptor, utilizing and promoting Chicano art and artists in its infancy.  www.youtube.com/watch?v=5lqOVxYrDz8    

• Women Who Submit: Free generative writing workshops in creative nonfiction, fiction, and poetry; and submission strategies and resources.  www.womenwhosubmitlit.org

EAI grant awards represent the EAI’s on-going commitment of serving as the only entity solely dedicated to funding and furthering the arts in the greater eastern Los Angeles County region.

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