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@KimmelCenter celebrates #HispanicHeritageMonth with NEW installations from Mexican artists @hesrawe & Ignacio Cadena, plus Philly’s Karina Puente. Plus FREE dancing, comedy from @cristela9, and more all season long. Info @ kimmelcenter.org
Press Contact:
Lauren Woodard
215-790-5835
lwoodard@kimmelcenter.org
CELEBRATE HISPANIC HERITAGE
ALL SEASON LONG ON THE
KIMMEL CENTER CULTURAL CAMPUS
PROGRAMMING INCLUDES LOS TROMPOS & LOOK UP! LOOK IN.; FREE MONTHLY LATIN DANCE PARTY LA NOCHE; COMEDY STAR CRISTELA ALONZO; RETURNING FAVORITE SONGS YOU LEFT BEHIND; PLUS MEXICAN FOLKLORE PERFORMERS, THREE KINGS DAY CELEBRATION, AND MORE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (Philadelphia, PA, September 5, 2019) –– The Kimmel Center Cultural Campus is happy to announce season-long programming to celebrate the traditions and vibrancy of Hispanic culture in Philadelphia and beyond, kicking off during Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15 – October 15, 2019). Philadelphia audiences are invited to experience dance, comedy, song, storytelling, and invaluable artistic contributions from across the Hispanic community throughout the year, beginning with two new art exhibitions, Los Trompos and Look Up! Look In.
“We are honored to present visual art, comedy, dance, and more by talented individuals on our Cultural Campus throughout our entire season, but especially during Hispanic Heritage Month,” said Ed Cambron, Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President of the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts. “Our Cultural Campus is an epicenter of storytelling for Philadelphians, as we regularly host speakers, timely community conversations & events; once again, in addition to relevant celebratory programming, in an ongoing effort to highlight Hispanic artists from across our Resident Companies and our own programming, we will focus social media and digital efforts on their stories and successes, and how their heritage impacts their art.”
A new, 3-month, FREE Plaza exhibition featuring works from multiple Mexican artists: Los Trompos, an interactive installation in Commonwealth Plaza, brings to life ten 3D spinning tops; Philadelphians are invited to sit or spin on the structures, fulfilling the artists’ vision for collaboration and community interaction as the public works together to make the structures move. The creations of Mexican designers Héctor Esrawe and Ignacio Cadena, these colorful sculptures are created by artists utilizing a traditional fabric weave and appear in varied shapes and colors. The Kimmel Center has commissioned Look Up! Look In. by Mexican-American, Philadelphia-based artist Karina Puente and Karina Puente Arts International. Puente has designed 53 hand-cut panels of “Papel Picado”, suspended above the Commonwealth Plaza. The installations are 5-feet wide and range between 6-12 feet long. Both are open to the public at any time during normal building operating hours (10 AM – 6PM, daily – from August 19 through November 17.)
Part of the Kimmel Center Cultural Campus’ ongoing monthly, FREE programming, La NOCHE, presented by PNC Arts Alive, mixes the world of music and the Latin culture, providing a fun night out for music and dance lovers alike, with two live bands – the La NOCHE House Band from Philadelphia, the other from a different Latin country each month.
Annual favorites include: Songs You Left Behind, an evening of songs and storytelling on Thursday, October 3 at 7:00 p.m. For the 6th year in a row, this event enables Latino immigrants, along with their children, to share stories and songs they’ve left behind and the memories they carry with them. Alongside the Mexican Consulate and the Mexican Cultural Center, the Kimmel Center welcomes all to take part in one of the most celebrated holidays among the Hispanic and Latino communities – Three Kings Day. The 4th annual evening, on Saturday, January 4, at 4 p.m. will consist of many traditions, activities, and fun for everyone.
Other upcoming offerings include beloved comedian Cristela Alonzo in her new stand-up comedy show My Affordable Care Act, on Thursday, October 10, 2019 at 8:00 p.m., and practitioners of authentic Mexican folklore, dance, music, and costumes, Ballet Folclòrico Nacional de México de Silvia Lozano onThursday, March 12, 2020, at 7:30 p.m.
Below are full details on Hispanic Heritage offerings on the Kimmel Center Cultural Campus for the 2019-20 season:
LA NOCHE
Location varies – Kimmel Center Cultural Campus’ Commonwealth Plaza or SEI Innovation Studio
One Monday per month. 8:00 – 9:00 p.m., The La NOCHE House Band. 9:00 p.m., Headline Band. | FREE
September 30 – Commonwealth Plaza
October 21– Commonwealth Plaza
November 25 – SEI Innovation Studio
December 16 – SEI Innovation Studio
January 6 – Commonwealth Plaza
February 3 – SEI Innovation Studio
March 2 – SEI Innovation Studio
April 6 – SEI Innovation Studio
May 4 – SEI Innovation Studio
June 8 – SEI Innovation Studio
La NOCHE, presented by PNC Arts Alive, mixes the world of music and the Latin culture, providing a fun night out for music and dance lovers alike, with two live bands – one from Philadelphia, the other from a different Latin country each month. Experience the hottest live bands as you turn up the steam on the dance floor, led by host/dance leader Kevin Ngo. Enjoy the sexy rhythms of The Caribbean and Latin America as live bands serve up a caliente mix of music that really makes you want to move.
8:00 p.m.: The La NOCHE House Band, led by master percussionist Arturo Stable, playing the Kimmel Center’s version of Philly Latino Rhythm and Funk.
9:00 p.m.: High-energy performance from guest bands featuring the best of Latino music today. Upcoming: Xiomara Laugart (September 30), Bembona (October 21), and Alea (November 25).
LOS TROMPOS
Kimmel Center Cultural Campus’ Commonwealth Plaza
August 19 – November 17, 2019 | FREE
Los Trompos, or “The Spinning Tops”, is designed by Mexican artisans Esrawe + Cadena and draws its inspiration from the form of a spinning top, a popular toy with children around the world. First commissioned by the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, the project features 10 three-dimensional, larger than life tops in a variety of colors and shapes, created in part by fabric woven in a traditional style. By working together, guests may spin the tops on their bases as they interact with the structures in this FREE Plaza installation.
“Only through this interaction and collaboration will the work come to life and be complete.” – Ignacio Cadena, Co-Designer of Los Trompos
The Los Trompos installation was first commissioned by the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, Georgia, and premiered in 2015 in the Woodruff Arts Center’s Carroll Slater Sifly Piazza. Since then Los Trompos has traveled throughout the United States, appearing in Houston, Texas; West Palm Beach, Florida; UNC Chapel Hill, North Carolina; and Scottsdale, Arizona.
LOOK UP! LOOK IN.
Kimmel Center Cultural Campus’ Commonwealth Plaza
August 19 – November 17, 2019 | FREE
Handcrafted by Philadelphia-based artist Karina Puente, Look Up! Look In. challenges people to stop and “look up” to appreciate this aerial companion piece suspended in the air above the grounded Los Trompos. For this new work, Puente hand-cut 53 Papel Picado that are 5-feet wide and range in length from 6-feet to 12-feet long.
“Papel Picado”, or “perforated paper/pecked paper”, originally derived from the Aztecs, specifically within the San Salvador Huixcolotla area of Mexico, and is created by crafting shapes into paper. Papel picado is also at times associated with air as an element. Headed by Puente, Karina Puente Arts International is a female-run, Philadelphia-based studio. Puente’s work has been displayed at Columbia University, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Studios at Mass MoCA, Corcoran National Gallery, Miami MoCA, Weeksville Heritage Center in Brooklyn, the Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe, and Elverhoj Museum of History and Art.
Puente credits her upbringing and heritage when speaking of the papel picado artform: “My custom, hand cut patterns root my practice in tradition and keep me connected to ancestors. Weekly family calls with my Tias in Santa Barbara always result in an AHA! moment. Through the exhibition Look Up! Look In., my aim is to articulate the spark of a new idea, arrive at solution-oriented thinking, and fly high during this important cultural moment.”
SONGS YOU LEFT BEHIND
Kimmel Center Cultural Campus’ SEI Innovation Studio
October 3, 2019 at 7:00 p.m. | FREE Ticketed Event
Wherever we’re from, we all have songs that remind us of home. This is the music of our childhood, sung by our families and neighbors, on the radio, and in our homes. For the 6th year in a row, Songs You Left Behind is an opportunity for representatives from many Latino nations to share the pride of their homeland in the community. Join us for an evening of music, stories, emotions, and a celebration of Latin American culture as members of our community share what they’ve left behind and what they carry with them.
CRISTELA ALONZO: MY AFFORDABLE CARE ACT
Kimmel Center Cultural Campus’ Perelman Theater
October 10, 2019, 8:00 p.m.
Cristela Alonzo made history in 2014 when she became the first Latina to create, produce, and star in her own network sitcom, Cristela for ABC. During that same year, she split her time between LA and NYC to serve as one of ABC’s favorite guest hosts on their hit daytime talk show, The View. Now, the hilarious comedian comes to Philadelphia for her latest stand-up, My Affordable Care Act.
THREE KINGS DAY
In collaboration with the Consulate of Mexico and the Mexican Cultural Center
Kimmel Center Cultural Campus’ Commonwealth Plaza
January 4, 2020, 4:00 p.m. | FREE
The Mexican Consulate, Mexican Cultural Center, and the Kimmel Center Cultural Campus invite you to partake in one of the most widely-celebrated holidays among Hispanics and Latinos. Bring your family and enjoy an evening including with a reenactment of the story of the Three Wise Men, piñatas, and a piece of traditional “Rosca de Reyes” bread—the largest one ever made in Philadelphia! This event is FREE and open to the public.
BALLET FOLCLÒRICO NACIONAL DE MÉXICO de SILVIA LOZANO
Kimmel Center Cultural Campus’ Merriam Theater
March 12, 2020, 7:30 p.m.
Ballet Folclòrico Nacional de México de SILVIA LOZANO is an institution tasked with the dissemination, preservation, and promotion of the Culture of Mexico, both at home and abroad. With an artistic career spanning over 56 years, the BFNM reflects the work of Mexico’s leading researchers and practitioners of folklore, dance, music, and costumes.
Silvia Lozano is one of the most distinguished artists, internationally recognized as a leading promoter of authentic Mexican folklore. Silvia has dedicated herself to sharing the beauty of music, dance, costumes, and Mexican traditions with people around the world.
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Tickets
Tickets can be purchased by calling 215-893-1999, online at www.kimmelculturalcampus.org/, or at the Kimmel Center Box Office. Group sales are available for groups of 10 or more and can be purchased by calling 215-790-5883. See www.kimmelculturalcampus.org/for more information.
The Kimmel Center Cultural Campus
Located in the heart of Center City, Philadelphia, our mission is to engage the region’s diverse communities with art through performance and education. Our Cultural Campus serves more than 1 million guests per year and includes the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, the Academy of Music, and the Merriam Theater- representing more than 160 years of rich history for the performing arts along Philadelphia’s Avenue of the Arts. We are home to eight esteemed Resident Companies: The Philadelphia Orchestra, Opera Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Ballet, The Philly POPS, PHILADANCO, The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, The Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, and Curtis Institute of Music. With nearly 9,000 seats per night, we are the region’s most impactful performing arts center, and the second largest in the country. Our Cultural Campus serves as a preeminent and inclusive place to enjoy exceptional experiences that reflect the spirit of our region by cultivating a creative and socially-responsible environment where our community shares experiences that are delivered with pride, integrity, and respect. As a 501 c 3 nonprofit organization, we collaborate on, present, and produce a broad range of relevant and meaningful events, we serve as an active gathering space for social and community events, we educate the region’s young people through access to quality arts experiences, and we provide support to artists in the creation of new work. TD Bank, America’s Most Convenient Bank, is our proud sponsor of the Kimmel Center’s 2019-2020 Season. American Airlines is the official airline of Broadway Philadelphia. For additional information, visit www.kimmelculturalcampus.org.
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For photography, please visit https://kcpress.smugmug.com/