See you Sunday at the Murals Festival!
By hola | Published | No Comments
AT HC’s Adams Morgan Latino History Tour last fall
This Sunday, July 14, marks the day for the much-anticipated free D.C. Latino Murals Festival organized by Hola Cultura in partnership with the Art Museum of the Americas and the D.C. Mayor’s Office on Latino Affairs. There will be live music, artists talks, interactive activities, and a guided tour bus of the D.C. Latino murals plus a chance to explore the museum’s “Roots of Peace” mural, a masterpiece that few in the District have had a chance to see before.
To start the festival, Cultura Plenera, a non-profit organization dedicated to community building through the traditional Puerto Rican musical styles of Bomba and Plena, will perform in the museum’s beautiful garden. The percussion-driven musical traditions will set a festive tone for the afternoon.
At 2 p.m., we’ll hear from with DC muralists with an artist discussion featuring Ligia Medina Williams; Flor Rivas; Luis Peralta Del Valle; Jose Piedra; Cesar Maxit; Karla “Karlisma” Rodas-Israel; Carlos Arrien; photographer Nancy Shia. Learn from the artists themselves about what inspires their art. Learn about the symbolism in their murals and how they keep going, despite the obstacles they encounter.
All day in the museum’s garden, Guatemalan artist Ubaldo Sanchez will create a sawdust carpet in realtime, while the festival is taking place. Sawdust carpets have been part of Guatemalan tradition for centuries. From their Mayan roots, sawdust carpets have morphed for different purposes, from religious events to cultural ones that represent themes of importance to the community or of a certain event. This temporary form of art is made out of sawdust died bright colors and constructed on hand and knee in long panels–like a mural on the ground instead of a wall.
The local company Majoh Gourmet will be selling empanadas, arepas and Colombian Salpicon fruit salad and beverages, while American University’s Humanities Truck plays dance music and screens Hola Cultura videos outside in the parking lot during much of the afternoon. Would you like to contribute to the playlist we’re compiling? Send us your favorite Spanish-language hits via email to holacultura@gmail.com.
So join us Sunday, if you’d like to learn about Latino arts and muralism, and spend a Sunday afternoon enjoying local Latino art, culture, and community!
-Jasmin Avila
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