MECA PRESENTS 2018 - 2019 SEASON
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Each year, MECA provides arts education and programs, including performances and exhibitions to over 963 students, 14,890 their families and the Houston community.
September 2018 MECA Ballet Folkloric Master Class Residency – Taught by master teachers, of the Ballet Folklorico de Mexico School of Amalia Hernandez are: Profesor Renato Levi Garcia Moreno, Director de la Escuela - Nivel intermedio con el Estado de Sinaloa y Sones Serranos de Jalisco; Profesor Karin Eduardo Cruz Hernandez, Maestro de la Escuela - Nivel avanzados con el Estado de Zacatecas y Danza de la Pluma. MECA Ballet Folklorico is under the Direction of Julio Lopez. September 6th - 8TH Classes, September 8th - 6:30 COMMUNITY PRESENTATION Taught by master teachers of The Ballet Folklorico de Mexico School of Amalia Hernandez. “Amalia Hernandez, a dancer and Mexican choreographer, founded The Ballet Folklorico de Mexico School in 1952, and it is emblematic of the folkoric art of the country. Amalia Hernandez dedicated herself to rescue the Mexican national dances that had been lost with time, as well as an effort to improve the quality of the dances. Ivan Vargas Flamenco Master Class in collaboration with UNDEBEL Flamenco September 29th - September 30th Ivan Vargas is one of the most internationally acclaimed Flamenco dancers. This will be his first performance and Master Classes in Texas, along with Houston based flamenco dancer Mercy Renteria. He is one of the most internationally acclaimed Flamenco dancers. Ivan Vargas was born in Granada, Spain in the Sacromonte district, specifically in the cave "La Rocío" where he joined the world of dance at the hands of his family, Los Maya, a dynasty of renowned dancers such as Manolete, Mario Maya, Juan Andres Maya. Representing centuries of history, flamenco blends Andalusian, Iberian, Arab, and Romani culture into one spectacular show with live vocals, live music, and highly technical dancing. October 2018 Día de los Muertos Altares and Retablos31 Exhibitions and Tours October 15th – November 16th October 19th, 7:00 PM – Altares Exhibition Opening Reception MECA’s Dia de los Muertos Celebration kicks off the annual Altares (Altars) Exhibit, in which MECA families and friends are invited to set up individual spaces honoring/memorializing their loved ones who have died. There is also a community altar that is often filled with personal mementos throughout the month-long celebration. Luis Gavito is the curator for the Ofrenda Exhibitio. The opening reception for the Altares Exhibit is scheduled for Friday, October 19th. In collaboration with Lawndale Art Center, this year’s exhibit will include the Retablos31 Exhibit. The retablos, tin panels traditionally created in honor and veneration of saints and loved ones, in the tradition of devotional painting by local/regional artists. Theresa Escobedo is the curator for Retablos 31 project. October 27th & 28th, 11:00 AM to 7:00 PM – MECA Día de los Muertos Festival The annual Día de los Muertos Festival is FREE to the public and includes performances by local and national musical and dance ensembles, a children’s activity area, an artisans market, and various food booths serving traditional and local favorites. 10,455 attended the 2-day festival in 2017. November 2018 November 2nd, 7:00 to 11:00 PM – Calavera Rendezvous and Retablos31 Auction Ticketed Event This year, the annual Calavera Rendezvous (Gathering of the Skulls), a fun-filled night of Día de los Muertos themed art, music, and fashion will also host the Retablos31 Silent Auction. The 21+ soiree will feature a Catrina fashion show, music and dance performances. November 9th, Mischlinge Expose – Concert and film Carolyn Enger, New York Steinway concert pianist with spirit, talent, and a voice for the suffering of countless victims during a dark period in history. Each performance selection is representative of honoring the resiliency, suffering and commitment for the truth of stories of a people through – The Holocaust victims and survivors. Carolyn’s performance project, the Mischlinge Expose, centers around her family history and the Mischling designation. The concert interweaves the music of prominent converts with testimony from Carolyn’s godmother and her father who was considered by the Nazi regime a Mischling, Grade A. Performances of works by Fanny and Felix Mendelssohn, Arnold Schoenberg, Alexander Zemlinsky , and Gustav Mahler illustrate the historical situations so aptly described through poetry by Rachel Varnhagen and Heinrich Heine . Kristallnacht falls on November 9th. December 3rd, El Niño Jesus Exhibit; December 7th, reception The veneration of El Niño Dios, the Child God, was a practice brought by the Spanish to Mexico in the early 16th century and, to date, is considered the most deeply rooted Catholic tradition in Mexico, as well as many parts of Latin America. Mexican Catholics have their own image of the Child Jesus which is honored and celebrated during the Christmas season, especially on Christmas Eve (Dec. 24th) and Candelmas (Feb. 2nd). This exhibit is a collection of Niño Dios figure images, photographs and related artifacts belonging to families throughout Houston’s Latino community, including MECA alumni. There will also be audio recording of folk songs and stories passed down through generations. December 12th, 6:00 PM – Fiesta Guadalupana The Apparitions of Our Lady the Virgin of Guadalupe to Juan Diego, the miraculous stamping of her Holy Image in his cloak and her message of love for us has as its main purpose to announce her beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, to the peoples who inhabited the "New World". In the house of Bishop Fray Juan Diego shows the roses he wore in his robes, a sign given by the Virgin. "He unfolded his tilma, where he carried the flowers.” Myth or Truth, her image is venerated by Mexicans and Mexican Americans. In Houston, Texas La Fiesta Guadalupana is a community-based event honoring la Virgen de Guadalupe featuring a mariachi serenade and matachine dances performed by MECA dancers, and sharing of celebratory foods. December 15th and 16th, 7:00 PM – La Pastorela La Pastorela "El Wiwicho Si Existe", written and directed by Jackie Krienke, is a satirical comedy starring La Chona, an indigenous woman that thinks that Christmas revolves around material things. Her patron, Don Herculano, tells her the true story and meaning behind Christmas and the perils that Joseph, Mary, and the shepherds suffered during their pilgrimage on the way to Bethlehem. Their entourage fights against forces of evil represented by demons that portray the political hurdles that immigrants suffer in this day and age. The Archangel Michael ultimately defeats the Evil Trumpcifer, proving that kindness always wins. December 16th, 6:00 PM – La Posada in Old Sixth Ward La Posada is a community-based reenactment of Mary and Joseph’s journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem traditionally practiced in communities throughout Mexico, beginning on December 16th and continuing through Christmas Eve. In this one-night reenactment, a procession with lit candles and seasonal songs approach the doors of three houses. Together, participants sing and awaken the master of each house to ask for lodging. Those within the first two houses deny them entry. The third house warmly welcomes the guests after learning their identity. La Posada features MECA music faculty and students. |
February 15, 2019
Viva el Amor Concert featuring Vanessa Alonzo from Houston Grand Opera, and Trio Tres En Punto from Mission, Texas. Event includes a silent auction fundraiser with heart-themed art. Houston Native, Vanessa Alonzo, initiated her ranchera training with the late Alfonso Guerra at Multicultural Education and Counseling through the Arts (MECA). In 2010, Houston Grand Opera commissioned the first mariachi opera in the world, Cruzar La Cara de La Luna/To Cross the Face of the Moon, in which Ms. Alonzo performed the role of Lupita. Alonzo reprised the role of Lupita in Cruzar La Cara de La Luna with New York City Opera for their 2018 Season at Jazz Lincoln Center’s Rose Theater. She then traveled to Quito, Ecuador as Lupita in Teatro Nacional Sucre’s production of Cruzar La Cara de Luna. In the Fall of 2014, she performed Lupita with Arizona Opera. In 2013, she was invited on a tri-city tour with San Diego Opera, Houston Grand Opera, and Lyric Opera of Chicago. A year after Cruzar premiered in 2011 she was invited to perform the role of Lupita in Paris, France at Théâtre du Châtelet. In 2015, Alonzo created the role of Juana in Lyric Opera of Chicago’s El Pasado Nunca Se Termina/The Past is Never Finished. She also toured this opera in San Diego and Houston. Alonzo will reprise the Role of Juana as part of the Fort Worth Opera Festival of 2019. She will play the role of Lupita in Houston Grand Opera’s brand new opera El Milagro del Recuerdo by Leonard Foglia and Javier Martinez. This opera is part of the 2019-2020 season at Houston Grand Opera. Vanessa is the lead female vocalist in the Houston-based Latin-fusion group Los Guerreros de La Musica. Together they have won the Best Latin Band in the East Texas Music Awards. Vanessa was awarded the International Leadership Award by the Texas Women’s Empowerment Foundation in 2014 for her outstanding career. In 1999, she won the Best in the US Vocalist in the Mariachi Vargas Extravaganza vocal competition. A competition judged by the world renowned Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlan. Her notable credits include tours to Ireland, Mexico, Norway, and Vietnam with MECA Mariachi. In 2002, she performed for the opening ceremonies of the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City with MECA Mariachi. Television credits include El Show de Cristina on Univision as a participant in Festival de Rancheras and a finalist on Estrella TV’s Tengo Talento, Mucho Talento in 2011. Tres En Punto is without a doubt one of the best musical trios that exist today, the harmony of their voices and the solos of Requinto (guitar) allow us to transport ourselves to that beautiful golden age where romantic music was at its best. Tres en punto was born in 2012 and, under the direction of Gerardo Calera, has brought his music to a great deal of private events in renowned and important venues of the Texas Valley, like the State Farm Dodge Arena, and Mcallen Civic Center. They have also participated in countless TV shows (Univision, Telemundo, Televisa). Gerardo Calera plays the Requinto, Omar Javier, Electric Bass and and Octavio Lugo plays the guitar. Together they have recorded 2 CDs that have had great public reception: Contigo (2015) and Contigo Aprendi (2019) Specialized in interpreting the romantic bolero, TRES EN PUNTO includes in its repertoire a large number of Latin American rhythms such as Bolero, Peruvian Waltz, Cuban son, Venezuelan joropo, flamenco rumba, merengue, son jarocho, rancheras, and more! March 15-17, 2019 , Sor Juana and the Chambered Nautilus – An original multimedia theater production written and performed by Angeles Romero. Romero brings to life Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz; a 17th Century Mexican nun known for her voracious drive for knowledge and an exceptional genius as a writer. April 5th and 6th . 2019 ALIENS, IMMIGRANTS & OTHER EVILDOERS is a sci-fi Latino noir solo show by MAP Fund award-winning performance artist José Torres-Tama that takes the Immigration issue head on, and challenges the anti-immigrant hysteria. He exposes the hypocrisies of a country that dehumanizes immigrants while readily exploting their labor. Inspired by interviews of immigrants who have crossed the border to escape economical despair and war, he shape-shifts into a variety of voices that humanize a people in search of a dream. ALIENS is profoundly moving, visually dynamic, and provocatively funny with the artist's comic battle cry: NO GUACAMOLE for Immigrant haters! ALIENS was developed through an National Performance Network Creation Fund, and was co-commissioned by MECA in Houston, the Ashé Cultural Arts Center in New Orleans, and GALA Hispanic Theatre in DC. May 3, 2019 Craig Hauschildt and the Cage - Latin Percussionist Performance Percussionist and MECA resident, Craig Hauschildt, presents a program of contemporary chamber music for percussion and other instruments that explores the concept of cultural identity in music. Although Classical music is often perceived as old art form represented by the images of dead white men, it is a genre of music that is constantly reinventing itself by each new generation of composers and performers. These musicians stand on the shoulders of their predecessors while creating their own artistic voice, often challenging preconceptions and creating magical new sound worlds in the process. Date: June 2019, CPAP – Children’s Prison Art Project – An arts education nonprofit that introduces juvenile offenders to an innovative educational theater and visual arts where they can express their visions through constructive and artistic vision. |
*These events are free to the public
MECA Presents is a platform to convene community through the arts and encourage dialogue about issues ranging from social justice and equity to diversity and community transformation. From incubating works in progress to presenting local and touring work, MECA seeks to collaborate with innovative and socially engaged artists whose work expands the boundaries of tradition and practice. MECA is especially interested in projects that bring to light the experiences of life on the margins of societies, economies, and cultures.
MECA is supported in part by a grant from the City of Houston through the Houston Arts Alliance.
MECA Presents is a platform to convene community through the arts and encourage dialogue about issues ranging from social justice and equity to diversity and community transformation. From incubating works in progress to presenting local and touring work, MECA seeks to collaborate with innovative and socially engaged artists whose work expands the boundaries of tradition and practice. MECA is especially interested in projects that bring to light the experiences of life on the margins of societies, economies, and cultures.
MECA is supported in part by a grant from the City of Houston through the Houston Arts Alliance.
