1()()1 Hispanic

Performing f\ rlS Series

February 25 - March 25 - April 29

3:00-5:00 PM

Brown Auditorium The Museum of Fine Arts. Houston

1001 Blssonnet at Main Houston. Texas

!leneral Admission - 85 Student. Seniors and Museum Members - 84

Unmasking the Chicano and the Macho Identity through Humor

February 25 Daniel Chacon and Rick Najera

l~erary and theatneal sabre have been a mainstay of SOCIal co­tque. Hidden behind the wry twist of words are the very real issues of the writer's own perceptiOnS and those thaI surround them

, Discover !'NO ChICano authors who explore issues confronting U,S, LetoosWIth a sardonic tum.

In ChiCanO Chicanery. Daniel Chacon wea..es bittersweet ccnc fables WlIh fnghlenang reassm Chac6n's tales caplure the stvewd. furtive and screteee tortuous ways by which MexlCall-Ameocans

manage to SUl'VNe tn Inbmidahng te«itory--only to trip It1emseIves up The New Yorlr TItTles Book ReVJ8W writes 'Arthough a collection c:I short stones this book IS APortralt of the Chicano ArtISt as a Young Man ' A nalJve of Caifomia. Daniel Chac6n currentty teaches in the English Department et the Unrverslly ofTeKaS at EI Paso

In The Pam 01 the Macho writer and performer Rick Najera deals with ISSUeS ofiden­tity and perception In the face of potlbcal corectress and the fecruntSt movement renowned stand-up comedian scnptwnter and satnst Rd N~ dares 10 proda~

tongue In cheell., of coorse-thal machos are regular guys too. Na,era hasassembled an ensembMt castofqutnlessentiallabn loversex wannabes who pour oot their soots rn see­spbttmg 1TlOflOk)gues. Na,era a San Diego natrve has earned recogmllon as one of HoIIy'l'tood's top comedy wnters having written fo- Fox TeIevrsion's In Living Color, The Robert Townsend Show CiJture Clash, and Showtrne s Latmo Laugh FeShval

The Other Half: Immigrants in the Metropolis

March 25 Roberto Quesada and La Cludad

Behind the image of glamour and excitement, the history ofNew York "''''..--, City and many other major rreucocaan cities in the UnitedStates is the story of Immigrants.Arle PublICO Press and The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston welcome writer RobertoQuesada inconjunction with a screen­ing of the PBS film La Ciudad,

Roberto Quesada crafts a light-hearted tale of a Honduran actor, Eduardo lin, striving to find success inthe Big Apple inhis novel The Big Banana. Beneath the frothy tale, however, lurk the real issues of the immigrant confronted bya new environment. Kurt Vonnegut ca"s Quesada "alively and gift­ed writer full of amusing and thought-provoking ideas: and The New YOO Tlffles Book Review said The Big Banana is "an often hilarious novel." Quesada lives and wor1I.s In New Vorl< City.

The city and its inhabitants again become the protagonists in the film La Ciudad. directed byDavid Riker and produced by Zeitgeist Films Riker's film laces together four vignettes that bring together the battles and efforts of survival waged by LatnAmerican II1lmlQrants in New York City, The stories follow the threads of hope and challenge as the lourrecent arrivals seek tocreate a place for themselves in the bustlingcity The separate stories "Bricks." "Home,' "The Puppeteer" and 'Seamstress' capture the stark reaaesand the subtle tnumphs of their new world.

Evolving Voic..: Latin America through Lileralure and Music April 29

Mario Beneaslro and Barandlia

The pertormances of the accomplished Late Amefican mUSIC group Barandua and the wntJng d the aiticaIy·acdaimed author Mario Beocastro portray eechangIng face d Latln America and ItsrnmlQrant peoples The erusts converge to gIVe acdercesa sense of !he dyncrn­It CUlure ofan evolving commurvly thai merges the pas! wrth the future

A natJve of EI Sa ador. Mario Bencastro IS a novelist playwright. and patnlef. HIS fr'st rlO'teI A Shot IfI the Cathedral IS a powerful Vttll1I focuSIng on the coup deta! In EI Salvador IfI 1979 Pubhshers Weekly

called It "a VIVid newsreel d a country dislntegtatJng.· His subsequent work. The Tree of Ue Stones 01 CIVil War. blends fantasy WIth reaJrty toshow readers the del Iy struggle of orOtnary Salvadorans to SUMVe the tragedy of eM war Most recently. he explores the livesofCentral American Immqantsin the Unrted States. Krlus ReVIeWS called Odyssey to theNorth "a heartfelt story of pol lJeat oppression and ede , credible and qcne mov­mg " AcomlTUtted aetMSl Bencastro lives in WashlOQlon DC

The songs. poems and payas of Barandua's repertoire reflect the feelings and thoughts of a new Lata America. of countries and commumties on the road to SOCIal change. The sounds of gUitars. the bass. the queM. the zampona, and vanoos other instruments fCJfge a distinctive sound. and the song styles include traditIOnal, jazz. and rock scores sccorceneo by words in a variety of languages, The musicians also relied this diVersity. comlllQ from various Latin American countries, backgrounds, and pores­sions. Barencua was named Best Latin Folk Band at the latin Amencan Festival (1996) and was recently featured in European Television's ARTE channel.

This summer the Film Department at the Museum of Fine Arts. Houston WIN host a Latin American Film Festival. For more lnformalJon, caU 713-639-7531

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Uispani( Performing Arts Series

The [jispanic Perfonnlll~ Arts 'series is prt>sented by Arte F,ililiw Press

with ~cn('rollO: support from AT&"1'. tllC Clayton Fund, tlIt:' City of Houston through tile Cultural Arts Council of Houston-Harris County,

Exxon Comp,my, U.s.A., the M.D. .AmlcI:;.I.m Foumbtion, The Mu::,cum

of Fine .Art ;;: , Houston, tIl(' Texas C'llllllission for tile Arl:s, and tIle

llniversity of Hou"lon .

.Art" pcililico Press is the L:t~est <ultll11o~t e~t<-t11ished puhlisllcr ofconlcrn­

porary and recovered literature by U.S. Hispanic autllOI:;, T o¢t'tl1t:'f with its

imprint for ~,hiIJr('tl, Piiiata Hooks, and its RCCOVCrill~ tile U.S. [jispanic

Literary I Ierita~e project, the Press provides the most widely recognized

sllOwmse for Hispanic literary arb .1ml c-reativitv.

For more information, ca11 "/13-743-0921 or write to:

~\.rt:e p{.blico Pre,;,; University of 11ou":!:oI1

Houston. TX 1720-1--2174

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Sunday, Febru,\ry 18,2001 Houston Chronicle

• Hispanic Performing Arts .Se- ~ ries begins at 3 p.m. Feb. 25 with a program tilled Unmask­ing the Chicano and the Macho: Identity Through Humor, featur­ing the writing of Daniel Chao ~ con, author of Chicano Chica­nery, a collection of bittersweet comic fables about mistaken identities, gang initiation and betrayal, and Rick Najera, creator of Pain of the MacM, a series of comic monologues.

. Admission is $5. The event will be in Brown Auditorium, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.

Unmasking the Chicano and the Macho Identity through HUl110r

February25,2001- 3:00 PM

Brown Auditorium - The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston -1001 Bissonnet at Main

Literary and theatrical satire have long been a mainstay of social critique. Hidden behind the wry twist of their words are the very real Issues of the writer's own perceptions and those that surround them. Discover two Chicano authors who explore issues confronting U.S. Lati­nos with biting humor and a sardonic turn.

In Chicano Chicanery, Daniel chacon weaves tales of mistaken and misplaced Identities, gang initiation, and the betrayal of one's friends and oneself. In bittersweet comic fables with frightening realism, Chacon's tales capture the shrewd, furtive, and some­times tortuous ways by WhiCh Mexican-Americans manage to survive In Intimidating territory-only to trip themselves up. The New York Times Book Review writes, "Although a collection of short stories, this book Is 'A Portrait of the chicano Artist as a Young Man.''' A native of California, Daniel Chacon Is currently teaching in the Eng­lish Department at the University of Texas at EI Paso.

In The Pain of the Macho, Rick Najera has assembled an ensemble cast of qulntes­sential Latin Lovers or wannabes who pour out their souls in side-splitting mono­logues. But the zing In the punchline hits us when we realize that melodramatic teary-eyed spiels lend sly Insights Into the dilemma faced not just by Latin men but by all those who must exist at the margins of two intersecting cultural spheres. Najera, a San Diego native, has earned recognition as one of Hollywood's top come­dy writers, having written for Fox Television'S In Living color, The Robert Townsend Show, Culture Clash, and snownme:s Latino Laugh Festival.

For more information, please call 713-743-2999. General Admission - $5

Museum Members, Seniors, and Students - $4

The HispanIc performing Arts SerIes Is presented by Arte Publico Press with generous support from AT&T. the Clayton Fund, the City of Houston through the Cultural Arts Council of Houston - Harris county, Exxon company, U.S.A., the M.D. Anderson Foundation, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and the Texas Commission for the Arts.