Celebrate Mexico Now is New York City's first, and only, arts festival spotlighting contemporary Mexico. Every year, from uptown to downtown, New Yorkers are immersed in the vanguard of Mexican music, dance, film, literature, theater, visual art, architecture, and cuisine. With performances, screenings, exhibitions, and discussions, this annual festival imports an authentic experience of what’s going on in Mexico-right now.

Schedule of Events:

November 14, 2023:

6:00 pm: Reading Finnegans Wake
Book Arts / Artist Talk

As part of the Artist Talk series at Center for Book Arts, Mexican artist Ximena Pérez Grobet will talk about her creative process of recomposing the text of James Joyce’s novel Finnegans Wake. Using a classic edition published in 1965, Pérez Grobet unbound the book, carefully cut the text apart nearly line by line, then reassembled it visually reworked but still in the original order. The result is four knitted volumes that transform the materiality of Joyce’s language, establishing a new form of reading and a visual tribute to the complexity of the novel and its author. In this exclusive Celebrate Mexico Now seminar, Pérez Grobet will take the audience through the nine-year process of creating, editing, and publishing a limited edition of Reading Finnegans Wake.

Location: Center for Book Arts, 28 West 27th Street, New York, NY 10001.

Free with RSVP.

Get Tickets

November 15, 2023:

6:00 pm: Eres Muy Hermosa
Photography / Artist Talk

Celebrate Mexico Now is proud to partner with Baxter Street at the Camera Club of New York for the fifth time to host an interactive conversation with Mexican American photographer Daniel Ramos discussing his solo exhibition Eres Muy Hermosa. The exhibition showcases a series of portraits Ramos made with a 4×5 large format view camera in bars and clubs at night in Monterrey, North Mexico. Born in the U.S. to Mexican parents, Ramos chose to make this body of work to show a refracted representation of himself in the visages of individuals with whom he shares a culture and class.

Location: Baxter st Camera Club of New York, 126 Baxter St, New York, NY 10013.

Free with RSVP.

Get Tickets

November 16, 2023:

1:30 pm: Stitches, Secrets, Shame with Jazmina Barrera, Valeria Luiselli, and Christina MacSweeney
Literature / Conversation

Stitches, secrets, shame: Mexican writer Jazmina Barrera’s first novel, Cross-Stitch, translated into English by Christina MacSweeney, stitches together a coming-of-age story with a feminist history and theory of embroidery. Mila, Citlali, and Dalia, childhood friends now college-aged, leave Mexico City for the London of The Clash and the Paris of Gustave Courbet. They anticipate the bookstores, cafés, and crushes, but not the realization that they are steadily, inevitably growing apart.

That feels like forever ago. Mila, now a writer and a new mother, has just published a book on needlecraft, an art form long dismissed as “women’s work.” After hearing that her old friend Citlali has drowned, Mila begins to reminisce about their years together for the first time since becoming a wife and mother. What has come of all the nights the three friends spent embroidering together in silence? Join Jazmina Barrera, Valeria Luiselli, and Christina MacSweeney for a conversation about travel, art, identity, and translation, moderated by Two Lines Press Editor CJ Evans.

This is a hybrid event. Jazmina Barrera and Valeria Luiselli will join in person at The Center for Fiction in Brooklyn (1:30pm ET), with Christina MacSweeney, remotely joining from Norwich, and CJ Evans in-person at the American Library in Paris (in Paris; 19h30 CEST). A live remote viewing will be held at Center for the Art of Translation in San Francisco (10:30am PT). You can also livestream this event worldwide.

Location: The Center for Fiction, 15 Lafayette Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11217.

Tickets:

In Person with Lunch Ticket A: $17.00
In Person with Lunch Ticket B: $17.00
In Person Ticket Only: Free
Live Stream Only: Free

Get Tickets

6:00 pm: Mexico Writes Now
Literature / Conversation

Join us for a unique opportunity to hear from some of Mexico’s leading voices in academia, poetry, novel and essay writing as they share their experiences living and working in New York City. Along with acclaimed writer Carmen Boullosa, authors Ximena Santaolalla, Naief Yehya, Álvaro Enrigue and Oswaldo Zavala will read their work and share their favorite Mexican films, photographs, and paintings with the audience. The group of authors will have a fascinating exchange of ideas centered around their writing practice and the way their Mexican identity permeates their work.

Location: The Center for Fiction, 15 Lafayette Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11217.

Free with RSVP.

Get Tickets

November 17, 2023:

7:00 pm: Mexican Choreographers on the Move
Dance / Performance

Join us for a rare intergenerational gathering of five Mexican choreographers hailing from New York City, Mérida, and Mexico City. Lourdes Luna, Geraldine Cardiel, Argelia Arreola, Erick Montes and Raúl Tamez have spent recent years creating work for their dance companies. This time, they take the stage on their own.

Acusticorporal by Argelia Arreola

A one-woman show that focuses on the body as a resonator for everything it senses and the way it’s shaped by sounds, rhythms, vibrations, and words. The work shows the body itself as a generator of harmony and polyrhythms, transforming it into a musical instrument. Acusticorporal takes inspiration from different traditional styles of African dance from Guinea and Senegal, as well as Son Jarocho from Mexico. This project is made possible by the support from Mexico’s National Endowment for Arts and Culture (FONCA), 2020 Scenic Creators Program.

Sonido sordo by Geraldine Cardiel

This piece is the reflection of two entities trying to survive the weight of existence. Using the space as a witness of a story, the choreography shows the relationship between body and sound in their intent to share their presence. Through intricate rhythmic partners, they move together towards the acceptance of a deaf sound.

Re-sonando/Echoing by Lourdes Luna

This solo creates an interactive dialogue through a sound reaction technological system to explore composition in sound and poetics with movement as the main engine. The dancer becomes the composer, who offers an ephemeral piece as the interface she interacts with generates a different combination of poetics, aesthetics, and sound for every performance. This project is supported by the Art and Technology Training Program through the 2023 Mentorship Plan for Arts, and Arts and Technology Research Mentorship Plan granted by Mexico City’s Multimedia Center at the National Arts Center.

Small:2Big by Erick Montes

This excerpt from a larger project is a movement exploration meditation that departs from a self-inquiry. How can we give meaning to what others cannot see? During this work, Montes investigates the poetics between vibration and sport physicality going off an analogy about the body joints in relation to romantic memory. This is to acknowledge the possibilities of gestures for emerging anew as a form of resistance to the social chaos we are living in.

Heaven by Raúl Tamez

Body as an object, body as a landscape, body without clothes.
Soul and spirit that abandon a body.
Unsexualized nudity. The pureness of the uncovered skin.
Body among clouds, body suspended, polysemic body.
The spiritual body, cosmic body, where is the place that everybody calls heaven?

Location: LaGuardia Performing Arts Center, 31-10 Thomson Ave, Long Island City, NY 11101.

Tickets: $30
Use codes “Student” $8 / “Staff” $15

Buy Tickets

November 18, 2023:

1:00 pm: Maize Species and Traditional Ingredients
Gastronomy / Talk

Diana Wangeman contributes to the awareness of culinary preservation of ancient forms of corn cultivation and preparation through her popular Brooklyn tortillería and restaurant Sobre Masa. For this unique event, Wangeman will discuss the 64 lesser-known selections of corn varieties and unique ingredients that she works with in her restaurant and speak more about the traditional cuisine she offers.

Location: Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian at the Auditorium, Lower Level, 1 Bowling Green, New York, NY 10004.

Tickets: Free Event
First come, First serve

Get Tickets

2:00 pm: Mayan Hip-Hop
Music / Concert

Mayan rapper Pat Boy, whose work has recently been featured in Marvel blockbuster Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will perform for the audience. Pat Boy teaches rap to kids and teenagers in his rural community in Quintana Roo, using the music genre as a vehicle to preserve Mayan language.

Location: Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian at the Auditorium, Lower Level, 1 Bowling Green, New York, NY 10004.

Tickets: Free Event
First come, First serve

Get Tickets

November 19, 2023:

11:30 am: Family Day. Alicia, Ballet and Me
Dance / Interactive Storytelling

Greenwich House Music School and the Celebrate Mexico Now Festival are joining forces this fall to offer our community programs for families.  

A story told in Spanish about a girl’s journey learning the history of ballet comes to life through movement and an interactive experience for the audience. Presented by Reyna Pérez, author of the book Alicia, el ballet y yo (Alicia, Ballet and Me). Ms. Perez is a ballet pedagogue and ballet coach for Mexico’s National Ballet Company. This work features projected book visuals with English subtitles.

Location: Greenwich Music House, 46 Barrow St, New York, NY 10014.

Tickets: Free with RSVP

Get Tickets

3:00 pm: Family Day. Treasures of Mexico
Music / Concert

Greenwich House Music School and the Celebrate Mexico Now Festival are joining forces this fall to offer our community programs for families.  

Pianist César Reyes presents “Treasures of Mexico,” a cultural and didactic journey through Mexico’s musical works for the piano: Dances, Sandungas, Rhapsodies, and Ballads. The history, customs, and traditions of Mexico are combined in these musical gems from the Revolution to the present day.

Location: Greenwich Music House, 46 Barrow St, New York, NY 10014.

Tickets: Free with RSVP

Get Tickets

6:00 pm: Macario. A Tribute to Ignacio López Tarso
Film/Screening/Q&A

Mexico Now pays homage to renowned TV, theater, and film actor Ignacio López Tarso with a screening of the supernatural drama Macario. The film was the first Mexican work to be nominated for an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film and it launched the actor to international fame. López Tarso acted in over fifty films and worked with directors such as Luis Buñuel, Roberto Gavaldón, Julio Bracho, and John Huston. The Macario screening will be followed by a Q&A with Susana López Aranda, López Tarso’s daughter and author of the book El Cine de Ignacio López Tarso (The Cinema of Ignacio López Tarso), about the actor’s filmography.

About Macario:

Poor, hungry peasant Macario longs for a good meal on the Day of the Dead. When his wife cooks him a turkey, he meets three ghostly apparitions: the Devil, God, and Death. Each asks for some turkey, but Macario refuses them all—except for Death. In return, Death gives him a bottle of water that will heal any illness. Soon, Macario is wealthier than the village doctor, which attracts unwanted attention.

Location: Museum of the Moving Image, 36-01 35th Ave, Queens, NY 11106.

Tickets: Free with RSVP

Get Tickets

November 20, 2023:

6:00 pm: Celebrating Lourdes Grobet. Bering, Reunion Familiar
Film/Screening/Q&A

Celebrate Mexico Now pays homage to the late Mexican photographer Lourdes Grobet by presenting the last two projects she completed before her passing. The documentary Bering, Reunión Familiar (Bering, Family Reunion, 2022) was Grobet’s second feature film and part of a larger project about the Bering Strait, which included another documentary, photographs, video works and conceptual pieces.

Location: King Juan Carlos I of Spain Center on NYU Campus, 53 Washington Square S, New York, NY 10012.

Tickets: Free with RSVP

Get Tickets

7:45 pm: Celebrating Lourdes Grobet. Laboratorio de Teatro Campesino e Indígena: medio siglo de historia
Photography / Book Presentation

Celebrate Mexico Now pays homage to the late Mexican photographer Lourdes Grobet by presenting the last two projects she completed before her passing. This tribute presents Laboratorio de Teatro Campesino e Indígena: medio siglo de historia (Indigenous and Country Theatre Laboratory: Half a Century of History, 2022), a book she developed and photographed for over 30 years. Grobet’s daughter and son, Ximena and Juan Cristóbal Pérez Grobet will share valuable insight into their mother’s creative process and their experience as collaborators on these projects.

Location: King Juan Carlos I of Spain Center on NYU Campus, 53 Washington Square S, New York, NY 10012.

Tickets: Free with RSVP

Get Tickets

8:15 pm: Celebrating Lourdes Grobet. Laboratorio de Teatro Campesino
Photography / Pop Up Exhibit

As part of the homage to Mexican photographer Lourdes Grobet, join us for a Pop Up photo exhibit of some of the iconic photographs included in the book, Laboratorio de Teatro Campesino e Indígena, medio siglo de historia (Indigenous and Country Theatre Laboratory. Half a Century of History, 2022), a book she developed and photographed for over 30 years and was completed before her passing. We will have a closing reception with Grobet’s daughter and son, Ximena and Juan Cristóbal Pérez Grobet. They will share insight into their mother’s creative process and their experience as collaborators on the project.

Location: King Juan Carlos I of Spain Center on NYU Campus, 53 Washington Square S, New York, NY 10012.

Tickets: Free with RSVP

Get Tickets

November 21, 2023:

6:00 pm: Shift - Antonio Sanchez and Bad Hombre with Thana Alexa, Bigyuki + Lex Sadler plus Echoes in Proximity, Ampersan
Music / Concert

Mexico Now celebrates its 20th edition with a unique showcase of contemporary sound. Audiences will witness an outstanding group of award-winning musicians, who will blend genres and styles to create a dynamic music experience. Ampersan’s fresh style combines Mexican folklore and poetry with electronic elements. Echoes in Proximity, a recent project by Carlo Nicolau and Juan Cristóbal Perez Grobet, delivers experimental jazz-ambient with basses, violins, piano and drums. To finish the night, Antonio Sánchez’ Shift, part of his Bad Hombre project, will feature Thana Alexa, BIGYUKI and Lex Sadler, who will explore and deconstruct language and voice as a source of rhythm.

Doors Open: 6:00 pm
Ampersan: 7:00 pm – 7:45 pm
Echos in Proximity: 8:00 pm – 8:45 pm
Antonio Sanchez & Bad Hombre: 9:00 pm – 10:30 pm

Location: Le Poisson Rouge, 158 Bleecker St, New York, NY 10012.

Tickets: Tiered Pricing $38.94- $50

Buy Tickets

Dates: November 14 - 21, 2023

Location:

Various Venues,
New York, NY 10001.

Click here for more information.