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[3/13 – 3/14] Preview: The Mexican American Experience 2013

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On Wednesday, March 13 and Thursday, March 14, the Emma S. Barrientos Mexican-American Cultural Center (MACC) will host two evenings of free family-friendly events featuring Tejano, Conjunto, and Mariachi artists. Presented by Cross Roads Events, the lineup includes new groups, as well as Grammy Award-winning virtuosos.

Wednesday, March 13
Mariachi Los Toros, Big Band Tejano, Yayo Castillo y Grupo Rumores, and Joel Guzman & Sarah Fox

Thursday, March 14
Mariachi Las Tejanitas, Braulio y Fuzzion, the legendary Manuel Cowboy Donley, Calle Seis featuring Raulito Navaira, and sax man Joe Posada

The MACC is located at 600 River Street, just south of Cesar Chavez and east of I-35 South, at the intersection of Holly and River Streets. Admission is free. All ages welcome. Doors at 4 p.m., music at 5:30 p.m. Free parking is available at Sanchez Elementary, Martin Middle School, and Fiesta Gardens. Shuttles run every 15 minutes. Keep up with the Facebook Event here.

The Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center to present documentary film tribute to Cesar Chavez

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The Emma S. Barrientos MACC is presenting A Tribute to Cesar Chavez 2013: Civil Rights Documentary Films on Friday and Saturday. The film screenings focus on the struggle of those, like Cesar Chavez, who fought for civil rights. Cesar E. Chavez was a prominent leader and activist in the 20th century in Latino American civil rights movement. He worked towards workers rights, civil rights, environmental justice, equality for all, peace, non-violence, children and women’s rights.

The film screenings include A Class Apart, Chicano Rock!, The Fight in the Fields, and Reportero. A Class Apart is set in small town in Texas in the year 1951 and is about a field hand who murdered a tenant farmer leading to a court case that landed in the Supreme Court and challenged Jim Crow-style discrimination against Mexican Americans. Chicano Rock! is a PBS documentary that tells the story of a variety of young Mexican Americans who express their roots through music. The Fight in the Fields is a documentary of the story of Cesar Chavez, the founder of the United Farmworkers of America. Reportero follows a veteran reporter and his colleagues at a Tijuana-based independent newsweekly as they struggle to do their job in one of the deadliest places in the world for the media.

Admission to the screenings is free. A Class Apart will be held on Friday starting at 7 p.m. and on Saturday at 8:30 p.m. in the Black Box Theatre. Chicano Rock! will be held at 8:30 p.m. on Friday and at 7 p.m. on Saturday in the Black Box Theatre. The Fight in the Fields will be held on Friday at 7:00 p.m. in the auditorium. Reportero will be held on Saturday at 8:30 p.m. in the Auditorium. All films will be screened in the Emma S. Barrientos MACC located on 600 River Street. For more information visit their website.

Texas Folklife presents ‘Una Noche Romantica’ Valentine’s Day Concert

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“Una Noche Romantica,” presented by Texas Folklife and featuring world-acclaimed Mexican trio Los Tres Reyes and Austin legend Manuel “Cowboy” Donley, will be held this Valentine’s Day, Feb. 14. Donley will be opening the concert for Los Tres Reyes.

With a musical career of over 60 years, Tejano music legend Manuel “Cowboy” Donley, whose career began in Austin’s 6th Street and East Austin, has earned him the title of Godfather of the “Brown Sound” as well as a spot in the Tejano Hall of Fame in 1997. In the 1940s, he was heavily influenced by trio music leading him to a unique and sophisticated technique in layering musical arrangements and has since tutored many musicians.

Los Tres Reyes, or The Three Kings, is composed of Gilberto Puente, Raúl Puente, and Bebo Cárdenas. Throughout their career, they have produced at total of 19 albums. They gained a lot of international prestige in the 1950s and ‘60s and are the only surviving trio from the Golden Age of Mexican cinema and the romantic music that served as its backdrop. In the early 1990s, Los Tres Reyes regrouped with trio veteran Johnny Albino as the lead vocal and most recently Bebo Cárdenas.

The Valentine’s Day concert, “Una Noche Romantica,” presented by Texas Folklife will be held at the Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center (MACC) on Thursday, Feb. 14. Doors will be opening at 7 p.m. with a reception that includes chocolate, wine, and hors d’oeuvres. The concert begins at 8 p.m. General admission tickets cost $50 and $35 for Texas Folklife members. Tickets can be purchased at lostresreyes.brownpapertickets.com. For more information, visit texasfolklife.org or the Facebook event page here.

Cine Las Americas presents ‘Temporada de patos’ at the MACC

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As part of their series A Decade of Comedy in Latin America cinema, Cine Las Americas in collaboration with the Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center (MACC), will be screening Temporada de patos. Temporada de patos is about 14-year-old Flama and Moko who are spending their Sunday afternoon alone at Flama’s apartment with soda, video games, and money to buy pizza. Unexpected events, including their neighbor needing to bake a cake and the pizza delivery man refusing to leave without being paid even though he was late on the delivery, lead both Flama and Moko away from their perfect, teenage Sunday afternoon.

Cine Las Americas is a nonprofit, multicultural organization dedicated to promoting cross-cultural understanding and growth by educating, entertaining and challenging diverse audiences through film and media arts. They are known mostly for their annual film festival, but are the host of film screenings year-round. Since their founding, they have screened over 1,200 Latino and Indigenous films as well as partnered with local schools to form educational media programs that serve minority youth in the community.

Temporada de patos will be screening today at the MACC, located on 600 River Street, Austin, TX, 78701. The screening begins at 8 p.m. and admission is free. The 2004 Mexican comedy is in Spanish with English subtitles. The series A Decade of Comedy in Latin America cinema is held every Wednesday and will end Feb. 27. Next week in the series, a 2006 Brazilian comedy O Cheiro do Ralo will be screening. For more information on the series and listings of future screenings, visit the Cine Las Americas website.

Cine Las Americas presents ‘A Decade of Comedy in Latin American Cinema’

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Bolivar soy yo! screens as part of A Decade of Comedy in Latin American Cinema

As part of their latest series, Cine Las Americas, in collaboration with the Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center (MACC), will be presenting A Decade of Comedy in Latin American Cinema. The films are from the first decade of the 21st century and include dark humor and irony that tackles social, political, and cultural topics. Films in the series include a 2002 Colombian film Bolivar soy yo! which portrays an actor who plays the role of Simon Bolivar in a soap opera but ends up confusing real life with his characters reality and 2004 Argentinean film Buena Vida (Delivery) which deals with the romance of a Pato and Hernan until the family of Pato unexpectedly show up along with his daughter.

Cine Las Americas is a non-profit, multi-cultural organization whose mission is to promote cross-cultural understanding and growth by educating, entertaining and challenging diverse audiences through film and media arts. They are best known for their annual film festival, but also host film screenings year-round. They have screened more than 1,200 Latino and Indigenous films and have partnered with local schools to form educational media programs to serve the minority youth.

The film screenings will be held on Wednesdays starting Jan. 23 and running until Feb. 27. All screenings will be held at the Black Box Theatre at the MACC located on 600 Red River St. Austin, Texas 78701 and admission is free. All films will be subtitled in English.

Bolivar soy yo! – Wednesday, Jan. 23, 8 p.m.

Buena Vida (Delivery) – Wednesday, Jan. 30, 8 p.m.



For a complete listing of films and details, visit cinelasamericas.org.

Mexican American Cultural Center celebrates five years, looks ahead

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Dancers at the Mexican American Cultural Center / courtesy photo

I’m staring at a cerulean blue wall covered in masks when Linda Crockett barges in, walkie-talkie in hand. She leads me to the conference room, where the light creeps in through the window of this beautiful, white building nestled by Lady Bird Lake, known as the Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center.

Crockett left someone downstairs waiting for a signature, and she needs some copies, but oh, the copy machine is being annoying today, and she’s getting things ready for Cine de Oro and she’s got the Dia de Muertos event and, oh man, she’s a busy woman. But Crockett sits me down because she’s ready to talk. The MACC, after all, just turned five years old, and Crockett has been there for all five of them.

If you live in Austin, you might not know about the MACC—although you should. But if you work for Austin Vida, there are some things you’re just expected to know about the city, and the MACC is definitely at the top of the list.

“We’re not striving to be nationally recognized,” says Crockett, quickly adding, “Although we are. We’re just trying to serve Austin’s Latino culture. To promote and expose not only Mexican Americans, but to be inclusive with all the cultures that fall under ‘Latino.’ Originally, the community wanted a center where they could express themselves, express their art, and we’ve been trying to do that ever since.”

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“The community wanted a center where they could express themselves, express their art, and we’ve been trying to do that ever since.”
Linda Crockett, Media Marketing & Events Coordinator at the MACC
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Crockett was hired in June 2007 when there wasn’t even a pencil or a desk chair, without any real instruction or guidance. She was originally hired as “education specialist” in charge of education programming, like the children’s camps the center offers, but soon transitioned into planning, marketing and media for events.

Today, the MACC collaborates with other organizations for events like Diez y Seis, to celebrate Mexican Independence Day, and an annual Tejano music event during South by Southwest, as well as the Trail of Tejano legends in June (with ALMA) and the Puerto Rican Folkloric Dance in May. The center is also used to show films during the annual film festival, Cine Las Américas, and has a new gallery opening about every 12 weeks as well as the community gallery on the first floor of the center, which features up-and-coming Austin artists. Currently the MACC has also been doing Flor de Nopal, a literary workshop every last Saturday of the month, and will have a reading Dec. 7 in collaboration with Irene Silva and Resistencia Books.

Crockett tells me her favorite is a monthly event called Cine de Oro. “I do it the last Tuesday of the month and show classic films,” she says. “We get the seniors to come in here. They’re not so well versed in the visual arts or the gallery, but it’s still very important that we serve them and find a way to say, ‘This is your place, too.’ I remember seeing movies from the ‘40s and ‘50s, and I remember Pedro Infante and Angelitos Negros, María Félix, it’s like revisiting my childhood. It’s one of my favorite events, and the seniors enjoy it so much, too.”

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“We try to constantly pull from the past and project it here in the present, and show the kids and the people that we’ve been writing and doing art and dancing and singing forever.”
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Crockett says a major part of the MACC is coming up with activities that bring different generations together. “We try to constantly pull from the past and project it here in the present, and show the kids and the people that we’ve been writing and doing art and dancing and singing forever,” she says. “We show them things that go beyond what they learn in class, what they learn in school.”

It’s obvious in the way Crockett talks that she loves her job and is passionate about the events and activities the MACC helps put together. She’s looking forward to a theater being built in the center, maybe a 400- to 500-seater, and hopefully getting more professionals, expanding the staff. It’s already been five years, but it’s a short time in the scheme of things, she says. “We want these programs to become a tradition, every year, and every year after me and the current staff are gone.”

The MACC has been in the spotlight recently due to controversy as to what will happen to the empty lot next to the center. Last month, city council decided to use the land for Austin’s parks and recreation, and as a part of the center’s future expansion. The MACC’s Dia de Los Muertos event Nov. 3 will also serve as a way for the community to reach out and say what they want in the lot.

Crockett says that’s essentially what the MACC is all about. “I always love to find out what the community really wants, and we’re still trying to define that,” she says. “But I think we’ve been very successful in reaching out, and we’ve brought awareness to a lot of people that weren’t aware of the richness in their heritage. Our main goal is to continue to do that, and take things further every year.”

Note: Upcoming MACC Advisory Board meetings will facilitate any community input on the lot. Meetings are held at the center, at 600 River Street. Click here for more information.

Dates:

  • Nov. 7: MACC Advisory Board Meeting, 5:30 p.m.
  • Nov. 13: Community Engagement Meeting, 6:30 p.m.
  • Nov. 19: Community Engagement Meeting, 6:30 p.m.

[10/30] Preview: ‘Los Super Seven – No Borders: Canto’ at The Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center

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Formed in 1998, Los Super Seven is a collective of Latino musicians who brought together their differing creative talents and musical backgrounds in order to creative new musical horizons. The super group featured country music singer Ricky Trevino, Mavericks lead singer Raul Malo, Tejano legend Ruben Ramos, and the ultimate East Los Angeles rockeros Los Lobos.

In 2001, the group released their live DVD and documentary, Los Super Seven: No Borders — Canto, which follows the group during the creation of their second album, Canto, and as they prepare to take their new music out of the studio and into concert halls for a tour. It was a special time captured on video for fans to cherish this incredible time in Latin music history.

Today the Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center (MACC) will be screening Los Super Seven: No Borders — Canto. The MACC is located at 600 River Street. The Screening begins at 9:30 a.m. All ages are welcome. Admission is free.

Watch a clip of the closing scene from Los Super Seven: No Borders — Canto below.

Cine Las Americas presents screening of ‘¡Ay, Carmela!’

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promo photo provided by Cine Las Americas

Cine Las Americas is a multi-cultural, non-profit organization based in Austin. It is mostly known for its annual film festival, but have year-round film screenings as well. It has screened more than 1,200 Latino and indigenous films and videos and has partnered with local schools to create educational media programs that serve the minority youth in the city. Their mission is to promote cross-cultural understanding and growth by educating, entertaining and challenging diverse audiences through film and media arts.

Their latest screening in collaboration with The Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Culture Center (MACC) and St. Edward’s University, ¡Ay, Carmela!, is a 1990 film by Carlos Saura. It is about a couple of vaudeville artists who perform for the Republican troops, but are captured and imprisoned by the Nationalist army of Francisco Franco along with a group of Polish fighters. They are summoned by Lt. Ripamonte, an Italian theatre director who joined Mussolini’s fascist government and was sent to Spain to fight with the Nationalists troops. Under Ripamonte’s direction, the performers remodel Teatro Goya to present their spectacle and entertain Nationalist troops. The artists realize that they have to decided if they are going to compromise their political and artistic ideals in order to save their lives when the Polish prisoners are brought in to witness the show before their execution.

The free film screening, based on the play by José Sanchis Sinisterra and starring Carmen Maura, Andres Pajares, Gabino Diego, and Maurizio de Razza. ¡Ay, Carmela! is presented as part of the current series “Transitions in Spanish Cinema: Spain from the 1930’s to the present.” The film will be screened on Wednesday, October 24 at 7 p.m. at the MACC located at 600 River Street. The drama/comedy is in Spanish and Catalan with English subtitles. The film lasts around 102 minutes. Visit the official event page on Facebook here.