JULY 2008
Boston, MA
The Venezuelan flute player Huascar Barradas performs on Saturday, July 19th at Festival Betances, the oldest Latino community arts festival in New England. Catch the show from 6:15-7:15 pm at the Casa de la Cultura at 85 West Newton St.
Washington, DC
The Venezuelan Sounds concert series presents pianist Leo Blanco at the Kennedy Center’s Millenium Stage on July 18th at 6pm. The show is free and open to the public. No tickets required. For more info, click here.
Philadelphia
The 2008 Philadelphia International Gay & Lesbian film festival features the movie “Alondra, A Transsexual Diary,” which is about the transformative journey of a Venezuelan transsexual living in Spain. The movie airs at 5pm on Saturday, July 12th and Friday, July 18th. For more info, click here.
JUNE 2008
New York City
On Monday, June 30th, celebrate Venezuela’s Independence Day (July 5) by attending a forum on the future of Latin America. Speakers include Venezuela’s Ambassador to the U.S., the first female Vice President of Venezuela, Afro-Colombian Senator Piedad Cordoba, and Ecuador’s Ambassador to the UN. The forum is hosted by the Consulate of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela in New York. The event takes place at 6:30pm at 101 Avenue of the Americas in Manhattan. To RSVP, email: eramirez@consulado-ny.gov.ve
Chicago
Venezuela’s culinary traditions are coming to Chicago! On June 18th, Chef Kim Bisk demonstrates how to cook with the exotic flavors of Venezuela. The class costs $65 and will be held at 6:30 pm at Someone’s in the Kitchen, 522 N. Milwaukee Ave., Libertyville. To register, call 847-816-9511.
San Francisco
On June 8th, check out “Fiesta Venezuela,” a jazz concert featuring three Venezuelan performers: the Ensemble Venezuela, VNote Ensemble, and guitarist Aquiles Baez. The show is at 7 pm at the Herbst Theater, located at 401 Van Ness Avenue. To purchase tickets, click here.
Washington, DC
The Venezuelan flute player Huascar Barradas performs at the Smithsonian Jazz Cafe on June 20th. At the Natural History Museum from 6:30 to 10 pm. Admission is $12. For more information, click here or call 202-633-8801.
Houston, TX
Artwork by Venezuelan painter Lorena B. Fernandez is included an exhibition called “Of Women” on display at the Midtown Art Center Tea Room in Houston from April 11- June 28. For more information, call 713-521-8803 or visit www.midtownartcenter.com
New Haven, CT
A new exhibition of modernist architecture at the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum at Yale University features video footage of Caracas taken by the Venezuelan artist Alexander Apóstol. The exhibition, called “Painting the Glass House: Artists Revisit Modern Architecture,” runs through July 27. For information, call (203) 438-4519.
MAY 2008
Salt Lake City
The Living Traditions Festival includes a performance on May 16th by “Venezuela Cantando,” a group from Maracaibo. A family ensemble, “Venezuela Cantando” gives audiences a taste of various local styles, including Andean music, plains music, and Caribbean drumming. The concert is at 7:15 pm on the North Stage in Washington Square, Salt Lake City & County Building, 450 South 200 East.
Houston, San Francisco, and Washington
The Venezuelan musical group “Vasallos del Sol” is taking a short U.S. tour through San Francisco (May 10), Washington (May 13), and Houston (May 15). The band has almost two dozen members, who deliver powerful performances full of rhythm and dance. Opening for “Vasallos” is the Venezuelan Music Project. For details about all three shows, click here.
APRIL 2008
Oakland, CA
On April 24th at 7 pm, the AK Press Warehouse (674 A 23rd St) will screen the documentary “Venezuela: Revolution from the Inside Out.” It is directed by Clifton Ross of the Center for the Study of the Americas in Berkeley. For more information, call 510-986-0879.
Washington, DC
From April 18-20, the Venezuela Solidarity Network hosts a symposium called “What’s Up With Venezuela: Participatory Democracy or Democracy as Usual?” Panelists include academics, activists, and other experts on Venezuela. The symposium culminates with a congressional lobby day on April 21. To register, or for more information, visit http://vensymposium.wordpress.com/
Come out for Salsa lessons and support the Venezuela Solidarity Network, an independent grassroots group in the U.S. Admission is free, but donations are encouraged. This fun evening takes place on April 3rd at 6:30 PM in the Bolivarian Hall at 2443 Massachusetts Ave., NW. For more information or to RSVP, contact the Venezuela Solidarity Network: 202-544-9355 or vsn@afgj.org
Chicago
Chicago hosts the biggest annual Latino Film Festival in the U.S. This year, Venezuelan films include “El Café de Lupe,” by director Mariana Fuentes. The festival runs from April 4-16.
On April 10th, the Chicago Symphony Center features a performance by Venezuela’s Simón Bolívar Youth Symphony Orchestra. The esteemed group is headed by Gustavo Dudamel, who has been called “the hottest conductor on the planet” by the Times of London. For tickets, click here.
MARCH 2008
Columbia, MD
On March 30th, check out “Tales from Venezuela,” stories, drawings and photos hosted by the Howard County Friends of Latin America. 3-5 p.m., Central Library, 10375 Little Patuxent Pkwy., Columbia, Maryland. Free and open to the public. For details, call 410-381-4899, or visit http://www.friendsoflatinamerica.org.
New York City
The annual Left Forum takes place in New York from March 15-16. Two panels featuring leading academics and activists will discuss Venezuela: “Evaluating Chavez from the Left,” and “Challenges Facing the Latin American Left.” For details, visit www.leftforum.org
Minneapolis, MN
On March 1st, in honor of Black History Month and Women’s History Month, groups in Minneapolis present a panel discussion on “The African Diaspora in the Americas: Political and Cultural Resistance.” Speakers include the head of the Afro-Venezuelan Network and representatives from the US, Haiti, Colombia, Cuba, and Puerto Rico. For more information, call 612 730-0087.
FEBRUARY 2008
Washington, DC
The award winning Venezuelan playwright Gustavo Ott’s “Tu Ternura Molotov” will be playing at the Gala Theatre from January 31, 2008-February 24, 2008. A hilarious and provocative commentary on political incorrectness. In spanish with english subtitles. For more information/tickets: 202-234-7174.
Providence, RI
A two-day conference on “Change in the Andes” will take place at Brown University’s Center for Latin American Studies from February 12 - 13. Issues of change in Venezuela, Bolivia, and Ecuador will be discussed by professors and various distinguished guests, including the Ambassadors of the three countries in question. The conference will look beyond current events to explore larger processes of social development as well as economic and political liberalization in the Andean region.
New York City
Over 10,000 Venezuelans live in NY but until now they have lacked representation in the arts. Currently, the Modern Museum of Art is paying homage to the Venezuelan roots of modernism by featuring works by the painter Alejandro Otero as part of the its exhibit, “New Perspectives in Latin American Art, 1930-2006: Selections from a Decade of Acquisitions.” Visitors can catch Otero’s eye-catching abstract collages at MOMA up until February 25th, 2008. Special gallery lectures are available on Thursdays and Fridays. For more information: (212) 708-9480.
New Paltz, NY
If you’re in the mood for a political discussion, the Caribbean and Latin American Support Project (CLASP) will be hosting “a public meeting regarding the relations between the United States and the government of Venezuela,” according to the Poughkeepsie Journal. The event will take place on February 3rd from 6-9pm. For more information: 255-0113 or burgek@newpaltz.edu
JANUARY 2008
Philadelphia
Citgo-sponsored Artists for Heat, a benefit concert to provide aid for the 6 million Americans who will be without heat this winter, is coming to Philadelphia’s Trocadero Theater on Thursday, January 31st. Performers include Dead Prez, The Roots, Everlast, Stanley Clarke and Guest DJ Ali Shaheed from A Tribe Called Quest. Doors open at 7pm. For tickets, call 215-922-LIVE or go to www.ticketmaster.com
San Francisco
Two documentaries about contemporary Venezuela by Oliver Ressler and Dario Azzellini will be screened at Artists’ Television Access on 992 Valencia Street in San Francisco on Thursday, January 31st, and Friday, February 1st. A discussion follows. 8pm. For more information, call (415) 824-3890
