DC Arts Center Presents 'The Children of Latina' Through Feb. 28

Does a Washington-born teenager with parents from two different countries and who speaks three languages at home consider himself American? As the United States quickly becomes a "brown nation" (whites are expected to be in the minority by 2042), The Children of Latinia delves into the world of a new techno-generation that struggles to identify their race and nationality. In their fifth collaboration, Quique Aviles and B. Stanley examine the realities of hybrid Americans who consider themselves "Latinos", but were actually born in the US with one Latino parent and one of another nationality (Ethiopian-Guatemalans, Palestinian-Salvadoreans, Mexican-Iranians, Japanese-Colombians, etc.). Combining poetry and performance with lecture-style graphic presentations, Aviles' one-man show comments on demographic realities and incorporates the observations of this new generation as they struggle to define their role and place in the United States. The Children of Latinia draws on reading, research, conversations and numerous interviews that uncover the desire and need for Latinia, a fictional country that is a homeland for all Latinos, regardless of their backgrounds or countries of origin.

Audience members are encouraged to share their reactions in post-performance discussions led by Olivia Cadaval, Latin-American studies scholar and curator for the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and American Heritage. Discussions will be held on Thursday February 26 and Friday February 27.

This project is supported by the Greater Washington Creative Communities Initiative through the Community Foundation for the National Capital Region and Humanities Council of Washington, DC.

about the artists
Poet and performance artist Quique Aviles emigrated from El Salvador in the 1980s as a teenager and has spent the past 20 years creating performance pieces that deal with social issues of immigration, race relations, gentrification, addiction and the urban situation. Now a naturalized citizen and from an earlier generation, he looks at this generation of hybrid "Latinos", who are the new voice and face of a changing America, from the perspective of an outsider.

B. Stanley, a Washingtonian since he was a teenager, is an actor, director, pedagogue, puppeteer, and performance artist. He founded Theatre Du Jour in Washington DC in 1982 as an experimental group with an actor-based approach to creating new works. He has collaborated with Quique on his last four performances and two youth-oriented programs. He is also the Executive/Artistic Director of The District of Columbia Arts Center, where he encourages the development of cutting edge work by new and emerging theater groups.

about DCAC
The District of Columbia Arts Center, founded in 1989, is a nonprofit arts space dedicated to promoting the freshest, most under-recognized artists in the Washington metropolitan area. We encourage an ongoing dialogue between new artists and the greater art community, and assist artists in the business of production. Comprised of a theater, gallery, and administrative offices, DCAC is located in the heart of Adams Morgan. Since its inception in 1989, DCAC has received local, national and international reviews for visual and performing arts. Over 100 visual arts exhibitions and 500 performance events have illustrated the need for DCAC. Poets, painters, actors, storytellers, sculptors, performance artists have been drawn to the Center from as close as around the corner and as far as from around the world.

February 5-28
Thursdays, Fridays & Saturdays, 7:30pm
Post-performance discussions on February 12, 13, 26 and 27
$15, $12 for DCAC members
For Reservations call DCAC at (202) 462-7833