Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA Performing Arts Programs Connect Los Angeles and Latin America

An eclectic line-up of music and dance performances will be presented this fall throughout Los Angeles in conjunction with Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA, the Getty-led initiative exploring Latin American and Latino art that launched in mid-September. Illuminating the reciprocal influences among composers, musicians, singers, and dancers from Latin America and Los Angeles, the programs complement an expansive roster of exhibitions and public programs at more than 70 institutions across Southern California. Performances will take place at venues including The Music Center's Dorothy Chandler Pavilion and Walt Disney Concert Hall, and museums and cultural institutions throughout Los Angeles.

"The performing arts component of Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA gives Los Angeles audiences and our visitors from around the world an even more expansive experience of Latin American and Latino culture," said Jim Cuno, President of the J. Paul Getty Trust.

October highlights include the CDMX: Music from Mexico City festival programmed and presented by the LA Phil at Walt Disney Concert Hall, and the Musical Interventions series at the Hammer Museum, Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) and Downtown LA's historic Palace Theater, programmed by USC Professor and MacArthur Fellow Josh Kun. Later in the season, The Music Center will celebrate traditional and contemporary Cuban music and dance with the Cuba: Antes, Ahora / Then, Now festival.

Information on additional programming presented by PST: LA/LA partners in conjunction with the initiative, and a series of PST: LA/LA Spotify playlists created by Kun, are available at pacificstandardtime.org.

CDMX: Music from Mexico City, presented by the LA Phil
Walt Disney Concert Hall
October 9, 2017-October 17, 2017
The LA Phil presents CDMX (Ciudad de Mexico), a six-concert festival celebrating Mexico City's vibrant music scene. In support of those who were recently affected by the earthquake in Mexico, a portion of the CDMX Festival ticket sales will be donated to UNICEF relief efforts. Performances include contemporary music programs, folk, pop, film compositions, and three orchestral programs led by Music and Artistic Director Gustavo Dudamel. The festival will include world premiere commissions by established and up-and-coming composers such as Ivan Naranjo, Felipe Waller and Diana Syrse. In conjunction with CDMX, the LA Phil will host the third iteration of its National Composers Intensive, bringing together talented young composers - three from Mexico and three from the United States - for a week of immersive composition education with key faculty drawn from the LA Phil's CDMX Festival, led by acclaimed composer Andrew Norman. Preceding each concert from October 12 to 15 will be organilleros (organ grinders) cranking out songs on traditional barrel organs in lobby spaces of Walt Disney Concert Hall.

CDMX: BiRDMAN LiVE
October 9, 2017
8:00 p.m.
Mexican percussionist, composer and five-time Grammy-winner Antonio Sanchez performs his unique and vibrant percussion-only score live-to-picture for a screening of Birdman, which won the Oscar for Best Picture in 2014.

CDMX: Natalia Lafourcade
October 12, 2017
8:00 p.m.
Seven-time Latin Grammy-winner Natalia Lafourcade is one of Mexico's biggest contemporary music stars. While anchored in her traditional roots, she also explores reggae, bossa nova, and calypso with intriguing acoustic guitar, piano, and stunningly delicate vocals. For the first time, she will be accompanied by the Los Angeles Philharmonic conducted by Gustavo Dudamel. The performance will be prefaced by an orchestral program, which will include the world premiere of a new work by Gabriela Ortiz, Téenek - Invenciones de territorio, commissioned by the LA Phil.

CDMX: Noche de Cine
October 13, 2017
8:00 p.m.
Noche de Cine will feature an evening of film music co-curated by four-time Academy Award-winning director, writer and producer Alejandro G. Iñárritu and Morelia Film Festival Director Daniela Michel. With Mexico City as the center of the Latin American film scene, Noche de Cine will include scores, songs and film clips accompanied live-to-film by the Los Angeles Philharmonic, conducted by Gustavo Dudamel. Selections range from classics sung by Jorge Negrete and Pedro Infante, to present day cult favorites, including music from Guillermo Del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth.

CDMX: Now!
October 14, 2017
7:00 p.m.
CDMX: Now! will present a snapshot of Mexico City's colorfully vibrant music community with established and emerging acts who highlight its rich traditions and contemporary creativity. The performance will feature La Sonora Santanera, an orchestra playing tropical music from Mexico with over 60 years of history; Mexrrissey performing brass and string-led reinventions of Morrissey's and The Smiths' songs; Little Jesus, performing melodic indie rock with danceable rhythms dubbed "tropipop"; N.A.A.F.I, a community-cultivating group of artists on the edge of Mexico City's DJ culture; and Ampersan, presenting an audiovisual journey that mixes traditional instruments with modern genres such as rock, jazz and electronic.

CDMX: Café Tacvba
October 15, 2017
7:30 p.m.
For the first time in their 28 years, Café Tacvba, performs with full orchestra. Celebrating a new record, this special concert, with the Los Angeles Philharmonic conducted by Gustavo Dudamel, will showcase their extraordinary catalog with imaginative new arrangements and their distinctive attitude. The performance will be prefaced by an orchestral program, which will include the world premiere of an LA Phil commission from Arturo Márquez, Danzón No. 9.

CDMX: New Music from Mexico
October 17, 2017
8:00 p.m.
The LA Phil New Music Group performs five world premieres commissioned by the LA Phil. Carlos Miguel Prieto conducts a Green Umbrella program of contemporary material including works by five of the leading composers in Mexico City: Édgar Guzmán, Felipe Waller, Ivan Naranjo, Diana Syrse and Alejandro Castaños.

Information and tickets for CDMX: Music from Mexico City can be found at www.laphil.com.

Musical Interventions, presented by USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism
Various locations
September 23-December 2, 2017
Musical Interventions, curated by cultural historian, author, and USC Professor Josh Kun, is a multi-part "exhibition" exploring the musical networks between Los Angeles and various Latin American communities and cultures. Six live musical performances take place in venues throughout Los Angeles, many of which also feature PST: LA/LA exhibitions. The series is accompanied by a book of essays, interviews, photographs and album covers, The Tide Was Always High: The Music of Latin America in Los Angeles (UC Press).

SONORAMA! Latin America in Hollywood
The Getty Center
September 23, 2017
7:00 p.m.
This outdoor dance concert will feature an electronic big band led by Mexico City's Mexican Institute of Sound, with Sergio Mendoza (Orkesta Mendoza) and a crew of top local musicians helmed by percussionist Alberto López. They will interpret music written in, and for, Hollywood by the likes of Juan García Esquivel, Lalo Schifrin, Johnny Richards, Ary Barroso, and Maria Grever. Produced in partnership with The Getty.

Voice of the Xtabay: A Tribute to Yma Sumac
Hammer Museum
October 7, 2017
7:30 p.m.
A genre-bending roster of Los Angeles Latinx vocalists and musicians reimagine the songs of multi-octave Peruvian singer and Capitol Records recording star Yma Sumac. Inspired by the Hammer exhibition Radical Women: Latin American Art 1960-1985, the evening features Empress Of, Nite Jewel, Maria Elena Altany, Ceci Bastida, Dorian Wood, Carmina Escobar, Francisca Valenzuela, and Elysia Crampton. Produced in partnership with the Hammer Museum. Free; tickets not required. Performance will be livestreamed via hammer.ucla.edu.

Playing With Fire: Chicano Batman Play Carlos Almaraz
LACMA
October 18, 2017
7:30 and 9:30 p.m.
Celebrated Los Angeles band Chicano Batman will perform new music inspired by LACMA's exhibition Playing with Fire: Paintings by Carlos Almaraz. Performance will take place in the exhibition gallery. Produced in partnership with LACMA. For more information: LACMA.org.

Tonight at the Palace!: A Variedades Tribute
Palace Theater
October 26, 2017
7:30 p.m.
Inspired by classic Spanish-language variety shows held at downtown movie palaces such as the Million Dollar and the Palace, this imaginative evening features live music, dance, comedy and a screening of a restored Spanish language short film. Artists include La Familia Gonzalez de Los Angeles, Versa-Style Dance Company, Abraham Laboriel, Paulinho da Costa, and many more. Produced in partnership with USC's Visions & Voices. Free; reservations required.

Human Nature: Sonic Others, Sonic Beauty
The Huntington
September 16, 2017-January 9, 2018: Installation
November 4, 2017: Performance
12:00 p.m.
The Huntington's exhibition Visual Voyages will be complemented by an experimental sound installation in its Botanical Gardens and a one-night-only live performance, both by composer, musician, and artist Guillermo Galindo. Produced in partnership with The Huntington. Free; reservations not required.

That Bad Donato: The Brazil/LA Connection
Royce Hall, UCLA
December 2, 2017
8:00 p.m.
This special evening revisits the 1970 album by legendary Brazilian pianist, producer and arranger João Donato, A Bad Donato (recorded in L.A.), and other moments of "Brazil-in-L.A". Inspired by the Fowler Museum at UCLA exhibition Axé Bahia: The Power of Art in an Afro-Brazilian Metropolis, the concert features performances by João Donato backed by Bixiga 70, and Bahia-raised Mateus Aleluia with L.A.-based Brazilian singer Thalma de Freitas. Produced in partnership with Center for Art of Performance at UCLA. Tickets required.

For additional information and ticketing for the Music Interventions series please visit www.tidealwayshigh.com.

Performance Art Cuba: Antes, Ahora / Then, Now, presented by The Music Center
Various locations
November 30 - December 2, 2017
The Music Center's Cuba: Antes, Ahora / Then, Now is a three-day multifaceted exploration of the evolution of Cuban music and dance. Traditional and contemporary performances will be complemented by educational, family-friendly and interactive programs, offering Angelenos of all ages access to the dynamic arts of Cuba.

Artist Conversations
The Annenberg Space for Photography
November 30, 2017
7:30 p.m.
Cuba's dynamic arts and culture community is explored in this panel discussion and live artist demonstrations featuring festival artists Pancho Amat, Yissy Garcia and Telmary Diaz, among others. Betto Arcos moderates. Free; tickets required.

Afro-Cuban Dance and Percussion Workshop
Grand Park
December 1, 2017
12:30 p.m.
The community is invited to participate in this workshop featuring Afro-Cuban dance and percussion. Free and open to all skill levels.

Sleepless: The Music Center After Hours
The Music Center's Dorothy Chandler Pavilion
December 1, 2017
11:00 p.m.
The 10th edition of The Music Center's highly-popular Sleepless event transforms the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion into an experiential late night environment filled with the rhythms and sounds of Cuba. Free with ticket handling fee.

Afro-Cuban Dance and Percussion Workshop
Rumba Dance Party + Jam Session
Grand Park
December 2, 2017
1:00 p.m.
This day-long celebration of Afro-Cuban dance and percussion includes a music workshop and live performances from Justin Pelladito and Afroamérica; Made in Cuba; Pancho Amat, Telmary Diaz and Yissy Garcia. Free and open to all skill levels.

Malpaso Dance Company
The Music Center's Dorothy Chandler Pavilion
December 2, 2017
2:00 and 7:30 p.m.
Malpaso Dance Company blends ballet technique with modern dance and movements from the streets of Cuba. For its L.A. debut, the company performs works by Artistic Director Osnel Delgado, L.A.-based choreographer Aszure Barton, and So You Think You Can Dance choreographer Sonya Tayeh in a world premiere of a work commissioned by The Music Center. Ticketed.

Information and tickets for Cuba: Antes, Ahora / Then, Now events are available at www.musiccenter.org/cuba.

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