Musco Center for the Arts at Chapman University is pleased to announce the addition of a second day of performances and celebrations at the third annual Heartbeat of Mexico festival over Memorial Day Weekend, Saturday, May 26 and Sunday, May 27.
In the evenings, ticketed events take place inside Musco Center with performances by two-time Grammy winner Mariachi Los Camperos on Saturday, May 26 at 7:30 p.m. and multiple Grammy and Latin Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Natalia Lafourcade at 6 p.m. on Sunday, May 27. Tickets are on sale now at www.muscocenter.org.
On Sunday afternoon beginning at 1 p.m., performers and ensembles from the region will fill three free outdoor stages on the Bette and Wylie Aitken Arts Plaza in front of Musco Center.
New to the festival this year is a juried art exhibition led by Chapman’s Hilbert Museum of California Art that will feature works that evoke Mexican or Mexican-American heritage, traditions, and culture. Also new this year are a pre-festival cultural lecture series at various locations around Chapman University and a celebration dinner on Saturday evening.
“The intent of this festival—and all our international events and festivals—is to present both the traditional and modern facets of the culture,” said Richard T. Bryant, executive director of Musco Center. “In this case, Mariachi Los Camperos proudly represents some of the best loved traditional music, while the amazing songwriter Natalia Lafourcade is a new voice of Mexico.”
“This festival brings thousands of people to Chapman University every year,” said Marisol Arredondo Samson, Ph.D., co-chair of the Latinx Staff and Faculty Forum and director of institutional research at Chapman University. “It has been so wonderful to see so many people from the surrounding community step foot onto our beautiful campus for the very first time and experience Chapman in such a meaningful way. We hope this event continues to attract many more new people (in particular the Latinx community) and makes them feel welcome—and makes them consider Chapman as a place where they would want to send their hijo, hija, sobrino, sobrina, and nietos (son, daughter, nephew, niece, and grandchildren).”
This year’s Festival Producer is Musco Center Senior Director David Leavenworth, who introduced the World CAFE concept before Musco’s opening. “Musco Center’s cultural festivals, like Heartbeat of Mexico, are not just about doing,” said Leavenworth. “It’s about doing and creating together.”
What Musco Center is accomplishing with these festivals, says Bryant, is not just theoretical talk about “reaching out” to local cultural communities. “This is not theoretical, and the concept of ‘outreach’ itself is outdated. Instead, this is a partnership. It’s practical, immediate, visceral and authentic, because it’s coming from the people in our community, from the heart of their own heritage and experience. We all live in an Anglo-Mexican-Vietnamese-Persian-Korean-Indian-everything community that’s deep, wide, broad, smart, rich in heritage, accomplished and culturally fantastic in all the things it knows and shares, its history and its past and its passions. Chapman University and Musco Center invite you to share in this richness as it reveals itself to us through the hearts and talents of these artists: our neighbors and our partners.”
Heartbeat of Mexico runs from May 26-27 at Musco Center for the Arts. More information about free and ticketed events is available online at www.muscocenter.org.
GRAMMY Award-winning artists Natalia Lafourcade and Mariachi Los Camperos set to headline evening concerts
On Saturday, May 26 at 7:30 p.m., Mariachi Los Camperos will headline a night of traditional Mexican music with special guest Mariachi Mestizo. Founded in 1961 by the famed late founder, Jose Natividad “Nati” Cano, Mariachi Los Camperos has been recognized with two GRAMMY awards for its role in popularizing mariachi in the United States. Known for world-class musicianship, artful interpretation of classic tunes, inventive arrangements, and tight vocal harmonies, the group has performed at prestigious concert halls, including Carnegie Hall and Washington, D.C.’s Lincoln Theater. Mariachi Los Camperos continues to tour globally and perform at the popular Los Angeles landmark La Fonda de Los Camperos, the first-ever Mariachi Dine and Show founded by Nati Cano in 1969. Mariachi Mestizo, the talented young ensemble of The Mariachi Studio in the Central Valley is known for its high-caliber performances. Under the tutelage of Juan Morales, the ensemble has performed at Carnegie Hall as well as recorded an album at Capitol Records’ largest recording space, Studio A.
On Sunday, May 27 at 6 p.m., GRAMMY Award-winner Natalia Lafourcade, considered to be the voice of the Mexican people, will perform at Musco Center for the Arts. Lafourcade is a renowned singer, composer, music producer, fashion designer, and actress. Born in Mexico City, she began formally studying music at the age of 14, and signed with Sony Music in 2002 at the age of 17 to record her debut album. In 2005, she, alongside her band La Forquetina, received a Latin GRAMMY for Best Rock Album by a Duo or Group with Vocals for her second album “Casa.” Since then Natalia has recorded multiple award-winning albums, including her most recent album, “Musas,” which was awarded Best Folk Album and Best Long Form Music Video for the song “El Documental” at the 2017 Latin GRAMMY Awards. She has performed duets with numerous notable singers, including Pepe Aguilar, Juan Gabriel, Jose Jose, and Gilberto Santa Rosa, and has performed for audiences across Mexico, the United States, Central America, South America, and Europe.
Tickets for May 26 and 27 are on sale now and may be purchased through the Musco Center online at www.muscocenter.org/ or by calling the box office at 844-OC-MUSCO (844-626-8726). All print-at-home tickets include a no-cost parking pass. Musco Center for the Arts is located on the campus of Chapman University at 415 North Glassell, Orange.
Musco Center seeks local performers and ensembles to appear during festival
Up to 20 of the finest local Mexican and Mexican-American performers and ensembles will fill three outdoor stages on the Bette and Wylie Aitken Arts Plaza in front of the Musco Center on Sunday, May 27. Eligible performers for the outdoor plaza areas include: musicians, dancers, spoken word artists, comedians, and other acts. As this is a culturally specific festival, preference will be given to applicants whose programs are rooted in traditional and contemporary Mexican and Mexican-American performing arts and entertainment. Performers and performance groups should engage and entertain a broad spectrum of festival-goers while ensuring content is appropriate for family audiences and will go with or complement the theme of the event.
Performing artists can complete and submit an application to perform online. Applicants will be accepted until Friday, April 6 at 5 p.m.
Announcing call to artists for juried Heartbeat of Mexico Art Exhibition led by Chapman’s Hilbert Museum
This year’s festival will feature the first juried Heartbeat of Mexico Art Exhibition, which is led by Chapman’s Hilbert Museum of California Art, Mary A. Platt, executive director. The juried exhibition is open to all artists. Preference for selection will be given to original works of art that evoke Mexican or Mexican-American heritage, traditions, and culture. Applications to be considered for inclusion in the exhibition will be accepted online beginning Monday, March 12 at noon. The application deadline is April 1 at midnight Pacific time.
Only 2D works in the media of painting, pastels, drawing, mixed media or printmaking will be accepted, and all work must be framed, wired, and ready to hang. Applicants must be at least 18 years of age. There is a $35 entry fee, which covers up to three works maximum.
A cash prize of $350 will be awarded for the judges’ Best in Show. The Art Show will be held in Chapman’s Bush Conference Center, Beckman Hall 404, and will be open to the public. An awards ceremony will be held on Sunday, May 27.
For more information or to apply to the Heartbeat of Mexico Art Exhibition, visit www.hilbertmuseum.org or www.muscocenter.org, or call 714-516-5880.
Heartbeat of Mexico Celebration Dinner honors Chapman’s Vice President of Human Resources
On Saturday evening, guests will converge for the Heartbeat of Mexico Celebration Dinner. In its first year, the dinner will honor University Vice President and Latinx Forum member Becky Campos, who has announced her retirement. Musco Center, Chapman University Latinx Staff and Faculty Forum and the Consulate of Mexico join together to salute Campos for her many contributions to the University and community. Campos joined Chapman University in 2009 following an impressive career in support of educational institutions including The Huntington Library, Occidental College, and California Institute of Technology.
Heartbeat of Mexico’s Cultural Lecture Series added
Beginning April 19 at 6 p.m., there is a Heartbeat of Mexico pre-festival cultural lecture series in the Leatherby Libraries on Chapman University’s campus in Orange.
Engaging students and the community, members of the Latinx Staff and Faculty Forum, Chapman University’s Cross-Cultural Center and Leatherby Libraries have joined with Musco Center for the Arts to lead a series of lectures by top Southern California Mexican Studies, Music, and Religious Studies educators. Lectures slated for the last half of April and continuing in May leading to the finale of the Heartbeat of Mexico’s festival events over Memorial Day Weekend add a cultural exploration for students and community members alike.
The series will kick off with a lecture on Thursday, April 19 at 6 p.m. in the Leatherby Libraries on Chapman University’s campus in Orange.
Heartbeat of Mexico schedule of events
April 19-May 25
Heartbeat of Mexico’s Cultural Lecture Series
Saturday, May 26
2 p.m.: Opening of the juried Heartbeat of Mexico Art Show—Beckman Hall 404
5 p.m.: Heartbeat of Mexico Celebration Dinner
7:30 p.m.: Mariachi Los Camperos with Mariachi Mestizo—Musco Center for the Arts
Sunday, May 27
1-6 p.m.: Free Afternoon Festival—Bette and Wylie Aitken Arts Plaza
6 p.m.: Natalia Lafourcade—Musco Center for the Arts
