Overview
Watch live at 7pm:
The Latin Alternative Music Conference is in town, so join us to talk about music, the art of performance and the state of creativity in Latin America today. Featuring live performances from two musical acts who reimagine Latin roots sounds in extraordinary ways and a behind-the-scenes chat with members of one of the most diverse and exciting theater troupes in New York City:
Juana Molina stands out as one of the most talented Argentinian singer-composers of her generation. Raised in a family of tango musicians, Molina first made her name as an actress, starring in a quirky and popular sketch comedy show titled “Juana y Sus Hermanas.” Since 1996 she has released six albums as a musician to great acclaim in South America, the US and Europe – most recently 2013’s Wed 21. Her music skirts many lines: both experimental and pop, electronic and acoustic, contemporary, yet rooted in Argentinean folk music.
La Mecánica Popular puts a twist on a classic Latin sound: salsa. Led by Peruvian singer and pianist Efraín Rozas, the NYC-based band melds the heavy Afro-Caribbean grooves of salsa dura with the mind-warping textures of psychedelic rock. They replace the classic horn section with fuzzed out guitars and angular synthesizers, ultimately using the idea of “psychedelic salsa” as a meditation on the relationship between the body and the mind in representations of Latin culture. The group’s self-titled debut album is currently out on the Brooklyn-based label Names You Can Trust.
Labyrinth Theater Company was founded in 1992 by a small group of actors who wanted to push their artistic limits and tell new, more inclusive stories that expanded the boundaries of mainstream theater. In doing so, they created a tightly knit, uninhibited and impassioned ensemble that created incendiary and vital new works for the stage that redefined the landscape of New York City theater.