Teatro SEA celebrates arts for all at annual Arte Pa’ Mi Gente festival
The outdoor festival highlights Trans–Caribbean culture and identity across artistic forms with “Archipelago of Culture” theme
Teatro SEA’s annual festival of Latin American arts and culture, Arte Pa’ Mi Gente/Arts for All, returns to the outdoors this August. Organized by the leading Latino bilingual arts-in-education theater for families and youth with support from The Clemente Soto Velez Cultural and Educational Center, the festival brings together a lineup of artists across disciplines for three days of free family celebrations. This year’s festival theme is “Archipelago of Culture,” highlighting the importance of island culture and Afro-Caribbean artistic traditions.
“The arts are for everyone. From dance to theater to music, art empowers communities and connects us to our varied histories and traditions,” said Dr. Manuel Morán, founder, CEO and artistic director of Teatro SEA. “Arte Pa’ Mi Gente is a love letter to Latin American trans-caribbean culture and a chance for New Yorkers to experience diverse art forms together across generations and backgrounds.”
“An archipelago is both a literal fact and a beautiful metaphor for the varied intersecting traditions and art forms from the Caribbean islands that all come together here in New York City, from the rhythmic legacies of Cuba to the cinematic scene from Vieques, Puerto Rico,” said Libertad Guerra, Executive Director of The Clemente Center. “This edition of Arte Pa’ Mi Gente Festival celebrates the distinct and shared heritages of the Caribbean and their overall contribution to our city’s artistic identity.”
The three day festival is free to the public and will include a series of outdoor performances, workshops, films, and concerts, designed for families and across age groups. Featured guests include a workshop led by Dr. Drum, director of BombaYo, a musical group that ignites the ancestral rhythms of Bomba, an African derived music and dance tradition developed in Puerto Rico, a film screening matinee by Vieques Film and Human Rights Festival and La Gloria, a Latin Cabaret featuring Mestizo, and the workshop activations from The People’s Bus civic engagement initiative by artist Yazmany Arboleda as the newest destination point of La Plaza at The Clemente. Teatro SEA will also present outdoor performances of its original puppet theater production Cesar Chavez and the Migrants.
Arte Pa’ Mi Gente is an annual event that fulfills Teatro SEA’s mission to make art accessible to underserved audiences. The outdoor theater offers an open-air family friendly environment, with all outdoor performances free for the public. This festive environment includes an arts fair with individual artists and local gallery sellers, food vendors, and artesanía caribeña (Caribbean cultural arts & crafts).
Program for Friday August 12:
7:15PM Welcome and Award Ceremony
8-9PM La Gloria, A Latin Cabaret (Featuring Mestizo)
Program for Saturday August 13:
2-9PM Artisans and food
2PM NYC’s SWEDISH COTTAGE MARIONETTE THEATER PRESENTS PUPPET TIME
2-3PM Family + Children workshops
2-3PM: Mono Prints: Lithograph workshop (Spanish) & The Peoples Bus activations
3-4 PM: Cesar and the migrants, The Cesar Chavez Story
4-5PM: Instruments with recycle making by Dimitri Saari, Lucrecia Novoa & TC: The People’s Bus activations
*4-6PM: Matinee Kabayitos Cinema by Vieques Film Festival (Suggested Donation $10):
Calle de la Resistencia (musical) 1hr 20min
7:15PM Welcome and Award Ceremony
8-9PM La Gloria, A Latin Cabaret (Featuring Mestizo)
Program for Sunday August 14:
1-6PM: Artisans and food
1-3PM Family + Children workshops
1-2PM: "We Are Drum": BombaYo’s director Dr. Drum workshop & The People’s Bus activations
2-3PM: The Journey of Pura Belpre’s Tales (Children’s Theater)
3-4PM: Vejigante Mask by Dimitri Saari, Lucrecia Novoa & The People’s Bus activations
*1PM-3PM Matinee Kabayitos Cinema by Vieques Film Festival (Suggested Donation $10)
Cuba: El Monte (documental) 13min.
Argentina: Como en la T.V. (ficción) 14min.
España: Otra forma de caminar (documental, con animación) 21min.
Puerto Rico: Aquí (documental) 6min.
Nuevo Rico (animación) 16min.
$7.25 (ficción)
Alma (ficción) 15min.
4:30PM: Welcome and Award Ceremony
5:15PM: La Gloria, A Latin Cabaret (Featuring Mestizo)
*Separate RSVP sign in needed for this event.