Free Little Havana Unmasked at MDC Koubek Center

The new work developed by artists in the artist-in-residence program En Residencia at Miami-Dade College’s Koubek Center will be highlighted on Saturday, Oct. 26 at 7 p.m. and Sunday, Oct. 27 at 5 p.m., through a series of performances and installations.

En Residencia engages Latinx artists for extended residencies, which culminate in projects focused on life in Little Havana. This Knight Arts Challenge-winning program expands the global body of work that voices Latinx experience and culture through a distinctly Miami lens.

With a commitment to engaging the community, resident artists Jose Manuel Dominguez, Carla Forte, Gustavo Matamoros and Aurora Molina forged relationships directly in the neighborhood to develop their projects. Their final work is informed by experiencing, listening and eventually reflecting the voice of the community. Learn more about the artists and their projects below:

Here’s the weekend schedule:

Performing artist Jose Manuel Dominguez presents, Barrio Babel, a multidisciplinary performance featuring five performers, live music, and video projections revealing interviews, stories, and memoir of residents of Little Havana. Told through contemporary theatre, the multifaceted piece reflects the intricacy of the historic neighborhood and its contemporary plight amid gentrification and the economic and social issues that immigrants face.

Filmmaker and dancer Carla Forte’s experimental short film Femme will be screened. It focuses on and is inspired by Latin American women and the oppression they experience in their social circumstances. The film is a reflection of her work with Little Havana residents through which she provided participants movement as a language to express their thoughts, desires, frustrations and hopes.

Sound artist Gustavo Matamoros’ sound art portrait and soundscape reveals a place and its people. Consisting of a live four channel sound art performance, the culminating piece from Matamoros’ residency is a multi-layered audiovisual art installation created in collaboration with visual artist Freddy Jouwayed.

In response to her work in the community, mostly with youth, fiber artist Aurora Molina developed a series of large-scale soft sculptural puppets that voice the experience of immigrant children. Set as a site-specific installation, the piece is inspired by the children’s drawings. The installation, as a universal language, represents a cultural landscape of Little Havana portraying and offering a sense of belonging, a quilt of immigrant experience.

Find more free and cheap entertainment this week: