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Posts Tagged ‘Mujeres de Maiz’

Los Angeles is one of the most exciting cities in the world.  In terms of cultures, languages, and ideas, it rivals New York, and its history is equally as complex and fascinating, if not more so, because of its specific location on the other coast, a few hours from the Mexican border.  There are always an amazing variety of events happening in town, and one of the greatest difficulties for visitors is making the decision about what to do.  There are always a dozen excellent options.  The other challenge, of course, is the traffic, because the city is huge, and it’s often a little bit interesting to get from one neighborhood to another.

One of the ways around this, of course, if you’re visiting to see certain events, is to find a cheap Los Angeles hotel that’s near all the things you want to see.  They say that nobody walks in L.A., but once you’re in a neighborhood, you see an awful lot of people walking.  If you’re interested in Chicana art, and know what Zapatismo is about, then by all means, try to time your visit to one of the moments when Mujeres de Maiz is presenting one of their events.

This Xicana artists collective began in 1997, as a zine where women of color could find and share ideas of culture, politics, action, and art, in a forum that is very community-based, and extremely savvy.  Over the years, they’ve evolved into a much larger collective.  Felicia Montes and Claudio Mercado began it as a place for women on L.A.s eastside, but its grown far beyond even the borders of Los Angeles.  They produce performances every four months, and it’s worth looking into, because some of the most exciting performance and visual artists working today have fascinating connections to this necessary collective.