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Articulated Insight – “News, Race and Culture in the Information Age”
Hey! Welcome back to Culture Canvas.
Hope you all enjoyed your weekend and the NFL Draft. I did not make it downtown for the festivities but I did catch an interesting play at the Senate Theater Sunday. The teen theater company La Carpa put on their latest production, “Lost In Our Roots.” The play looks back at Latine history as a group of Detroit students get in a time machine and travel from the 1400s to the early 2010s to meet conquistadors and revolutionaries.
The bilingual theater company is inspired by the traveling tent shows made popular during the Mexican Revolution. Youth ages 12-18 in the group have the opportunity to write plays and portray historical Latino figures.
It was fun seeing the play’s sci-fi theme and the teen group’s portrayal of historical figures like Christopher Columbus, Queen Isabella I of Castile, who ruled Spain along with her husband King Ferdinand II, and Berta Cáceres, a Honduran environmental activist, was was killed in 2016 for her work.
Another element: The play was bilingual for the Hispanic community in Detroit.
“We don’t have theater in Spanish for the community that only speaks Spanish in Detroit,” noted founder Karilú Forshee, who said the production was intentional about “mixing both worlds” to make the play more accessible.
“Lost In Our Roots” wrapped up Sunday, but the company is always looking for new members, Forshee said. Those who are interested can send her an email at karilu@ahostofpeople.org.
As always, hope you have a wonderful week!
Cheers,
Micah
313 Scene
- Michigan Central Station is looking for up to 60 welcome ambassadors to host the crowds for the station’s reopening June 6 and throughout the summer. A job fair with on-site interviews will run from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel, 5801 Southfield Freeway.
- Detroit Excellence in Youth Arts (DEYA) is hosting the second round of its Launch Awards, where young people ranging in age from 11-19 receive microgrants to support their artistic endeavors. Applications are being accepted through Thursday via the DEYA website.
- Eminem during the NFL Draft gave a sneak peek of his new album “The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grace),” which comes out this summer. It will be Eminem’s 12th studio album and his first since 2020.
- Gen Z superstar Billie Eilish is going on tour to promote her third album, “Hit Me Hard and Soft,” which comes out May 17. The singer will make a stop at Little Caesars Arena Oct. 7. The American Express presale starts Tuesday, while tickets for the general public go on sale at noon Friday.
What’s Going on in the D?
- The Detroit Public Theatre’s latest play, “Clyde’s,” debuted April 24. Written by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Lynn Nottage, the play centers on the formerly incarcerated kitchen staff of a truck-stop sandwich joint who are on a mission to create the perfect sandwich—and to move forward from past lives that were far from perfect. Performances are: 2 p.m. Wednesday; 8 p.m. Friday; 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday; and 2 p.m. Sunday. General admission is $47.
- InsideOut Literary Arts is hosting its Detroit Youth Poetry Slam at 5:30 p.m. Thursday at the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit (MOCAD).
- Events company Lucha Boom will throw a Cinco De Mayo celebration at 6 p.m. Friday at the Big Pink. Tickets start at $25 for the event, which will feature the colorful masks and high-flying moves of lucha libre, a popular style of wrestling that originated in Mexico.
- Northwest Detroit gallery Andy Arts will celebrate the opening of exhibit “The Losers Show” at 3 p.m. Saturday. Developed by Detroit artist Laura Quattrocchi, the show features works created from tens of thousands of losing lottery tickets donated to her by her neighbors over the past five years.
- Detroit artist Tiff Massey is opening her exhibit “7 Mile + Livernois” at the Detroit Institute of Arts on Sunday. It will remain at the DIA until May 11, 2025. Admission is free for residents of Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties.
Micah Walker joins the BridgeDetroit team covering the arts and culture and education in the city. Originally from the metro Detroit area, she is back in her home state after two years in Ohio. Micah… More by Micah Walker
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