The second installment of New Latin Wave, New York City’s multi-disciplinary Latinx symposium, will be taking over Greenpoint’s Brooklyn Bazaar this October 22nd. The festival continues on its mission of centering Latinx voices in the fields of music, visual arts, cuisine, journalism and tech, by providing a space and platform for conversations highlighting our impact and contributions to US and global culture. The return of NLW heralds exciting growth for the young festival, positioning itself as an intersectional and multidimensional offering to explore complex corners of Latinx creativity.
This year, NLW’s program consists of a diverse range of activities that will have you bouncing from space to space throughout the day. Musical performances by festival director and Ponk Records head Sokio, as well as NAAFI’s Debit, will be coupled with talks and Q&As to serve as dual entertainment and didactic experiences. Daylong installations will reflect the festival’s commitment to developing artistic access and new learning techniques, with notable examples including Ana Lopez’s small synthesizer workshop and an animation selection from Zumbastico Studios. NLW’s eclectic range of events will also boast a media arts exhibition, Latin American poetry readings, a mouthwatering pisco tasting, and newsroom discussions lead by journalist Camilo Salas and the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism.
And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. To help you navigate New Latin Wave’s ambitious and thought provoking line-up we are spotlighting five activities you definitely shouldn’t miss at the Brooklyn festival.
Editor’s Note: Richard Villegas is co-host of Songmess, a Latinx music podcast recording a live episode at New Latin Wave with guest Breaking Forms.
New Latin Wave takes place from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on October 22 at the Brooklyn Bazaar, 150 Greenpoint Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11222. Tickets are $15 in advance, and $20 at the door. Learn more here.
Rotative Repository of Latin American Video Art: Single Channel
What happens when you take objects and bodies out of their context? NLW’s ‘rotative’ video art exhibit will explore this question with 15 pieces centered on themes of displacement and relocation. A jury panel comprised of El Museo del Barrio’s Rocío Aranda-Alvarado, UNTITLED Miami’s artistic director Omar Lopez-Chahoud and artist Hernán Rivera Luque has curated the video selections, with daylong screenings of the pieces in Brooklyn Bazaar’s karaoke room. A panel discussion moderated by Aranda-Alvarado will take place in the disco room at 4 pm, including conversations with selected artists Joiri Minaya, María Marrone, Ondine Viñao and Rocío Alvares.
Publication Fair curated by La Liga and Sangría Editora
Following their successful 2016 partnership with La Liga Zine Fest, NLW has decided to greatly expand on its independent publisher roster. An all day zine and book fair will be hosted at Brooklyn Bazaar’s banquet hall, with La Liga’s Stephanie Orentas and Sangría Editora directors Carlos Labbe and Mónica Ramón Ríos curating respectively.
La Liga is an established print and online zine with a focus on Latinx, Chicanx and Latin American identity exploration, while Sangría is best known for publishing critical essays and short fiction work. Considering the political, sexual, and identity challenges facing today’s generation of writers and artists, you should expect to find a rich array of poignant work on display.
Composer Angélica Negrón headlines NLW music program
Perhaps best known for her role fronting Puerto Rican dreambow darlings Balún, Angélica Negrón has an accomplished solo catalogue all her own. The Boricua composer’s solo work “spans the worlds of chamber and orchestral music, film and theater scores, experimental music and indie pop.” Negrón will be headlining NLW’s music program – performing in Brooklyn Bazaar’s concert hall at 3pm – as she debuts a selection of new ambient pop songs colliding voice, electronics and her vegetable synthesizer, which allows her to turn fruit and vegetables into live instruments.
Currently a doctoral candidate at The Graduate Center (CUNY), Negrón is also a teaching artist for New York Philharmonic’s Very Young Composers Program and Lincoln Center Education, and was one of the recipients for NYFA’s 2016 Artists’ Fellowship Program.
Filter Bubbles and Fake News: Understanding How They Develop
A panel discussion led by journalist and CUNY lecturer Miguel Paz and physicist Dr. Cristian Huepe, this live conversation will examine the series of circumstances that ushered in today’s post-truth era. In 2012, Dr. Huepe predicted the rise of social media disinformation through mathematical modeling, analyzing how core groups of likeminded people create bias for opinion over facts. Framed as a joint presentation-interview, the session will break down the formation of filter bubbles and the propagations of fake news while including time for questions and an open conversation with attendants.
Rock'n'Lolo
Argentine musician Laura Dayan has been entertaining audiences for nearly two decades. As a member of bands InclanFunk and Dayan, the charming Porteña has released several albums and toured across Latin America and the US. After relocating to NYC in 2009, she decided to explore a different facet of her creativity by using music as a teaching tool for children, effectively creating RockNLolo. The program fosters a fun and interactive environment for children to learn Spanish, building confidence and vocabulary through high energy, engaging melodies and repetitive choruses. You can see RockNLolo live at 2 pm and Dayan, the singer’s eponymous band, at 6 pm, both at the Brooklyn Bazaar banquet hall.