Celebrando la Cultura

\'Celebrando la Cultura\' is a free, outdoor concert on Saturday September 17 at 6pm in Watsonville City Plaza. The celebration honors the impact of Mexican American culture on the Bay Area and celebrates the vibrancy of the Pajaro Valley\'s agricultural community. Co-produced by McEvoy Foundation for the Arts and Los Cenzontles Cultural Arts Academy with the Watsonville Film Festival, \'Celebrando la Cultura\' features music and dance performances from local Mexican cultural organizations. Registration is not required. \ \ Los Cenzontles Cultural Arts Academy, an artist-driven organization committed to amplifying the roots of Mexican culture, performs music inspired by the award-winning documentary \'Linda and the Mockingbirds\' (2020) with members of its touring band. A showcase of traditional Tierra Caliente and Arpa Grande music from Los Originarios del Plan and a dance performance by the Watsonville-based Estrellas de Esperanza youth folkloric group rounds out the evening\'s lineup of performances. \ \ Organized in recognition of Mexican Independence Day, \'Celebrando la Cultura\' connects familiar and new listeners to the dignity and beauty of ancestral Mexican music while inviting an evening of respite and joy for Watsonville\'s large community of farmworkers and their families in recognition of their essential labor during the pandemic. \'Linda and the Mockingbirds\' will be screened virtually via the Watsonville Film Festival from September 15-18.\ \ \'Celebrando la Cultura\' is one of several live events organized by McEvoy Arts that amplify the themes of its current exhibit \'Next to You.\' Featuring artworks from the McEvoy Family Collection, \'Next to You\' celebrates the joy, vitality, and healing power of the performing arts. Also on view is \'Hearing Aids,\' a daily screening program of short films guest curated by visual artist and filmmaker Alison O\'Daniel, that explores expansive understandings of sound and listening. Admission to McEvoy Arts is