Brava presents
Pachuquísmo
With the World Premiere of GHOSTLY LABOR: A DANCE FILM
Saturday, March 26, 7:30pm - with Dj Wray Velez spinning pre & post show
Sunday, March 27, 7:30pm
Join Brava! for Women in the Arts for the return of Vanessa Sanchez and La Mezcla's multidisciplinary performance Pachuquísmo, a rhythmic remembrance of las Pachucas and their stylized power of rebellious resistance, live on our main stage! Returning after two sold-out shows, Pachuquísmo unveils the forgotten history of Mexican-American female youth during the era of the Zoot Suit Riots and explores the struggles that communities of color continue to face today.
Opening the evening’s program is the World Premiere of “Ghostly Labor: a Dance Film,” the highly anticipated short film by John Jota Leaños and Vanessa Sanchez that explores Sanchez’s latest work in-progress of the same name. Based on farmworker interviews in California, “Ghostly Labor: a Dance Film” honors the sacred hands that feed us and was filmed on Avila Garcia Farms with support from Ayudando Latinos a Soñar (ALAS), a non-profit advocacy organization for farmworkers in Half Moon Bay, CA. A full-length dance theater production of Ghostly Labor will premiere in 2023.
And come early and stay late for Dj Wray Velez who will be spinning pre and post show on opening night - the bar will also be open!
PROGRAM
Information on the evening’s performance along with artist bios can be found here!
“The women of La Mezcla are really culture keepers. Vanessa is bringing these two different dance styles together that share these African diaspora elements, reflecting her Mexican-American identity. It’s beautiful and ingenious.”
ABOUT PACHQUÍSMO
Recipient of the Isadora Duncan Award for Outstanding Production, Pachuquísmo overlays tap dance with Mexican zapateado, features a live band that brings together Jazz with traditional Son Jarocho music from Veracruz, Mexico, and explores the Chicanx experience through percussive conversations. With the all-female cast donning full zoot suits, Pachuquísmo pulls the narrative of the Zoot Suit Riots out of the male-centered context and portrays the experiences of las pachucas of the 1940’s through movement, spoken word and video. Pachuquísmo is funded by the New England Foundation for the Arts and was featured on the Joyce Theater “JoyceStream” in 2020.
Read the full press release here.
Watch the trailer of Pachuquísmo’s first appearance at Brava.
TICKETS
$32 orchestra
$22 mezzanine
Brava has undertaken appropriate modifications to comply with current health and safety protocols provided by the San Francisco Department of Public Health. These measures include requiring proof of full vaccination, a booster shot for all eligible in-person ticket holders, mandatory face covering that completely covers nose and mouth, secured with ear loops or head strap (gaiters and bandanas are not acceptable), increased cleaning before performances, and a no-touch or low-touch experience. Click here for our full Covid Protocol.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Photo by Alexa Treviño.
Vanessa Sanchez is a Chicana-Native dancer, choreographer and educator who focuses on community arts and traditional dance forms to emphasize voices and experiences of Latina, Chicana, and Indigenous womxn and youth. Based in San Francisco, she is a 2019 Dance/USA Artist Fellow and the founding Artistic Director of La Mezcla, a rhythmic ensemble that explores historical narratives and challenges social injustice through tap dance, Mexican zapateado and Afro-Caribbean rhythms. Sanchez’s work is deeply rooted in community engagement, creating rhythmic choreography to tell stories of collective resistance, and producing accessible and engaging arts events for BIPOC communities. She created the Tap dance and Son Jarocho production Pachuquísmo, which received a New England Foundation for the Arts NDP grant and the Isadora Duncan Award for Outstanding Production. Sanchez is currently a Dance Lecturer at UC Santa Cruz and received a Hewlett 50 Arts Commission grant for her upcoming work “Ghostly Labor,” a percussive piece that explores the exploitation of female labor in the US-Mexico Borderlands, set to premiere in 2023.
Photo by Anthony Thornton.
La Mezcla is a polyrhythmic, multidisciplinary San Francisco-based dance and music ensemble rooted in Chicana, Latina and Indigenous traditions and social justice. Founded in 2015 by Vanessa Sanchez, their work brings together Tap dance, Son Jarocho and Afro-Caribbean rhythms to bring the often unseen histories and experiences of communities of color to stages, streets and fields. La Mezcla has been featured on the KQED Arts series “If Cities Could Dance” and The Lincoln Center’s “Virtual Concerts for Kids.” Their show Pachuquísmo, an all female Tap dance and Son Jarocho performance about the Zoot Suit Riots, received the NEFA National Dance Production grant and is set to tour through 2022. Their new work “Ghostly Labor,” explores the legacy of labor and the joy of collective resistance in the US-Mexico borderlands.
FUNDERS
Vanessa Sanchez and La Mezcla are supported by National Association for Latino Arts and Cultures, the San Francisco Arts Commission, California Arts Council Artists in Communities grant, Dancer’s Group CA$H grant, the Akonadi Foundation’s Beloved Community Fund, New England Foundation for the Arts Production grant, Zellerbach Family Foundation, Kenneth Rainin Foundation, Dance/USA Artist Fellowship, which named Vanessa Sanchez a 2019 Fellow, Hewlett 50 Arts Commission grant, and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
Banner photo taken by Beth LaBerge, Courtesy of KQED Arts.