The Vancouver Latin American Cultural Centre has existed as a nonprofit society in Vancouver since 2012. But after 12 years, there’s still no physical site in the city that carries this name.
However, the society is working with planners at Vancouver City Hall, according to executive director Lili Vieira de Carvalho. And she says that her society is responding to requests for proposals for cultural-amenity spaces.
“We are closer than ever to that goal,” Vieira de Carvalho tells Pancouver by phone. “We’re still struggling for that. It’s worth it because it’s a legacy space. Once we have the space, hopefully it will be something that will be here for generations to come.”
In the meantime, VLACC is proceeding its third annual Latin Expressions program at various Vancouver venues until October 26. This smorgasbord of film, music, visual art, dance, and literary events coincides with Latin American Month. In 2018, Parliament proclaimed October as Latin American Month in recognition of the community’s contributions to Canadian society.
“Because October is also the fall season in the arts, we thought of inviting organizations that already have their events happening around that time to celebrate with us,” Vieira de Carvalho says.
At 7:30 p.m. on Thursday (October 10), the Latin Expressions Opening Night festivities will feature Re:Location Season 2 Premiere. It consists of a series of short documentaries directed by Yoel Ortega and Javier Aparisi about five Vancouver-based Latin American artists.
“They are 10 minutes each, back-to-back,” Vieira de Carvalho reveals. “They will be less than an hour. We are going to premiere them at the VIFF Centre with the artists there for a Q&A.”
The many faces of Latin America
Re:Location Season 2 Premiere will highlight composer Alvaro Rojas, filmmaker Andy Alvarez, playwright and director Pedro Chamale, choreographer Carol Mendes, and visual artist Yaimel López. Vieira de Carvalho points out that tickets are available for $20 and include a free drink as well as DJ music.
Another highlight is An Evening with Lido Pimienta at 8 p.m. on Sunday (October 13) at the Queen Elzabeth Theatre. The Toronto-based Polaris Music Prize winner explores gender, race, discrimination, and Latin American culture in Canada. Pimienta gained fame when Barack Obama included her on his best of 2020 playlist.
“Born and raised in the Caribbean North Coast of Colombia, she draws and creates portraits of the familiar faces found in big crowds going about their day in a beautifully synchronized chaos of the places she calls home,” the VLACC website states. “These compositions all exist in what Pimienta calls CARIBE SUBLIME, in which she identifies the Caribbean coast of Colombia and peoples from African diasporas, their cultures and identities, not as exotic but Sublime.”
Ticket prices are being kept to $30 to $40, reflecting VLACC’s goal of making its events affordable and accessible.
“She does a blend of traditional folk music with contemporary music that I think embodies, in a way, what VLACC wants to be,” Vieira de Carvalho states. “Plus, her lyrics talk about identity, womanhood, and social justice. She’s a really interesting artist.”
In addition, the Latin Expressions program includes two literary events in partnership with the Vancouver Writers Fest. In the first, journalist, writer, and translator Carmen Rodriguez and Vancouver’s first Poet Laureate, George McWhirter, will discuss poems by Mexican writer Homero Aridjis. This free event will take place at 6:30 pm. on October 16 in the Belzberg Library Study Room at SFU’s Harbour Centre campus (515 West Hastings Street).
The second literary event is entitled Self-Portrait of Translation: George McWhirter in Conversation. Rodriguez will join McWhirter as he speaks about his translation of Aridjis’s 2024 Griffin Poetry Prize-winning Self-Portrait in the Zone of Silence. This event will be at 5:30 p.m. on October 24 at The Nest on Granville Island.
Event details
Visit the Vancouver Latin American Cultural Centre website to see the full Latin Expressions program. Follow Pancouver on X (formerly Twitter) @PancouverMedia and on Instagram @PancouverMedia.
