SAN FRANCISCO, CA – July 16, 2015 – (HISPANICIZE WIRE) – The Mexican Foreign Ministry, the National Council for Culture and the Arts (Conaculta), and Mexico’s Ministry of Tourism (SECTUR), in collaboration with SFJAZZ, proudly announces the second edition of MEX I AM: LIVE IT TO BELIEVE IT, a multidisciplinary art and cultural Festival that will run July 19-26, 2015, at different venues across the San Francisco Bay Area. Thanks to the efforts of the Mexican Government and contributions from Festival sponsors, most of the week’s activities, which are open to the public, will be free.
Inspired by traditions but looking to the future, MEX I AM: LIVE IT TO BELIEVE IT (MEX I AM) will showcase the best of the contemporary Mexican culture, arts, and ideas. Over the seven-day Festival, MEX I AM will feature some of the finest performers and food and wine artisans from Mexican genres and traditions, as well as presentations by influential Mexican artists in their fields of expertise from around the world, including opera, art exhibitions, Latin jazz, ballet, and more.
“It is my great pleasure to present the second edition of MEX I AM: LIVE IT TO BELIEVE IT, the festival that celebrates the ascending cultural and creative presence of Mexico worldwide,” said Dr. Andres Roemer, Consul General of Mexico in San Francisco. “Mexico and the Bay Area are dynamic examples of mobility and innovation. Through MEX I AM: LIVE IT TO BELIEVE IT, we are affirming this exciting reality. Let’s move together. Let’s be part of this movement. Today, all California is MEX I AM.”
“As the destination marketing organization for San Francisco, we have seen the rise of travel between our two countries and we are delighted to see it confirmed by the return of MEX I AM,” said Joe D’Alessandro, president and CEO of the San Francisco Travel Association. “Of course, San Francisco has a long and storied history with Mexico and in July we will see another chapter added to that legacy with an array of events, performances and exhibitions that run the gamut from the culinary to the performing arts.”
SFJAZZ, which will host the Festival’s musical program, says, “Mexican music plays a very important role worldwide, and it is an honor to be part of MEX I AM.”
GRAND OPENING EVENT: The grand opening of the MEX I AM Festival will be held on Wednesday, July 22nd at 7 p.m. at the Palace of Fine Arts of San Francisco, and will feature ballet and operatic performances. Ballet performances will spotlight Isaac Hernández, a member of the English National Ballet, the United Kingdom’s premier touring ballet company, and his brother Esteban Hernández, a member of the prestigious San Francisco Ballet. The opera portion of program will be performed by the young Mexican tenor Mario Rojas, who recently won first prize at the Licia Albanese Puccini Foundation International Vocal Competition. Admission is free.
IDEAS: A special section of MEX I AM will be dedicated to presentations by a group of scientists, humanists and society game-changers. IDEAS will showcase examples of Mexico’s leadership in innovation and take place Wednesday, July 22nd from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Palace of Fine Arts of San Francisco. Among the speakers will be acclaimed film director Natalia Almada, who won a Sundance Film Festival award for Best Documentary for her film El General; Arturo Álvarez, Ph.D., a highly-respected Mexican neurobiologist and professor of Anatomy and Neurosurgery at the University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine; Elena Reygadas, who was awarded the prized Veuve Clicquot Award for Best Female Chef in Latin America in 2014; and Jorge Soto, co-founder and chief technology officer of Miroculus, a California biotech firm dedicated to the research and development of molecular biology solutions for the detection and treatment of diseases. Admission is free.
CINEMA: Movies cannot be kept out of the equation, as films are a tremendous way of expressing stories from and about Mexico. MEX I AM will present the adventures of a Mexican migrant in Germany through the film Guten Tag Ramón (Buen día Ramón), from acclaimed director Jorge Ramírez-Suárez. The showing is at 7 p.m. on Sunday, July 19th at the Brava Theatre, 2781 24th Street in San Francisco. Admission is free.
MUSIC: Hosted and presented by SFJAZZ, located at the SFJAZZ Center at 201 Franklin St. in San Francisco, the Festival’s musical program begins on Thursday, July 23rd at 7:30 p.m. with special guest, Natalia Lafourcade, whose new album is entitled “Hasta la raíz.” At 7:30 p.m. on Friday, July 24th, the Festival will feature the Grammy Award-winning band, La Santa Cecilia. On Saturday, July 25th, Tania Libertad will pay vocal tribute to one of the icons of Mexican music, Chavela Vargas, with performances at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. To close the Festival, Flaco Jiménez y Max Baca will perform “norteña” music on Sunday, July 26th at 7:30 p.m. Prices vary per concert. Tickets are available at http://mexiam.net/sfjazz.php.
FOOD: Gastronomy will play a big part of MEX I AM throughout the week. On Monday July 20th, there will be a free gastronomic route that travels through some of the finest and most popular Mexican restaurants in San Francisco. At each featured restaurant, guests can enjoy a complimentary drink and appetizer representing a State of Mexico. In addition, the restaurants will offer promotions and discounts throughout the week of the Festival.
WINE: Thanks to the Mexican-American Vintners Association, the Festival will also be offering a grand wine-tasting route in Napa Valley, with tours of local Mexican-American vineyards and free wine and discounts.
ART: San Francisco’s Embarcadero will host the monumental sculptures of renowned Mexican artist Rivelino with the exhibition, Our Silences (Nuestros Silencios). Opening on Thursday, July 23st at 6 p.m., the exciting exhibition will be on-view three months. In addition, The Mexican Museum will showcase Mexican fine art sculptures at 12:30 p.m. on Sunday, July 19th at Jessie Square, 736 Mission St., San Francisco. Gallery Wendi Norris will also host an exhibit and art talk, “Science in Surrealism,” at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, July 21st at 161 Jessie St., San Francisco. Two additional art exhibits will be housed inside the Consulate General of Mexico of San Francisco at 532 Folsom St., opening on Monday, July 20th at 5:30 p.m. Admission is free.
For more information and ticket purchases (for musical performances), please go to www.mexiam.net.