This Friday and Saturday (Nov. 10-11) at 7:30 pm, Highways Performance Space and Gallery in Santa Monica, California, presents Lo que el fuego me dio (What the fire gave me), an expansive celebration of identity and ancestry. The work was directed by recent graduate Andrea Soto (Dance BFA 23), and features the talents of several other CalArtians.
Initially conceived as an intimate performance for family and friends drawing from her Mexican roots, Soto developed the work into an immersive experience encompassing performance, music, painting, and sculpture. The artist also considers the project a letter to her community and a means to “gather and celebrate the beauty of ancestry.”
In vein with Soto’s collaborative practice, she enlisted the help of several LA-based artists, filmmakers, dancers and musicians, several of whom are CalArtians: Dulce Escobedo (Dance MFA 24), Erick Antonio Benitez (Art-IM MFA 23), Nikki Ochoa (Critical Studies-Music MFA 23), Nia Scovel (Dance BFA 23), Maya Paredes (Music BFA 23), Quincy Clemons, Lu Coy, and Julian Prins (Art BFA 24).
“I had the beautiful privilege to develop it with Dulce Escobedo, who I admire deeply and who carries an unparalleled force,” Soto noted in the project’s GoFundMe page. “We sat together and wrote down single words that make up who we are and where we grew up: tacos, viernes, frontera, street art, abuelo. An auto-biographical way of making inspired by Frida [Kahlo].”
Lo que el fuego me dio originally premiered at CalArts.
As digital content and social media producer, Taya enjoys lifting up the stories and accomplishments of CalArts' students, alums, and faculty. She fancies herself a visual artist but is really more of an overzealous collector of art supplies.
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