(C) El Paso Matters.org
This story was originally published by El Paso Matters.org and is unaltered.
. . . . . . . . . .



The Week Ahead: Black History Month events in El Paso don’t include parade this year [1]

['Cindy Ramirez', 'More Cindy Ramirez', 'El Paso Matters']

Date: 2024-02-07

This is your weekly update, which takes a quick look at the week ahead and some developments that El Paso Matters is following.

Black History Month Events: Several events are planned across El Paso in celebration of Black History Month, including Destination El Paso’s Love Letters, a display of the letters “E” and “P” and a star at San Jacinto Plaza, 114 W. Mills Street, in Downtown. The large acrylic letters are decorated and dedicated to Black History Month through Feb. 29.

“Still We Rise: El Paso’s Black Experience,” an exhibit at the El Paso Museum of History, 510 N. Santa Fe Street, highlights the region’s Black community through the decades. The exhibit runs through March 16. The Union Gallery at the University of Texas at El Paso presents an exhibit, “Recognizing Black and African Culture Through the Arts” through Feb. 29. The gallery is at UTEP’s Union East, Second Floor, 500 W. University Ave.

The Magoffin Home State Historic Site will host a lecture on Dr. Lawrence A. Nixon, the prominent Black physician from El Paso who was denied the right to vote in Texas. He sued, and the case reached the Supreme Court, which found Texas’ racially discriminatory voting rules to be unconstitutional and a violation of the 14th amendment’s equal protection clause. “Brain Trust Brown Bag Lecture: The Life of Dr. L. A. Nixon,” will be at noon Wednesday, Feb. 14 at the Magoffin Home, 1120 Magoffin Ave. Information: 915-533-5147.

The Inter Club Council of El Paso this year won’t be putting on a parade. Instead, the organization has put together “African Americans in the Arts,” an event with art, entertainment, food and fellowship from 3 to 5 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 24 at Nations Tobin Sports Center, 8831 Railroad Drive.

YMCA of El Paso Names New CEO: Kenneth Wilson Jr., who has served in YMCA programs as a volunteer coach to an executive director, has been named as the new CEO of the YMCA of El Paso. Wilson last served as executive director of the Hutcherson Family YMCA in Tulsa, Oklahoma. “My vision for the YMCA’s success hinges on strengthening our community’s health and wellness. It’s more than a mission; it’s a commitment to enriching lives and nurturing the well-being of every family in El Paso,” he said in a statement. Wilson will be introduced to the El Paso community during the organization’s Strong Kids Kickoff Campaign at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 8 at the Westside Family YMCA, 7145 N. Mesa Street. Information: YMCA El Paso.

The official movie poster for ‘Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe,’ based on a young adult novel by El Paso author Benjamin Alire Sáenz Gael Garcia Bernal stars in the biopic depicting the life of El Paso lucha libre star Saul Armendariz, also known as Cassandro el Exótico.

GLAAD Honors ‘Aristotle & Dante,’ ‘Cassandro’: Two movies with El Paso ties are nominated for Outstanding Film in the 35th Annual GLAAD Media Awards.

“Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe,” the movie based on El Paso author’s Benjamin Alire Saenz’s young adult novel of the same name, is nominated for Outstanding Film – Limited Theatrical Release. The movie and book are based in El Paso and tell the story of two gay Hispanic teenagers who discover friendship, love and an appreciation for their families.

“Cassandro,” based on the life of Saul “Cassandro” Armendariz, is nominated for Outstanding Film – Streaming or TV. Armendariz, born and raised in the El Paso-Juarez region, is the first openly gay luchador exótico in Mexico. The movie tells of Armendariz’s rise to fame, his tumultuous relationship with his mother and his secret lover.

A national nonprofit organization focused on LGBTQ advocacy and cultural change, GLAAD will present the awards March 14 in Los Angeles and May 11 in New York. The awards honor those in the media who have “shown exemplary achievements for fair, accurate, and inclusive representation of the LGBTQ community,” the organization states on its website.

UTEP Dinner Theatre Show Extended: The UTEP Dinner Theatre’s production of “We Will Rock You!” – which opened on Friday – has been held over an additional week with performances through Feb. 25. The production features more than 20 songs by Queen (“We Are The Champions,” “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “We Will Rock You”) and follows two “revolutionaries trying to save rock in a post-apocalyptic world,” the theater states on its website. The musical has dinner, no-dinner and matinee shows available.

The production is part of the “Farewell Season of Musicals,” as the University of Texas at El Paso is looking to end the 40-year-old dinner theater program after longtime director Greg Taylor retired in August. UTEP has said it doesn’t plan to end musical theater at the university, but plans to increase access to it for all students. UTEP has formed a committee to develop a plan for the future, but university spokespeople didn’t respond to a request for an update by publication. A group of past performers and supporters started a “Save the UTEP Dinner Theatre” petition, hoping to keep the organization open to the community.

The next productions are “Legally Blonde: The Musical,” in April and May and a final July production yet to be announced. The theater is on the second floor of Union Building West, 500 W. University. Information: 915-747-5234 or utep.edu/liberalarts/udt.

Lunar New Year Celebration: The El Paso Museum of History is hosting a 2024 Lunar New Year Celebration for the Year of the Dragon on Saturday, Feb. 10. The event will feature free activities such as calligraphy lessons, fortune telling, dragon puppets, a procession and an array of performances at the history museum, 501 N. Santa Fe Street, as well as the El Paso Museum of Art, 1 Arts Festival Plaza. The events begin at noon, with the procession through the Downtown Arts District at 4 p.m. and performances starting at 4:30 p.m.. The events are in partnership with Pho Tre Bien and Ai-Hwa Chinese Language School. Information: El Paso Museum of History.

[END]
---
[1] Url: https://elpasomatters.org/2024/02/07/black-history-el-paso-ari-and-dante-glaad-awards-utep-dinner-theatre/

Published and (C) by El Paso Matters.org
Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons CC BY-ND 4.0 International.

via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/elpasomatters/

You are viewing proxied material from magical.fish. The copyright of proxied material belongs to its original authors. Any comments or complaints in relation to proxied material should be directed to the original authors of the content concerned. Please see the disclaimer for more details.