MDC’s Koubek Center Presents Little Havana Unmasked Innovative New Work from Latinx Artists

Miami, Oct. 8, 2019 Miami Dade College’s (MDC) Koubek Center presents a weekend of new work developed through its En Residencia artist-in-residence program at 7 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 26, and at 5 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 27. Performances and installations will activate spaces throughout the Koubek Center in Little Havana. Events are free and open to the public with RSVP.

En Residencia engages Latinx artists for extended residencies, which culminate in projects focused on life in Little Havana. This Knight Arts Challenge-winning program expands the global body of work that voices Latinx experience and culture through a distinctly Miami lens.

With a commitment to engaging the community, resident artists Jose Manuel Dominguez, Carla Forte, Gustavo Matamoros, and Aurora Molina forged relationships directly in the neighborhood to develop their projects. Their final work is informed by experiencing, listening and eventually reflecting the voice of the community. Learn more about the artists and their projects below:

JOSE MANUEL DOMINGUEZ

Project title: Barrio Babel
Performing artist Jose Manuel Dominguez presents, Barrio Babel, a multidisciplinary performance featuring five performers, live music, and video projections revealing interviews, stories, and memoir of residents of Little Havana. Told through contemporary theatre, the multifaceted piece reflects the intricacy of the historic neighborhood and its contemporary plight amid gentrification and the economic and social issues that immigrants face.

Jose Manuel Dominguez is originally from Cuba, having arrived in the US when he was 28. He is Artistic Director of Antiheroes Project, a non-profit organization founded in 2011 with a group of collaborators. With the goal of “Fostering inclusion through the arts and education”, the organization focuses on creating and presenting contemporary performing arts work along with a strong educational component through year-round workshops for individuals of all abilities.

CARLA FORTE

Project title: Femme

Filmmaker and dancer Carla Forte’s experimental short film, Femme, focuses on and is inspired by Latin American women and the oppression they experience in their social circumstances. The film is a reflection of her work with Little Havana residents through which she provided participants movement as a language to express their thoughts, desires, frustrations and hopes.

A Cuban-born performer, Forte came to the US at 26. Forte is the founder and Executive Director of Bistoury Physical Theatre and Film. She has directed Video-Art works featured at venues worldwide. Her cinematographic work includes the documentary The Holders, which had its world premiere at the Miami International Film Festival 2015. Forte’s short films Imaginarium and Reset was selected for Cannes Film Festival’s Short Film Corner. Her feature film Urban Stories was selected as winner of Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography and Best Feature Film at Bootleg Film Festival in Toronto as well as Honorable Mention at both Los Angeles Movie Awards and Lucerne International Film Festival in Switzerland.

GUSTAVO MATAMOROS

Project Title: (~) Tilde (´) Tilde
a.k.a. Sound Portrait and a Soundscape of Little Havana

Sound artist Gustavo Matamoros’ sound art portrait and soundscape reveals a place and its people. Consisting of a live four channel sound art performance, the culminating piece from Matamoros’ residency is a multilayered audiovisual art installation created in collaboration with visual artist Freddy Jouwayed.

Matamoros was born in Venezuelan and arrived in the US when he was 17. Matamoros is the artistic director of both the South Florida Composers Alliance and its Subtropics Experimental Music and Sound Arts Festival as well as the Interdisciplinary Sound Arts Workshop (iSaw) through which he aims “to expose Miami to a new music and the fine art of sound.” Matamoros’ catalog of compositions includes numerous pieces for solo electroacoustic media or electroacoustics combined with traditional instruments; and a wide variety of works based on contemporary and experimental techniques such as mixed media, installations, sound portraits, radiophony, text and video. His work has been presented at numerous cultural events throughout the US, Latin America and Europe.

AURORA MOLINA

Project Title: Children of immigration are often forgotten

In response to her work in the community, mostly with youth, fiber artist Aurora Molina developed a series of large-scale soft sculptural puppets that voice the experience of immigrant children. Set as a site-specific installation, the piece is inspired by the children’s drawings. The installation, as a universal language, represents a cultural landscape of Little Havana portraying and offering a sense of belonging, a quilt of immigrant experience.

Molina was born in Cuba and emigrated to the United States at the age of 16, where she opted to pursue an education in art. Molina received her Associates of Arts in Visual Arts from Miami Dade College, a Bachelors in Fine Arts specializing in Mixed Media from Florida International University and Master Degree in Contemporary Art at the Universidad Europea de Madrid completed in 2009.

WHAT:              MDC’s Koubek Center presents Little Havana Unmasked 

WHEN:             Saturday, Oct. 26, at 7 p.m. and Sunday, Oct. 27 at 5 p.m.

WHERE:           MDC’s Koubek Center | 2705 SW 3rd St.

FREE WITH RSVP

To rsvp or to learn more about the Koubek Center, call 305-237-7750, or

visit koubek.org.

>> Click here for photos.

>> Click here for video.

About The Koubek Center

The Koubek Center is an intellectual, cultural, and community hub in the heart of Little Havana. A historic landmark in South Florida, the revitalized mansion remains true to its pioneering heritage—celebrating its multicultural community with workshops, theater performances, literary readings, concerts and more. In addition to the mansion, the iconic space includes glorious gardens, the Koubek theater, studios and classrooms.  The Koubek Center highlights South Florida’s Hispanic community and its cultural expressions, while encouraging dialogue surrounding its culture and traditions.

The programs of Koubek Center are made possible with the generous support of: Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council; the Miami-Dade County Mayor and Board of County Commissionaires; the State of Florida, Department of State , Division of Cultural Affairs and the Florida Council on Arts and Culture; and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

Media Contact: Laura Garcia, 305-469-8807, valenproductions1@gmail.com.