Bridging The Elements in Tempe: 5th El Puente Theater Festival

Cultural Coalition and Childsplay Theatre announce the fifth El Puente Theatre Festival and Mask Procession happening at Tempe Center for the Arts (TCA) Sunday, October 2, 2016 from 2 - 6 p.m.
This unique celebration, supported by a grant from the City of Tempe, features an afternoon of theater, music, games and cultural performances. FREE ADMISSION to the festival includes dynamic performances by local artists, mask-making and art activities.
These two groups are thrilled to be bringing back El Puente for its fifth event. Tempe has the unique advantage to call this festival their own, bringing revitalization and enthusiasm for the arts. To kick-start this year's festival, Guerrero will be holding mask-making workshops with schools and community groups throughout the Valley

According to this press release performances begin at 2 p.m. and will continue through the afternoon, featuring:
Desert Sounds Mariachi "Sones del Desierto"
Zarco Guerrero and the Dancing Dragons
DJ Sean Derek
Ollin Yoliztli Ballet Folklorico
Barrio Stories by Borderlands Theater

Cultural Coalition, Inc., provides unique cultural programs which foster community engagement and are dedicated to the education, promotion, and development of Indigenous arts and artists in Arizona. For more information, visit http://www.culturalcoalition.com

Zarco Guerrero is a sculptor, mask maker and performance artist, born in Mesa, AZ whose family has lived in the region for centuries.
He has dedicated his artistic endeavors to create positive social change through the arts. He adopted Cesar Chavez's ideology of art as a social service. His art includes music, poetry and theatre.

• He is the founder of Xicanindio Artes (now Xico, Inc.), the Cultural Coalition, Inc., and has been instrumental in the development of Latino Arts statewide.
• He has exhibited and received international acclaim and many prestigious awards.
• In 1985, PBS broadcast a one hour documentary about his art entitled "The Mask of El Zarco".
• He received the Japan Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, The Arizona Governors Arts Award, the Artistic Excellence Award from American Hispanics in Higher Education and the Esperanza Teacher of the Year Award among many others.
• He also won the 2012 Ari-Zoni Award for his ground breaking work as a mask maker in Childsplay's 2011 production of The Sun Serpent.
• He is the recipient of the Doris Duke Foundation grant to present theatre to Latino communities in Arizona
• 2015 Master Fellow with the Southwest Folklife Alliance.

Stay tuned for this next event: