All events are free and open to the public, unless otherwise noted. The October 19 Live Magazine Show at the MCA is ticketed.
Download the festival program here.
For venue details, including transportation and accessibility, click here.
Saturday, OcTober 12
SUNDAY, October 13
Lit & Luz Kick Off Party
5–7 p.m.
Sleeping Village, 3734 W Belmont Ave
Join us at Sleeping Village as we kick off the sixth annual Lit & Luz Festival.
Pick up the festival program and plan your Lit & Luz week. We’ll have some snacks, giveaways, and much more!
With DJ Rocío Santos (Roxyo Sounds)
In partnership with Sleeping Village and Vocalo Radio
Keynote with Luis Alberto Urrea
Photo: Joe Mazza, Brave-Lux
3 p.m.
Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E Washington St
This year’s festival is proud to introduce the inaugural keynote address, featuring Luis Alberto Urrea.
A 2005 Pulitzer Prize finalist for nonfiction and member of the Latino Literature Hall of Fame, Urrea is the critically acclaimed and best-selling author of 17 books (including The Devil’s Highway, Into the Beautiful North, and The House of Broken Angels) winning numerous awards for his poetry, fiction and essays.
In English
Book available for sale from Sem Co-op Bookstores
In partnership with the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs & Special Events
MONDAY, October 14
Documents Bureau and Undocumented Projects Present: The Office of Migratory Perceptions, a Pop-Up
6 –8 p.m.
Comfort Station, 2579 N Milwaukee Ave.
Join us as these two artist collectives provide a critique on the power of bureaucracy through the creation and distribution of documents you didn't know you needed. From official-looking contracts, certificates and permits to resources on how to defend yourself and others from ICE raids, the Office of Migratory Perceptions is here to help you figure it out.
In English and Spanish
In partnership with Comfort Station and Dark Matter Coffee
Clase Magistral: Sara Uribe
12 p.m.-1:30 p.m.
Ace Hotel Chicago, 311 N Morgan St.
Escribimos desde un cuerpo y en un contexto. Un cuerpo atravesado por múltiples violencias que están imbricadas de manera ínsita en nuestra producción de lenguaje, literatura, arte. Escribir, literalmente rodeados de muertos, como afirma Cristina Rivera Garza, interpela de manera frontal nuestro ejercicio artístico y nos exige repensar nuestros procedimientos y estrategias, así como el sentido de éstas. En esta sesión se explorará y reflexionará en torno al escenario corpóreo, ético y politico en el que se encuentran inscritas algunas escrituras y reescrituras de la poética mexicana contemporánea.
La clase está limitada a diez personas. $20 Donation
En español
Para más información, haz cliq aqui.
Artist Talk with Israel Martínez
6 p.m.
Logan Center for the Art, 915 E 60th St
A conversation between Mexico City-based curator Esteban King and Mexico City-based artist Israel Martínez around Israel's art practice which involves the use of sound, text, video, and action and interventions in public space as a medium for social and political critique as well as his use of stealth as a pertinent communicational tool.
In English
In partnership with the Department of Visual Art's Open Practice Committee at the University of Chicago
TUESDAY, October 15
A Reading and Conversation with Author and Artist Verónica Gerber Bicecci
3 p.m.
Northeastern Illinois University, Angelina Pedroso Center, 5500 North St. Louis, Building B
Verónica Gerber Bicecci is a visual artist who writes. She is the author of Mudanza (2010; Almadía, 2017) and Empty Set (Coffee House Press, 2018, translated by Christina MacSweeney), which won the International Aura Estrada Literature prize and the Otra Mirada Cálamo prize. Her most recent projects are: el vocabulario b (2019) in muca Roma, Mexico City and lamaquinadistopica.xyz (2018) in the Museo de Arte Abstracto Manuel Felguérez. She was an editor at the Mexican publishing cooperative Tumbona Ediciones.
In English and Spanish
In partnership with Northeastern Illinois University’s Department of Creative Writing and The Angelina Pedroso Center for Diversity and Intercultural Affairs
Paying Homage to Stonewall: Queer Artistic Expressions of Resistance/Rendir Homenaje a Stonewall: Expresiones artísticas cuir de resistencia
6 p.m.
Instituto Cervantes, 31 W Ohio
A conversation focused on the Stonewall riot, its international repercussions, the social and artistic movements which gained momentum, and the diverse global Mexicanx/Latinx LGBTQIA+ experience.
Isaías Fanlo, Cultural Critic and Writer from Spain; Jonathan D. Katz, Professor and Curator of About Face: Stonewall, Revolt, and New Queer Art; Franky Piña, trans rights activist and editorial director of El BeiSMan; and Jorge Valdivia
Host and Discussant, Héctor García Chávez, Professor of Literature, Queer Theory, and Gender Studies
In English and Spanish
Reception to follow
In partnership with Loyola University Chicago's Women's Studies/Gender Studies Program and Latin American and US Latinx Studies Program
Tsunami: Feminist Movements and Mexican Literature
7 p.m.
Open Books Pilsen, 905 W 19th
Verónica Gerber Bicecci, Brenda Lozano y Sara Uribe, autoras de la Ciudad de México, discuten Tsumani, una antología de México de diversas voces femeninas; movimientos como #MeToo y #MiPrimerAcoso; y los derechos de las mujeres en México. Presentado por Gisela Orozco de Hoy.
En español
Recepción a seguir / Libros disponibles para venta en las librerías Sem Co-op
En asociación con el Consulado General de México en Chicago
WEDNESDAY, October 16
A Reading and Conversation with Sara Uribe
Favorite Poems/Poemas favoritos
5 p.m.
Roosevelt University, Auditorium Building, 430 S Michigan Ave
Sara Uribe is a Mexican poet who explores the relationship between poetry, body, ethics and politics. Her most recent book is Antígona González, translated by John Pluecker (Le Figues Press, 2016).
In English and Spanish
In partnership with the Roosevelt University Creative Writing Department
7 p.m.
Poetry Foundation, 61 W Superior
Participants including Miguel Marzana, Emily Jungmin Yoon, Bill MacKay, Dalia Huerta Cano, and Sara Uribe read their favorite poems in both Spanish and English and offer explanations of the poems’ significance. Hosted by Daniel Borzutzky and Rachel Galvin
In English and Spanish
Reception to follow / Books available for sale from Sem Co-op Bookstores
In partnership with Poetry Foundation and Northwestern University’s Department of Spanish and Portuguese
THURSDAY, October 17
Master Class: Verónica Gerber Bicecci
A Reading and Conversation with Sara Uribe
12 pm
MCA, 220 East Chicago Ave
If “imagining a language means imagining a way of life” and if “a new word is like a fresh seed in the soil of discussion”—as Walter Benjamin suggested—then perhaps we can go beyond the natural flexibility of language and its academic norms and try to transform its limits and formats.
This session will serve as a space to imagine alternate syntaxes, which may help us confront the various crises (ecological, social, political, economic, technological) that we will encounter in the future, and also the dystopia of our present.
In English and Spanish
Required Reading: “Plastiglomerate” by Kirsty Robertso in eflux.
In partnership with School of the Art Institute Writing Program and the Museum of Contemporary Art
Image: La compañía, 2018, Verónica Gerber Bicecci. Photo credit: Elizabeth del Angel
2 pm
Institute for the Humanities—UIC, 701 South Morgan, Lower Level / Stevenson Hall
Sara Uribe is a Mexican poet who explores the relationship between poetry, body, ethics and politics. Her most recent book is Antígona González, translated by John Pluecker (Le Figues Press, 2016).
In English and Spanish
In partnership with the University of Illinois’s Institute for the Humanities
A Reading and Conversation with Author and Artist Verónica Gerber Bicecci
2:45 pm
Loyola University Chicago, Lake Shore Campus, Information Commons, room 230
Verónica Gerber Bicecci is a visual artist who writes. She is the author of Mudanza (2010; Almadía, 2017) and Empty Set (Coffee House Press, 2018, translated by Christina MacSweeney), which won the International Aura Estrada Literature prize and the Otra Mirada Cálamo prize. Her most recent projects are: el vocabulario b (2019) in muca Roma, Mexico City and lamaquinadistopica.xyz (2018) in the Museo de Arte Abstracto Manuel Felguérez.
Q&A with Dr. Héctor García Chávez
In English and Spanish
In partnership with Loyola’s Women’s Studies/Gender Studies and Latin American and US Latinx Studies
Sounds Carry: Music, Migration, and Indigenous Communities
6 pm
UNAM Chicago, 350 W Erie
Join us for a conversation with Dr. Alex Chávez (Sounds of Crossing: Music, Migration, and the Aural Poetics of Huapango Arribeño) ; Sofia Fierro, president of the Cenzontles organization; and Luz Maria Marquez, musician and member of the Purepecha community of Michoacán. Hosted by Mateo Mulcahy, Old Town School of Folk Music
In Spanish
In partnership with UNAM Chicago
Authors in Conversation: Presented by Lit & Luz Book Club
7 pm
Co-Prosperity Sphere, 3219 S Morgan Street
The Lit & Luz Book Club culminates with this bilingual conversation and Q & A between its two featured Mexican authors, Verónica Gerber Bicecci and Sara Uribe and special guests including Amanda Goldblatt (Hard Mouth). Hosted by Miguel Jiménez. No need to have read the books to enjoy this event!
In English and Spanish
Books available for sale from Sem Co-op Bookstores
In partnership with Volumes Book Cafe, City Lit Books, Pilsen Outpost, and Sem-Coop Bookstore
A Screening with Dalia Huerta Cano
NEW DAY AND LOCATION!
7 pm
ACRE, 1345 W. 19th Street
Presenting three short films, Síntomas (Symptoms), Cåsucka, and The end of the existence of things from award-winning Mexican filmmaker Dalia Huerta Cano. Raul Benitez, Chicago-area film programmer, will interview Huerta Cano following the screening.
In Spanish with English subtitles
In partnership with ACRE
Friday, October 18
Diana del Ángel in Conversation with Lina Maria Ferreira Cabeza-Vanegas and Rachel Galvin
1:30 pm
University of Chicago, 5848 S. University Ave, Green #117
Mexico City-based autor Diana del Ángel reads from her work and discusses writing, activision and more, with authors and UChicago professors Lina Maria Ferreira Cabeza-Vanegas and Rachel Galvin.
A poet, essayist and human rights defender, Diana del Ángel was a fellow of the Foundation for Mexican Letters and FONCA. She is the author of Barranca (2018) and Procesos de la noche (2018).
In English and Spanish
Complimentary lunch
In partnership with the University of Chicago’s Katz Center for Mexican Studies
Migration Storytelling
6 pm
21+
The Hideout, 1354 Wabansia
Join us for an evening of live stories about movement: migration, action, and social change. Featuring Rafael Robles (one of the first DACA recipients), LL.M. Sandy Choreno (Efecto Violeta), Carolina Vazquez (DACAmentation), Monse Gaytan (DACAmentation), and famed storyteller Nestor Gomez.
Hosted by Fernando Moreno, Spanish Public Radio
In English
In partnership with Northeastern Illinois University’s DACAmentation, the Hideout, and the Mexican Consulate of Chicago
Israel Martínez: Music and Dialogue
6 pm
Ace Hotel Chicago, 311 N Morgan St.
Israel Martínez is a sound artist and experimental musician from Mexico. He has been part of the Artists in Berlin Program from DAAD, and the MuseumsQuartier’s residence program in Vienna. He has published recordings and editorial work through Sub Rosa, Errant Bodies Press, Aagoo, The Wire, Hatje Cantz; and is co-founder of the record labels and collectives Abolipop and Suplex. Following a short performance, multidisciplinary artist Jared Brown will join Israel for a conversation.
In English
In partnership with Ace Hotel Chicago and Homeroom Chicago
Saturday, October 19
Ayotzinapa: Cinco años sin justicia
12 pm
CAN TV, 1309 S Wood
Diana del Ángel es defensora de los derechos humanos y autora de Procesos de la noche, una descripción minuciosa del suplicio judicial que la familia de Julio César Mondragón tuvo que atravesar para clarificar la verdad sobre su muerte. El caso de Julio sobresale por ser la evidencia más explícita de la violencia ejercida en Iguala contra los estudiantes de la Escuela Normal Raúl Isidro Burgos de Ayotzinapa –la cual resultó en la desaparición de 43 de ellos. Diana mantendrá una conversación con Lau Ramirez Padilla, activista, directora de la Chicago Freedom School y co-fundadora del Comité de Justicia por Ayotzinapa de Chicago, así como con el pintor Roberto Ferreyra. Este evento será videograbado y transmitido por CAN TV.
En español
In partnership with CAN TV
MOVEMENT:
the Live Magazine Show
6 pm
Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, 220 E Chicago Ave
$15 Full / $10 MCA Members / $8 Students
Featuring one-night-only collaborations from:
Eula Biss + Dalia Huerta Cano
Yvette Mayorga + Sara Uribe
Sebastián Hidalgo + Diana del Ángel
Emily Jungmin Yoon + Israel Martínez
Michel Rodriguez Cintra + Verónica Gerber Bicecci
With musical director Sadie Woods
The annual edition of the Lit & Luz Festival culminates in a world premiere Live Magazine Show in Chicago, before continuing on to Mexico City this winter. Each year, Lit & Luz supports the creation of new collaborative artworks between writers, visual artists, and musicians from Chicago and Mexico City. Expect storytelling, live music, poetry, video art, and extemporaneous performances that explore the relationship between the languages, art forms, and cultures of the United States and Mexico.
La sexta edición anual del Festival Lit & Luz culmina con la premier mundial del Live Magazine Show en Chicago, antes de presentarse en la Ciudad de México en Invierno. Cada año, Lit & Luz apoya y promueve la creación de piezas colaborativas entre escritores, artistas visuales y músicos de la Ciudad de México y Chicago. Este año habrá narraciones, música en vivo, videoarte, poesía y presentaciones performáticas que exploran la relación entre los lenguajes, la producción artística y la cultura de México y Estados Unidos.
This iteration is presented in Spanish and English.
Books available for sale from Sem Co-op Bookstores
Co-presented with the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago
