With the threat of hurricane season growing ever more ominous and a few more weeks to wait until South Florida’s arts and cultural season picks up steam, September feels like a month when time stands still. We’ve selected just a handful of this month’s eclectic cultural offerings, proving greater Miami’s position as an international hub for the arts, no matter the season.
Joan Didion: What She Means
On view through Jan. 7, 2024
Pérez Art Museum Miami
“Joan Didion: What She Means” is an exercise in art’s ability to act as historical portrait. Viewers to this exhibition won’t comb through stacks of Didion’s personal manuscripts or gaze at her famously oversized Celine sunglasses, though works like “Slouching Toward Bethlehem” are available to read in the PAMM gift shop. Instead, visitors will be guided through the life and work of this pioneer of new journalism through art objects, ephemera and contextual materials that speak to Didion’s inspiration and times.
“When you first enter the exhibition, you see a portrait of Didion covering her face, taken by Brigitte Lacombe in 1996,” said PAMM assistant curator Maritza Lacayo. “Turning the corner, you come across a large sculpture on the floor by Maren Hassinger titled ‘River.’ This first section helps us understand the California that Didion grew up in, as well as her fascination with water, as written about in her seminal essay ‘Holy Water.’
“Throughout the exhibition, you'll learn about her time in New York, Berkeley, Los Angeles and, of course, Miami. Her 1987 book about the Magic City was her first full-length reporting book. We made sure to emphasize this section, as it speaks so perfectly to our community. Here you'll come across works by Felix Gonzalez-Torres, an artist who worked and sadly passed away in Miami and who was inspired by the city, as Didion was.”
Admission to the PAMM is $16 for adults and $12 for those 62 and older with identification, students with ID and children 7 and up. Get tickets in advance at PAMM.org.
Marcela Cantuária: The South American Dream
(Lazaro Llanes)
Marcela Cantuária (L), pictured here with PAMM associate curator Jen Inacio, paints works that serve as monuments to the leaders and activists who have devoted their lives to protecting South America’s natural resources.
On view through July 28, 2024
Pérez Art Museum Miami
The first U.S. solo exhibition from Brazilian artist Marcela Cantuária, “The South American Dream,” employs paintings, ceramics and textile works to share stories about political activism, environmentalism and the dreamers who tirelessly fight to protect South America’s natural resources. In fact, three prominent paintings in this exhibition use bold splashes of color and surrealistic scenes to pay homage to South American leaders and activists like Dorothy Stang, Chico Mendes and Juana Azurduy de Padilla.
“A quote in one of the paintings reads ‘It’s time to see the community leaders of South America as sources of valuable histories and solutions,’ said PAMM associate curator Jennifer Inacio, who organized the exhibition. “With this quote, the artist invites our audience to not only reimagine a South America that cherishes its land and protects its territory, but also consider how can we learn from these stories of perseverance and apply them to our environmental concerns.”
Admission to the PAMM is $16 for adults and $12 for those 62 and older with identification, students with ID and children 7 and up. Get tickets in advance at PAMM.org.
Siempre Flamenco’s Festival de Cante Miami
(Courtesy of Siempre Flamenco)
Miami-based not-for-profit Siempre Flamenco is presenting the 17th Festival de Cante, an international celebration of flamenco singing, this month.
Sept. 15-17, 2023
Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts
Carnival Studio Theater
When the curtains open on Siempre Flamenco's Festival de Cante Miami, close your eyes and allow the music to transport you – you can almost see the hills and Moorish architecture of Spain’s Andalusia region with every driving rhythm.
The 17th annual iteration of this celebration of flamenco music promises to captivate audiences with a spotlight on “cante flamenco,” a uniquely passionate, stirring style of singing that pairs perfectly with the percussive footwork of flamenco dancing.
“Siempre Flamenco's ‘Festival de Cante Miami’ offers a taste of Spain’s most popular and passionate art form performed in an intimate setting,” said Liz Wallace, vice president of programming for the Arsht Center.
The production was created by Celia and Paco Fonta, the Miami-based artistic directors of Siempre Flamenco, a not-for-profit company that aims to keep flamenco’s traditional roots intact while fostering cross-cultural pollination of the art form. The pair will perform – with Celia dancing and Paco playing guitar – alongside several Spanish stars of flamenco including La Lupi, a Málaga-born flamenco dancer, choreographer, dance company director and teacher who makes her Miami debut with this show; flamenco singers Paco Del Pozo, Mari Peña and David El Galli; and flamenco guitarists Curro de Maria and Antonio Moya.
Tickets are $50-$68 at ArshtCenter.org.
Daniela Padrón
(Erik Galindo)
Daniela Padrón is a Miami-based Venezuelan American violinist who serves as a mentor for the Recording Academy’s Grammy U program for young musicians.
Sept. 21, 2023
Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts
Thomson Plaza for the Arts
Audiences to Daniela Padrón’s Live on The Plaza concert will be treated to a variety of Latin American melodies and rhythms paired with the nearly cool breezes that can only mean autumn is arriving in South Florida. As the stars twinkle overhead, the Miami-based Venezuelan American violinist will play selections from her vast catalogue, which includes “Bach to Venezuela,” adaptations of Bach’s baroque compositions to fit Venezuelan folk rhythms, as well as “Sola,” a collection of arrangements for solo violin that marks her debut as a composer.
Padrón will be accompanied by Javier Espinoza on bass, Adolfo Herrera on percussion and Henry Linárez on the Venezuelan cuatro, a four-stringed instrument originating in the plains lying between Venezuela and Colombia that produces a sound as rich and full as a guitar’s despite its ukulele-like, small size.
“September contains wonderful opportunities for the public to become immersed in Miami’s own rich Hispanic culture, like this exciting performance by an extraordinary, local artist,” Wallace said. “We encourage everyone to come out and enjoy this great opportunity to learn about and celebrate the world’s cultures together.”
Tickets are $20-$80 at ArshtCenter.org.
María Conchita Sin ... Vergüenza – Her Greatest Hits and Stories
(Courtesy of the Broward Center for the Performing Arts)
María Conchita Alonso will regale audiences with more than 90 minutes of music, video and conversation.
Sept. 23, 2023
Broward Center for the Performing Arts
Amaturo Theater
Transcending a typical night at the theater, “María Conchita Sin … Vergüenza” offers an opportunity to hear a lifetime’s worth of salacious gossip directly from the source who lived to tell the tale. As its name suggests, this production sees Cuban-born singer, actress and winner of the 1975 Miss World Venezuela beauty pageant María Conchita Alonso shirk shame as she regales audiences with more than 90 minutes of music, video and conversation.
Fans of live music, cabaret and gossip tabloids alike will laugh, cry and gasp as Alonso recalls her history both off and on the silver screen. She will be joined by singer, producer and TV host Daniel René, a former member of Menudo, now known as MDO.
“There are many ‘blockbuster’ shows and musicals dramatizing the lives and careers of famous actors and musicians, but this is an opportunity to hear it from the star herself as she shares stories with the audience,” said Matt McNeil, Broward Center for the Performing Arts’ vice president of programming and marketing. “There is no fourth wall between the audience and María as they come to know her as the multifaceted and talented woman she is.”
Tickets are $27-$174 at Ticketmaster.com.
Mary Chapin Carpenter & Shawn Colvin
(Courtesy of the Broward Center for the Performing Arts)
Mary Chapin Carpenter has won five Grammy awards for hits like “He Thinks He’ll Keep Her,” while Shawn Colvin took home song of the year at the 1998 Grammy Awards for “Sunny Came Home.”
Sept. 29, 2023
Broward Center for the Performing Arts
Amaturo Theater
Whether it’s the warm, inviting twang of country music or the infectious cheeriness of pop melodies that move you most, there will be much to savor when Mary Chapin Carpenter and Shawn Colvin bring their live show to the Broward Center’s intimate Amaturo Theater. The pair of Grammy-winning musical artists will dig into their catalogues spanning three decades to perform a loving act of fan service.
“It’ll be almost as if you’re an insider on their tour bus, listening to these two legendary talents swap stories and play songs they and their audiences have come to cherish,” McNeil said. “They created legions of fans by using music to tell universal truths that speak to us all.”
Tickets are $54-$89.50 at Ticketmaster.com.