Celebrate Mexican Culture @ Casa de Arte

This Saturday there's an unusual Mexican art experience taking place at Casa de Arte in Allentown. For lovers of all things Mexican, including music, food, dancing, and art, the opening of "Masks To Set You Free" should be exactly what they need to romanticize about a country that is often times misunderstood and misrepresented. 

On hand will be a dancing Chinelo, live music, and an appearance by local Mexican culinary guru Laura Anhalt who will be serving up her infamous tamales (see Laura's new cookbook). "The only news we see about Mexico is negative," gallery owner Rick Williams told me. "It is a country with an incredibly facinating and complex history that radically changes from region to region.  The exhibit, "Masks to Set You Free", through film, art, masks, music, costume design, and art crafts, tells a very colorful story of one small part of the rich culture of one of the smallest states (Morelos) in a country of 110 milion people.

"The reason I was intrigued by Festivales de los Chinelos was the story behind it.  During the Spanish colonial period the indigenous people in Morelos (southwest of Mexico City) were excluded from the religious festivities by the Spaniards and their descendants.  So the indigenous or Native American people of various towns began doing their own celebration, to include wearing clothing and masks that mocked the Spaniards, particularly the aristocrats. Assuming the identity of the other to poke fun was empowering and it is now an integral part of the culture of Morelos."

Come join the fun as we celebrate a special culture and learn about people in Buffalo who have a strong connection to Mexico, and are willing to share it with the community.

Masks to Set You Free