La Pocha Nostra

Upcoming duet & residency magic ✨ in the following cities 🌆 for July 2024 📅:

July 9: London, UK 🇬🇧: Queen Mary University via 🎥 Screening of ‘s documentary by “100 Ways to Cross the Border” ( tix available: https://www.thisisliveart.co.uk/events/100-ways-to-cross-the-border/ )

July: Advanced Alumni 👩‍🎓 Summit & Immersive Residency with in Tipperary, Ireland 🇮🇪 ( 💯 full )

July 26: LPN at The Source Arts Center in Tipperary, Ireland 🇮🇪 featuring core members: .mex55 & 🧚‍♂️ ( tix available: https://www.thesourceartscentre.ie/whats-on/events/la-pocha-nostra )

We are very excited to return to London 🇬🇧 (in person) for the first time in over 10 years & to pilgrimage to the incredible in Tipperary 🇮🇪.

See you soon! 💋

📸 of .mex55 & at by 2023.

And yes, Guillermo & Balitronica Gomez will be there in person. 🇬🇧 ❤️

💥 La Pocha Nostra are coming to London!

We are delighted to present Amber Bemak's ‘100 Ways to Cross the Border’ (2022), a self-reflexive performative documentary on Guillermo Gómez-Peña’s extraordinary 40-year career of radical artistic practice alongside his international performance art troupe La Pocha Nostra.

Join us on Tuesday 9 July 2024 at 7pm at Queen Mary University of London. LADA Patron Guillermo Gomez-Peña and Balitronica Gomez, Artistic Co-director of La Pocha Nostra, will join us for the screening and deliver a performative introduction.

🎫 Tickets and more info: https://tinyurl.com/tmmdh9r2

*About 100 Ways to Cross the Border*

At a time when the mainstream US and international media are filled with demonising stories about the US–Mexico border, 100 Ways to Cross the Border presents the philosophical frameworks of Guillermo Gómez-Peña’s sustained dedication to highly impactful and innovative artistic interventions on that border, reclaiming and ‘queering’ it as a laboratory for utopian ideas and artistic experimentation. Featuring exclusive footage from the post Mexican/Chicanx performance artist’s personal archive, the film also constitutes a unique portrait of being on the road for three years with his beloved troupe.

Image: ‘100 Ways to Cross the Border’ (2022). Film still

🎭 Explore the limits of contemporary performance in a 2-year MA!
Learn more and apply ➡️ https://eamt.ee/en/departments/theatre/cppm/apply/

⭐️MEET THE GUEST ARTIST: GUILLERMO GOMEZ-PENA⭐️
Guillermo Gomez-Peña is a performance artist, writer, activist, radical pedagogue and artistic director of the performance troupe La Pocha Nostra. Born in Mexico City, he moved to the US in 1978, and since 1995, his three homes have been San Francisco, Mexico City and the “road”.

His performance work and 21 books have contributed to the debates on cultural, generational, and gender diversity, border culture and North-South relations. His work has been presented at over one thousand venues across the US, Canada, Latin America, Europe, Russia, South Africa and Australia.

A MacArthur Fellow, USA Artists Fellow, and a Bessie, Guggenheim, and American Book Award recipient, he is a regular contributor to newspapers and magazines in the US, Mexico, and Europe and a contributing editor to The Drama Review (NYU-MIT), the Performance Art Week Journal of the Venice Biennale, and emisférica, the publication of the Hemispheric Institute of Performance and Politics (NYU). Gómez-Peña is currently a Patron for the London-based Live Art Development Agency, and a Senior Fellow in the Hemispheric Institute of Performance and Politics.

La Pocha Nostra is very proud to announce 📣 our next Alumni 👩‍🎓 Artist in Residence: Indigo Bahn! Indigo is our first ever Alumni Artist to do a back-to-back Mexico City/San Francisco Casa Museo Sur/Norte Residency. The artist will also be joining us again for our feminist film crew project in Roswell, New Mexico this May. Learn more about Indigo’s work below 👇 & please reach out if you’re a La Pocha Nostra workshop alumni & interested in a residency opportunity. 🪅

👩‍🎨 BIO: Indigo Bahn: a dynamic multidisciplinary artist, delves into the realms of nail 💅 art and performance with a fervent curiosity, weaving together themes of identity, culture, and self-expression. Born in the vibrant coastal town of Santa Cruz, California, and nurtured amidst the vast landscapes of Kansas, Indigo’s artistic journey has been shaped by diverse influences and experiences. Driven by a nomadic spirit, Indigo’s artistic endeavors have taken them across the globe, absorbing and interpreting cultural nuances that find resonance in their creations. Currently rooted in the serene landscapes of Montana, Indigo draws inspiration from nature’s raw beauty and the juxtaposition of urban and rural life. Indigo’s exploration of nail art transcends traditional boundaries, transforming nails into miniature canvases that reflect personal narratives and societal commentaries. Each nail design is a meticulous fusion of color, texture, and symbolism, inviting viewers to delve deeper into the layers of meaning embedded within. In parallel, Indigo’s performances are immersive experiences that blur the lines between art and audience, challenging perceptions and sparking conversations. Through movement, sound, and visual elements, Indigo invites viewers on a journey of introspection and discovery, pushing the boundaries of what art can be.
Indigo Bahn’s art is not just about aesthetics; it’s a profound exploration of the human experience, a celebration of diversity, and a catalyst for meaningful dialogue. With every stroke of nail polish and every moment on stage, Indigo invites us to embrace the complexities of life and find beauty in its myriad forms. 📸 for 1 & 2 : John Clayton

If you weren’t able to get a ticket 🎫 tonight’s totally 💯 sold out show of “The Mexfiles” in Austin, we will be screening our film by Amber Bemak, “100 Ways to Cross the Border” at The Museum of Human Achievement TOMORROW at 4 pm. One night only! ⭐️

Tonight’s show in Austin is SOLD OUT! Feeling very grateful & excited. 🌟

Repost from
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“The Mex Files: A Divination Ritual” is
100% SOLD OUT for

However, the self-reflexive “performative documentary” “100 Ways to Cross the Border” is not! Featuring a performative introduction by Guillermo Gómez-Peña & Balitrónica you’ll still get a taste of the live experience and see a film exploring Guillermo Gómez-Peña’s 40-year career of radical artistic practice alongside his international troupe La Pocha Nostra.

Get tickets via 🔗

See our next post for more information and an excerpt from the film!

📻Stay tuned for this new episode!

🌟Gómez-Peña’s Mex Files: Audio Art & Strange Poetry from the US/Mexico Border🌟 🗓️ Wednesday, April 3 ⏰ From 6PM to 7PM CST LA POCHA CRASHES MÉXICO CITY ART WEEK BienvenideX audio-locas! In this brand new Mex Files episode we take you straight into the heart of the bizarre and outrageous Mexico City Art Week, a global rave that occurs every February despite wars & generalized violence. This episode features a conversation that originally took place live during Art Week with curator Alex Chellet of Casa Viva. This episode is vocalized re-staging of that dialog featuring La Pocha Nostra’s Artistic Directors Gómez-Peña and Balitrónica on the thorny topic of: Performance Art. 📸: Geloy Concepción, 2023. Tune in at 105.5 FM WLPN-LP Chicago, lumpenradio.com or download the lumpen mobile app

🍒“100 Ways to Cross the Border” screening 4/14 at 16:00 at the Museum of Human Achievement Austin, Texas courtesy of 🍒

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Co-Lab Projects, Fusebox Festival (), and MoHA Present:

100 Ways to Cross the Border
A film by Amber Bemak ()
Written by Guillermo Gómez-Peña and Amber Bemak

Sunday, April 14th, 4pm, Sliding Scale Tickets via 🔗
With an introduction by Guillermo Gómez-Peña (.mex55) & Balitrónica ()
at The Museum of Human Achievement
3600 Lyons Rd, Austin, TX 78702

A self-reflexive ““performative documentary”” on the extraordinary “Post Mexican/Chicanx” performance artist Guillermo Gómez-Peña’s 40-year career of radical artistic practice alongside his international troupe La Pocha Nostra. At a time when the mainstream media is filled with demonizing stories about the US–Mexico border, the film presents the philosophical frameworks of an artist with a sustained dedication to highly impactful, innovative artistic interventions on that border, and presents a unique portrait of his beloved troupe LPN on the road for 3 years. Featuring exclusive footage from his personal archive, Gómez-Peña enacts his artistic interventions by reclaiming and “queering the border” as a laboratory for utopian ideas and artistic experimentation.

Length: 84 min
Director: Amber Bemak
Writers: Guillermo Gómez-Peña and Amber Bemak
Producers: Amber Bemak, Nadia Granados, Andrew Houchens
Editor: Miguel Schverdfinger
Subtitles in English and Spanish *film is accessible to both English and Spanish speakers

This project is supported in part by grants and sponsorships from the , , , , , the University of Texas College of Fine Arts, and by Co-Lab Projects Members like you!

🧨Hello all!🧨

Guillermo and I wanted to remind you that today is the very last day to submit a video/apply for the Mexico City (June) & Ireland (July) Summer Alumni Summits (or to confirm with us that you are sending a video within in the next three days). Starting tomorrow, we will send out the remaining responses for those of you who are awaiting a response to your video submissions. 👼 We are VERY excited to spend the summer deep in advanced pedagogical magic 🪄 with some of our very favorite people.

Bright Blessings, Bali (DM is open for questions/concerns).

📸 Gomez-Peña’s “Border Walk,” from Tijuana to Los Angeles in 2 & ½ days, 1979. Courtesy of the La Pocha Nostra Living Archives.

Tomorrow in Univesity of Texas Austin at 3 pm! Don’t miss it! Our duet the 13th at FUSEBOX is already totally sold out! 💥

One week left to apply!

LAST CALL FOR APPLICATIONS TO THE POCHA NOSTRA SUMMITS:

-Mexico City, June 9-15. Alumni Summit & Advanced Workshop at Casa Museo Sur with Gómez-Peña, Balitronica and Federica Tello.

-Tipperary, Ireland, July 18-24. La Pocha Nostra & VestAndPage () will co-teach an Alumni Summit & Workshop .

There are a few spots left in each summit Applications are still open until April 7. For information about how to apply please write: [email protected] and [email protected]

Photo: by at Casa Museo Sur.

Next up: AUSTIN! 🌟 .mex55 LIVE on April 3! Don’t miss it. 🧨

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Don’t miss “BORDER CLASICOS”
A solo performance by Guillermo Gómez-Peña

Wednesday, April 3rd, 3:30pm
Located in Art 1.102, 2301 San Jacinto Blvd, Austin, TX 78705
This event is FREE and open to the public
Parking is available for a fee at the San Jacinto garage north of the Art Building

Sponsored by the University of Texas College of Fine Arts
Hosted by the University of Texas Art and Art History Department

In this solo performance monologue, performance artist and writer Guillermo Gómez-Peña presents a selection of classic texts from his vast “living archives” alongside recent work written over the past four years.

“My current performance represents the fruit of my life’s work in all its iterations: live performance, lecturing, archiving, literary work, mentoring, community activism, all coming together to address the dangers of the times we live in with its disregard for human life and insidious undermining of democracy.

At this time in my life I am thinking as much about legacy as I am trying to continually produce socially conscious experimental artwork that is simultaneously plugged into the national debates. I have learned from decades of touring performance material to locations beyond the Border that a call to action - in the form of a work of art - has the power to elicit compassion and inculcate a desire for social justice.

For me performance art is a form of radical democracy and citizenship which depends on the presence of the audience/community to succeed. I view my approach to creating this hybrid piece as “performing the archives” for multiple contexts: The art world, academia, community and the media. I am particularly interested in connecting with a new generation of audience members who may not have been exposed to the history of my generation, performance art and the Chicano movement.”

Big thank you to Mike Smith, Tawnya Palmquist, and Dean Ramón H Rivera-Servera for making this event possible!

📸 by 2023.

Follow us on Instagram for more performance & workshop updates ❤️💗❤️

Applications 4 Mexico (June) & Ireland (July) Alumni Summits are open until April 7. 📧 [email protected] 4 more info

LAST CALL FOR APPLICATIONS TO THE POCHA NOSTRA SUMMITS:

-Mexico City, June 9-15. Alumni Summit & Advanced Workshop at Casa Museo Sur with Gómez-Peña, Balitronica and Federica Tello.

-Tipperary, Ireland, July 18-24. La Pocha Nostra & VestAndPage () will co-teach an Alumni Summit & Workshop .

There are a few spots left in each summit Applications are still open until April 7. For information about how to apply please write: [email protected] and [email protected]

Photo: by at Casa Museo Sur.

is VERY excited to announce our next Alumni Artist 👩‍🎨 in Residence at Casa Museo Sur/Casa Familia Gomez in Mexico City: The one & only Achy Obejas!

BIO: Achy Obejas is the author of the forthcoming The Boy Kingdom, a bilingual poetry collection about being a mom, divorce and co-parenting, and Boomerang/Bumerán, written in a bold, mostly gender-free English and Spanish that addresses immigration, displacement, love and activism. She also authored The Tower of the Antilles, a short story collection that was a PEN/Faulkner finalist, among other honors. Her novels include Ruins and Days of Awe, which was a Los Angeles Times Best Books of the Year. Her poetry chapbook, This is What Happened in Our Other Life, was both a critical hit and a national best-seller. As a translator, Havana-born Achy has worked with Wendy Guerra, Rita Indiana, Junot Díaz and Megan Maxwell, among others. A recipient of a USA Artists fellowship, an NEA, a Cintas fellowship and a group Pulitzer with the Chicago Tribune, among other awards, she lives in the San Francisco Bay area.

About Casa Museo Sur/Norte: Since 2022, the Casa Museo Mexico City has been open for artistic residencies for La Pocha Nostra alumni and close associates who have worked or toured with us in the past. The residency offers stays at the Family home of Gomez-Pena and Balitronica from 1 week to 1 month. The selected artist has access to Gomez-Peña’s college art studio, kitchen, garden, and the common areas of the home, as well as a private bedroom and bathroom. There is also the opportunity to collaborate with onsite Pocha Core Member, Federico Tello, who is the ‘hostess with the mostest’ of Casa Museo Sur (individual tours of the city can be arranged, translated, and accompanied by Fede for an additional fee). The cost 💲 is negotiated depending on the scope of the residency and is currently open to Pocha Nostra Alumni or close collaborators only. ✨ Email [email protected] to reserve your spot 🍒💫🍓

…Tribune, among other awards, she lives in the San Francisco Bay area.

About Casa Museo Sur/Norte: Since 2022, the Casa Museo Mexico City has been open for artistic residencies for La Pocha Nostra alumni and close associates who have worked or toured with us in the past. The residency offers stays at the Family home of Gomez-Pena and Balitronica from 1 week to 1 month. The selected artist has access to Gomez-Peña’s college art studio, kitchen, garden, and the common areas of the home, as well as a private bedroom and bathroom. There is also the opportunity to collaborate with onsite Pocha Core Member, Federico Tello, who is the ‘hostess with the mostest’ of Casa Museo Sur (individual tours of the city can be arranged, translated, and accompanied by Fede for an additional fee). The cost 💲 is negotiated depending on the scope of the residency and is currently open to Pocha Nostra Alumni or close collaborators only. ✨ Email [email protected] to reserve your spot 🍒💫🍓

Former residence alumni include:
Natasha Kanapé (CA) 2022
Anna Valeska Pohl (DE) 2023
Sarah Stolar (US) 2023
MistyDawn Forester (US) 2023
Holly Timpener (CA) 2024

Upcoming: 💥
Achy Obejas (CU) 2024
Indigo June (US) 2024

Permanent artist in residence since 2021: Federico Tello (La Pocha Nostra Core Member)

The Mexfiles Radio 🎙️ Episode Repetition
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Gómez-Peña’s Mex Files: Audio Art & Strange Poetry from the US/Mexico Border

⌛️Wednesday, March 20
⏳From 6PM to 7PM CST

🕯️SERMON AND RANTINGS TO SURVIVE THE APOCALYPSE

⭐️ This brand new episode repetition of The Mex Files was curated by Balitronica and features activist rantings & weird sermons on “How to Survive the Apocalypse”. Our special guests are the legendary Reverend Billy from the New York based Church of Stop Shopping, Chicana performance artist EmaLou Rivers Arroyo from New Mexico, and Maestro Andrew Schell AKA DJ “no requests” directly from Kansas City.
We invited them to consecrate our hopes and exorcize the current demons of poetry, planetary activism and political despair. Produced by Lumpen Radio and La Pocha Nostra. Alleluia! ⭐️

⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️
FIND THE LINKS TO THE MEX FILES IN THE COMMENTARY SECTION.

📸 Courtesy of Reverend Billy & The Stop 🛑 Shopping Choir.


Emz Especial

🪀 Upcoming Happenings…Take note!🪀

🍫San Diego, CA: March 21 @ 19:30: Screening of our documentary by Amber Bemak, “100 Ways to Cross the Border” 📍AMC Mission Valley. .mex55 & will be in attendance and present an introductory text at this screening.
🍫 San Diego, CA: March 22 @ 18:00: Screening #2 of “100 Ways to Cross the Border” by Amber Bemak & Guillermo Gomez-Peña 📍AMC Mission Valley.
🍫San Francisco, CA: March 27 @ 18:00 📍 Saint Joseph’s Art Society “Living Dioramas for a Museum of the Future” a Gomez-Peña Legacy Project featuring Gomez-Peña, Balitronica, Sarah Stolar , Francesca Carol Rolla , Justin Hoover , Pita Zapot , Bob Webb , Juan Ybarra ( founding Member) & Violeta Luna ( Former Core Member).
🍫 Mexico City, MX @ 📍Casa Museo Sur/Casa Familia Gomez: March 31-Early April: Alumni in Artistic Residency: Achy Obejas in partnership with Member & Manager of Latin American Projects
🍫 Austin, TX: April 13th at📍The Museum of Human Achievement : “Mexfiles Duet” by .mex55 & for Fusebox Festival in partnership with
🍫 Austin, TX: April 14: Film 🎞️ Screenings 📺 in collaboration with Member & 📍TBD.
🍫 Roswell, NM: May ‘24 Film & Scripting Residency Round 3 with .mex55 & 📍Roswell Artist in Residency Organization with Alumni & Feminist Film Crew 🎥 &
🍫 Mexico City, MX June 9-15 Alumni Summit & Advanced Workshop 📍Casa Museo Sur with .mex55 with 👩‍🎓🍏 in Alumni Residency @ Casa Museo Sur. ⚡️Applications are still open for this Alumni Summit⚡️ Email ballitron@gmail@com & @gmail.com for more info ℹ️
🍫Tipperary, Ireland 🇮🇪 July 18-24 La Pocha Nostra & VestAndPage Alumni Summit & Workshop ⚡️Applications are still open for this Alumni Summit⚡️Email ballitron@gmail@com for ℹ️ or DM Balitronica Gomez or Federico Tello

★ Rebel artists, visionary poets, nomadic mystics and misfits ★ This is a final call to submit applications for 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗔𝗱𝘃𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗱 𝗔𝗹𝘂𝗺𝗻𝗶 𝗦𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗶𝘁 for La Pocha Nostra and VestAndPage alumni in Ireland, July 17-25, 2024. 〰️〰️
Generously hosted by Live Art Ireland at the enchanted Milford House, this 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗻 𝗖𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝘄𝗲 𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿 (and you couldn’t wish for more)!

This comes as a pedagogical powerhouse expanding on exercises that VestAndPage and/or La Pocha Nostra alumni are already familiar with and new advanced exercises. It continues the troupes’ joint collaborative live art methodology to deepen connections within a global alumni fellowship.

Since 2016, the decentralised constellations of critical encounters between La Pocha Nostra and us have been fundamental to our collective productions of performance operas and temporary artistic communities - and we can’t wait to join to make some performance magic together again after years!

Please email [email protected] & [email protected] with the subject: LPN+VESTANDPAGE ALUMNI SUMMIT 2024 for details and application instructions.

★ For non-Irish artists, LAI offers an additional opportunity following the workshop week – inquire! ★

Image 1: Guillermo Gomez-Peña La Pocha Nostra and VestAndPage at Sculpture Quadrennial Riga for the collective performance opera “No More Idols”, 2019 📸 Linda Kāposta

★ Rebel artists, visionary poets, nomadic mystics and misfits ★ This is a final call to submit applications for 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗔𝗱𝘃𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗱 𝗔𝗹𝘂𝗺𝗻𝗶 𝗦𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗶𝘁 for La Pocha Nostra and VestAndPage alumni in Ireland, July 17-25, 2024. 〰️〰️
Generously hosted by Live Art Ireland at the enchanted Milford House, this 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗻 𝗖𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝘄𝗲 𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿 (and you couldn’t wish for more)!

This comes as a pedagogical powerhouse expanding on exercises that VestAndPage and/or La Pocha Nostra alumni are already familiar with and new advanced exercises. It continues the troupes’ joint collaborative live art methodology to deepen connections within a global alumni fellowship.

Since 2016, the decentralised constellations of critical encounters between La Pocha Nostra and us have been fundamental to our collective productions of performance operas and temporary artistic communities - and we can’t wait to join to make some performance magic together again after years!

Please email [email protected] & [email protected] with the subject: LPN+VESTANDPAGE ALUMNI SUMMIT 2024 for details and application instructions.

★ For non-Irish artists, LAI offers an additional opportunity following the workshop week – inquire! ★

Image: Guillermo Gomez-Peña | La Pocha Nostra and VestAndPage at Sculpture Quadrennial Riga for the collective performance opera “No More Idols”, 2019 📸 Linda Kāposta