Festival Latino L.A. Schedules Over 20 Programs in May : Arts: An eclectic monthlong lineup includes a rock band, a visual exhibition, theater events and Cuban posters.

“People have been dismissing (Los Angeles’ Spanish-speaking) population as uneducated or perhaps culturally insensitive--we think that is a myth,” said Jose Armand, director of the unprecedented Festival Latino L.A., as he announced the more than 20 scheduled programs for the May 2-27 arts festival at a Wednesday press conference.

“The idea is to promote Latino culture and make it part of the mainstream . . . to provide an umbrella for the different Latin American communities that are here, and to provide a visibility for Latino culture,” Armand said at the Bilingual Foundation of the Arts, where some of the festival events will be held.

He said he hopes the Latino festival will attract a crossover audience so that “other cultures can get together and celebrate Latino culture.”

Included in the eclectic lineup for the the May 2-27 festival is a Tijuana-based rock band, a visual art exhibition dedicated to the late Los Angeles artist Carlos Almaraz and several theater events, including a one-woman show by Argentine artist Maria Fiorentino and the U.S. premiere of the Mexico City-produced “Dancing Without Music.” Also featured is an exhibition of Cuban poster art accompanied by the showing of several Cuban films, a number of workshops featuring both local and visiting artists and lecturers, and a daylong Chilean mini-festival that was jointly organized by four local Chilean organizations.

Events will take place at several locations, including Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions, Olvera Street, Highways Performance Space, Cal State Los Angeles, Pasadena Public Library, Carlos n’ Charlie’s nightclub, and Yosemite Recreational Center in Eagle Rock.

Armand’s festival comes on the heels of the April 29 L.A. Fiesta Broadway, which features food, arts, crafts and 60 musical acts downtown. Armand said he wouldn’t participate in that event but plans to promote his festival that day by passing out flyers.

“It hasn’t been easy . . . nobody here is salaried, and we’ve eliminated our (originally planned) national programming and a big chunk of local programming as well,” Armand said. “(But) we want to look at 10 years down the road (Armand plans to hold the festival biannually) as to what this festival could become as an international celebration of Latino culture.”

Armand, who four years ago formed the nonprofit theater group Latino Ensemble, which is producing Festival Latino L.A., noted that many of the festival’s 20-or-so productions will be presented only in Spanish, a factor that he admitted was “a definite risk.”

“It has yet to be proven (whether Los Angeles has a sufficient audience for Spanish-language arts programs),” Armand said.

But, he said: “I’m thinking that there are enough Latinos here, enough numbers, that they can go to the theater the same as they do in New York. There, during Festival Latino (a successful annual event), they fill the house. So why not here in Los Angeles?”

Armand said he originally conceived the festival as an extension of New York’s Festival Latino and even wrote to that organization for help. But when the response from that festival was unencouraging, Armand decided to do the Los Angeles festival on his own.

“We realized that we can’t look to New York for culture and support--we’ve got to do it ourselves here in L.A.,” Armand said. “We knew it would be an uphill battle. We knew we’d have to start at the grass roots level.”

Now, after 2 1/2 years of planning, Armand says his festival has surpassed even his own expectations.

“When we started making plans for this festival the dream was to make it very, very big, but then the economic reality set in,” he said. “So we tapered it down to four or five groups. And then it started growing again. It went beyond our (realistic) expectations.

“There’s an exigent need for a Latino festival, and because of that, so many people have contributed resources,” Armand continued, noting organizations such as LACE, which is splitting profits from performances of “Dancing Without Music” with the festival, and is paying the artists’ fee for that production.

Armand noted that his festival, which is paying all transportation costs for the visiting artists coming in from Mexico, Chile and Argentina, is working with only a $40,000 budget. Much of that, he said, came from individual donations, although $7,500 was received from the city’s Cultural Affairs Department, $5,000 has come from Partners of the Americas, and $5,000--the only corporate gift--came from TRW. An additional $8,500 is projected in ticket revenue.

Armand noted that comparisons between his festival and September’s larger-scale Los Angeles Festival “always crop up,” especially since the Los Angeles Festival--budged at $4.9 million--is centered on arts from all nations bordering on the Pacific Ocean, including those in South and Latin America.

“Originally (The L.A. Festival’s) plan was to include much more--works from many more countries in Latin America and South America. So at first I said, ‘We shouldn’t even bother about Festival Latino. It’s redundant.’ But that’s not the case anymore,” Armand said, noting that because Festival Latino is taking place a few months before the L.A. Festival, the two would not conflict. Armand talked wistfully of the Peter Sellars-directed festival’s financial status, however. That 17-day festival has had difficulties raising money and to date has only $2.9 million in pledges.

“I read about the L.A. Festival lacking money and my heart just breaks,” Armand said. “Here I am with $40,000 and I feel like Christ breaking bread. . . . I look at what they have and I think, oh, what I could do with just 1/5 of that. . . .”

Here is a list of Festival Latino L.A. events:

THEATER/PERFORMANCE ART

May 17-20: “Dancing Without Music,” the U.S. premiere of a one-act play from Mexico City (LACE, 1804 Industrial St., (213) 624-5650). In Spanish. 8 p.m. $12.

May 24-27: “Stones and Eggs,” a one-woman show by Argentine actress Maria Fiorentino (Highways Performance Space, 1651 18th St., Santa Monica, (213) 453-1755). In Spanish. 8:30 p.m. $12.

May 2-June 3: “The Granny,” a farce by Argentine playwright Roberto M. Cossa (Bilingual Foundation of the Arts, 421 N. Ave., 19, (213) 225-4044). Performed in both English and Spanish. Daily, 8 p.m.; Sun., 3 p.m. $15.

May 25-27: “The Queen at Home,” by Mexican performance artist Carlos Niebla (Zeta Theatre, 929 E. 2nd St., (213) 617-8259). In Spanish. 8 p.m. $12.

May 27: “Heavy Nopal,” a theater/cabaret performance (Gallery Theatre, Barnsdall Art Park, 4804 Hollywood Blvd., (213) 484-9005). In Spanish. 8 p.m. $12.

May 10-12: “Vina, Three Beach Plays,” a play on the rigidity of established roles in society (Cal State Northridge, Little Theater, (818) 772-7455). In English. 8 p.m. Free. Reservations required.

May 20 & 27: “Cellmates” and “December,” two one-act plays by local Chicano artists (Nosotros Theater, 1314 N. Wilton Ave., (213) 465-4167). In English. 3 p.m. $6.

May 18: “EROQ,” a children’s musical (Eagle Rock High School, 1750 Yosemite Drive, Eagle Rock, (213) 259-8067). 8 p.m. $2.

May 5: Poetry reading by Chicano playwrights and poets (Olvera Street, Sunset and Alameda, (818) 284-4929). In English. 7 p.m. $5.

DANCE

May 12: “Chilean Festival,” traditional Chilean dances and music as well as poetry recitals, a performance piece by Chilean women and a puppet show for children (Yosemite Recreational Center, Eagle Rock, 1840 Yosemite Drive, (213) 255-9211). Noon-5 p.m. Free.

VISUAL ART

May 5-27: Exhibit dedicated to Carlos Almaraz, featuring works by Almaraz as well as works by 10 emerging artists from Los Angeles, Chile, Argentina and Mexico (Tononi Winery Gallery, Olvera Street, Sunset & Alameda, (213) 628-7164). Free.

Dates to be determined: Chilean painting and sculpture (Occidental College, 1600 Campus Road, (213) 259-2749). Free.

FILM/VIDEO

May 2-27: Exhibition of Cuban film posters, along with Spanish-language Cuban films, (Pasadena Public Library, 285 E. Walnut, Pasadena, (818) 405-4052). Mon.-Thur., 9 a.m.-9 p.m.; Fri.-Sat., 9 a.m.-6 p.m.; Sun., 1-5 p.m. free.

May 12: “Closed Country, Open Theater,” documentary on the Argentine artistic movement, “Teatro Abierto” (Cal State L.A., Pasadena Room, (213) 484-9005). In Spanish. 1:30 p.m. $6.

POP MUSIC

May 6: Mercado Negro, Tijuana-based rock group (Carlos n’ Charlies, 8240 Sunset Blvd., (213) 656-5490). Bilingual. 7-10 p.m. $10.

WORKSHOPS/LECTURES

May 19-20: “Human Contact,” a two-day workshop on theatrical psychodramatic techniques (Bilingual Foundation of the Arts, 421 N. Ave., 19, (818) 500-9835). In Spanish. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. $30.

May 6: “Chicano/Latino Arts,” Rita Sanchez, Chicano Studies Department, Cal State L.A. (Tononi Winery Gallery, Olvera Street, Sunset & Alameda, (213) 628-7164). In English. 5-7 p.m. Free.

May 20: “Chicano Muralism,” Francisco Balderrama, Chicano Studies Department, Cal State L.A. (Tononi Winery Gallery, Olvera Street, Sunset & Alameda, (213) 628-7164). In English. 5-7 p.m. Free.

May 27: “Chicano Film,” director Jesus Salvador Trevino (Tononi Winery Gallery, Olvera Street, Sunset & Alameda, (213) 628-7164). In English. 5-7 p.m. Free.

May 12: “Cuban Film and Poster Design,” Carlos Arabia and Manolo Escutia of Mexico’s Rio Rita Cultural Assn. In Spanish. 6 p.m. Free.

May 19: “Theater of Images,” workshop with the director and cast of “Dancing Without Music” (LACE, 1804 Industrial St., (213) 624-5650). Bilingual. 3-6 p.m. $6.

May 26: Workshop with Argentine actress Maria Fiorentino and director Daniel Panaro (Highways Performance Space, 1651 18th St., Santa Monica, (213) 453-1755). Bilingual. 3-6 p.m. $10.