LINCOLN HEIGHTS : Festival Showcases Latino Talent

The fourth summer of Con Sabor Latino, a bilingual lineup of cultural, theatrical, musical and performance events at Plaza de la Raza in Lincoln Park, continues through August.

“This is to bring talent into the community,” said Rose Cano, director of programming at the plaza.

“There is nothing like this in the community, so because we have the venue we have it here. We built the outdoor stage four years ago and so we started this then.”

Among the events are “El Luchador Chicano,” a performance in which an old film is shown on a screen at the rear of the stage while actors in front of it read a script that has been rewritten to address modern problems and political circumstances.

“Every year it changes because there’s different talent out there,” Cano said.

“This year as part of the season we included poetry and performance art because that’s very popular now.”

All shows begin at 8 p.m. and are $10:

* Aug. 6: The Susie Hansen Band and Nuestro, a band from Ventura that was a finalist in the L.A. Chicano Works Project.

* Aug. 12 and 13: The film performance of “El Luchador Chicano” in the Margo Albert Theatre at the plaza.

* Aug. 19: “Eating Words, Voicing Struggles,” a Latina poetry evening curated by poet Luis Alfaro and featuring Alma Elena Cervantes, Betty Gonzalez Nash, Dolores Chavez and Rose Portillo.

* Aug. 26: Rumba Rap City, an Afro-Latino dance theater show, featuring Bobby Matos.

Plaza de la Raza Cultural Center for the Arts is at 3540 Mission Road.

Information: (213) 223-2475.