Gómez-Peña’s Mex Files: Poetic Jams and Songs from 2000-2017, Part 2

Portrait of Guillermo Gómez-Peña
Guillermo Gómez-Peña, courtesy of the artist.

A man sits upright at a table wearing a black hat, sunglasses, and an open black jacket with yellow shoulder pads exposing his chest with tattoos. A stack of white paper sits on the table along with a vase of flowers, an intricate ash tray with skulls, candles, and a plastic alien head labelled with the text “Alien Pops.” The room is red behind the seated figure, with artworks, photographs and carved items decorating the walls. A prominent neon sign that reads "La Nostalgia BAR” sits above the seated person.

Photo by Zen Cohen

The series Gómez-Peña’s Mex Files: Audio Art and Strange Poetry from the US/Mexico Border is a multi-lingual live radio and archived audio program by performance artist, writer, activist, and MacArthur fellow Guillermo Gómez-Peña addressing the multiple pandemics of racism, sexism, militarism, and colonialism.

This episode is a selection of Gómez-Peña’s audio art ‘Poetic Jams and Songs from 2000-2017’ with Mexican composer Guillermo Galindo (Galindog), iconic Rock en Español and rap producer Greg Landau, DJ Ricardiaco, Lou Malozzi, Juan Ybarra and Carlos Cumpian.

Edited by Charly García and Stephanie Manriquez
Technical support by Lady Monster

Presented in partnership between Jane Addams Hull-House Museum, Public Media institute, and the University of Chicago’s Smart Museum of Art. The series is an initiative of Toward Common Cause: Art, Social Change, and the MacArthur Fellows Program at 40.

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Public Media Institute

Public Media Institute (PMI) is the media partner for Toward Common Cause, broadcasting Gómez-Peña’s Mex Files on Lumpen Radio 105.5 FM and Lumpen.TV, and providing live-streaming and other services for virtual programs. PMI is a non-profit, community-based art and culture organization headquartered in the neighborhood of Bridgeport. Its mission is to create, incubate, and sustain…

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The Jane Addams Hull-House Museum draws upon the legacy of international peace activist, suffragist, and feminist, Jane Addams, and other social reformers who lived and worked alongside their immigrant neighbors to create social change on the Near West Side of Chicago. Plan your visit By reservation only. Open Tuesday–Friday and Sunday 9 am–5 pm. Gómez-Peña’s…

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Smart Museum of Art

The Smart Museum of Art at the University of Chicago is a site for rigorous inquiry and exchange that encourages the examination of complex issues through the lens of art objects and artistic practice. Plan your visit Visits to the Smart Museum of Art are free, but reservations are recommended. Open Tuesday–Sunday 10 am–5 pm;…

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Portrait of Guillermo Gómez-Peña

Gómez-Peña’s Mex Files: Audio Art and Strange Poetry from the US/Mexico Border

A year-long series of experimental audio performances from Guillermo Gómez-Peña, a performance artist, writer, activist, and MacArthur Fellow.

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Posted 01/11/2021
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