January 14, 2017 | 1 p.m. - 4 p.m.

Copley Plaza at The Old Globe

A Free Public Event for the Entire Family!

• Storytelling
• Local DJ Jon Wesley
• Music and Dancing
• Spoken Word

In conjunction with the Powers New Voices festival, The Old Globe's Arts Engagement department will offer an encore presentation of The Living Altar, a series of new works inspired by residents of City Heights and developed by San Diego performing artists, originally presented at the City Heights Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) on October 29.

This free event will take place on the plaza of the Globe’s Conrad Prebys Center on Saturday, January 14 beginning at 1:00 p.m. and is open to the general public. Local artists Gill Sotu and Nadia Guevara will host with DJ Jon Wesley, weaving together the performances with music and dancing.

These performances include a variety of works from local artists. The King of Chavez Street, written and performed by Sotu, is a spoken word poetry piece in which young ones gather to share the memories of their ancestors in order to be crowned the best storyteller on Chavez Street. Feliz Diaz by Jonathan Hammond is a humorous and touching reminiscing of Feliz Diaz and his granddaughter, who kept Death at bay. Estrella, written and performed by Soroya Rowley, is a Spanglish song about a beautiful friend, mother, and spirit.

The title piece, Living Altar by Veronica Burgess, is inspired by the connection one makes with past loved ones when they are remembered, honored, and celebrated during this time of year. The final two works, both dance theatre pieces, are El Encuentro by Guevara, a story of four generations of family members coming together with memories and music to meet at the altar, a place to reflect, remember, and be inspired; and La Danza de las Abuelas by Erika Malone, inspired by the ancestral stories of Nadia, Baltazar, Esperanza, and Hermalinda. City Heights residents who contributed their stories will be in attendance at the event and festival.

This event is supported by a grant from the James Irvine Foundation.

Photos by Karen Ann Daniels.