Welcome to “The Sights + Sounds Show with Jeneé Darden, " where every week we tap into the Bay Area arts scene and bring you rich conversations with artists. On today’s show: a majestic statue from Mexico is putting smiles on people’s faces in the Fruitvale neighborhood, and sending a message about immigration. Then, a children’s book about a Vietnamese-American girl who accidentally tears a family heirloom. We hear from the author and illustrator of this sweet story. And, a jazzy, soulful musical takes us to the Fillmore in the 1950s.
Today’s show is about home and family.
Caheri Gutierrez
There’s a new lady in town — as in OakTown. She is 34-feet tall, and she traveled all the way from just outside of Mexico City. She is a cultural legend who is absolutely beautiful. Her name is La Catrina de Oakland. The radiant statue is bringing smiles to many faces at the Fruitvale Transit village.
La Catrina is a cultural symbol in the Mexican and Latin American holiday Día de los Muertos or The Day of the Dead. A family collective of Mexican artists named Artsumex created the sculpture, which The Unity Council commissioned. La Catrina arrives as the Fruitvale community prepares for the annual Day of the Dead festival, and during a time of extreme xenophobia in the United States.
Caheri Gutierrez is the director of fund development and communications for The Unity Council. She shares the cultural significance of La Catrina.
La Catrina de Oakland statue is currently on display in the Fruitvale Transit Village until November 1. The Day of the Dead festival will occur in the same area and also on November1.
Hanh Bui and Minnie Phan
When Host Jeneé Darden was a kid, and her mother was taking a nap, she would sneak into her mother's bedroom and try on her clothes. Some of you out there may have enjoyed putting on your parents’ clothes as kids.
That’s sort of the premise of the book, "The Yellow Áo Dài." It’s about a little Vietnamese-American girl who is excited about performing a traditional Vietnamese Fan Dance at her school. She has outgrown her áo dài, which is a Vietnamese dress. So she finds her mother’s dress, puts it on and accidentally rips it while practicing her fan dance. What happens next is a tender story about family, love and culture.
Hanh Bui, is the author of "The Yellow Áo Dài;" and KALW’s Minnie Phan is the illustrator. They talk about the creative inspirations behind the book and their work
"The Yellow Áo Dài" is in bookstores now. Also look for it to be featured on the latest season of “Reading Rainbow” on YouTube.
Michael Gene Sullivan
The musical “Every Saturday Night” transports audiences back and forth between 1950s and present-day Fillmore District. It’s about an elder Dante, who is a longtime Fillmore resident and on the verge of losing his home. An elite Black family from Washington, D.C. is interested in buying it.
During the musical, the audience gets to relive his memories of when his mother used their home as a speakeasy in the 1950s to pay the mortgage. Back then, like today, Black people were fighting to stay in their neighborhoods. The play is in inspired by the childhood of Bay Area artist Danny Duncan.
Michael Gene Sullivan is a playwright and co-wrote “Every Saturday Night" with Mr. Duncan.
“Every Saturday Night” is running at the A.C.T. Strand Theater until November 1.
