Tonight’s art party marks the opening of the new exhibit, The Virgin, Saints, and Angels, which is probably not your regular crowd to hang out with on a Friday evening. more ›

Photo from ImageAfter Starting today, we'll be publishing a weekly roundup of various arts & entertainment news that we've come across. Most of these developments, whether national or international, have a direct relationship with something local, whether it be an organization, individual, or our collective culture. In any case, it's a nice chance to broaden our world view -- a definite bonus (or necessity, some might argue) for a city that revels in creativity! --... more ›

Tomorrow is a Whole Foods Community Day benefiting Mexic-Arte Museum. 5% of the stores net sales will go to benefiting the museum, which has served as a center of Mexican, Mexican American and Latin American arts since 1984. Tasty!... more ›

Southwest Key sounds like something out of Florida, but it is a locally-based non-profit corporation that currently runs detention centers in a few states (including Texas). Their shelters serve as holding centers for immigrant minors who came to the US without parent or guardian. Southwest Key asserts that their programs are nothing like the immigrant family detention center in Taylor (the Taylor center is run by a for-profit corporation). The Austin organization, for which former... more ›

Details on the murder that occurred on Juneteenth were sketchy when we posted yesterday (as we mentioned). More details of the event have been culled since then, and here is what the police think happened at this point. Two men in a Ford Taurus were driving near the Booker T. Washington housing development Tuesday night and accidentally hit a 2-year-old boy. The driver of the car got out (to check on the boy, perhaps)... more ›

New Visions/Works in Progress: Bringing Texas to the Latino Film Map. Hideout Upstairs Cabaret, 11 AM A new program section at the festival, New Visions/ Works in Progress showcases films that are looking for production or completion funds, as well as case studies that represent examples of Latino or indigenous filmmaking in Texas. These projects are brought to the consideration of investors, producers, distributors, and artists with the goal of fomenting industry participation and... more ›

It's opening night! Tonight at 7pm, Austin's historic Paramount Theatre will host the opening of the Cine Las Americas International Film Festival. Now in its 10th year, the festival has expanded to an eight-day program, featuring a wide range of Narrative Features, Documentary Features, Shorts, and Youth Films from 20 countries (including Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Chile, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Germany, Guatemala, Haiti, Mexico, Spain, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Venezuela... more ›

THURSDAY [1] party • Learning Secrets hosts Optimo's JD Twitch (Glasgow, UK) at Whisky Bar (10pm-2am, $5) art • Public Tour: The Geometry of Hope: Montevideo in the 1930s at The Blanton (7:00 - 8:00 PM) art • Curator's Tour: The Geometry of Hope at The Blanton (12:30-1pm) art • Texas Biennial Opening Reception at Dougherty Arts Center (7-10pm) art • Art Fix: Enjoy an introduction to Latin American wines with Seth Pollard, Central... more ›

Lord knows we've been wearing a do-rag in honor of Prince's superbowl performance since early February; his technophallic guitartistry reignited our girlhood crush. And as "the artist" teetered on the brink of electrocution-by-instrument in Dolphin Stadium that torrential evening, we thought, "Will anything EVER bring us as much delight as Purple Rain?" Answer: yes, the new major exhibit at the Blanton Museum, The Geometry of Hope, which opens today. The phrase “geometry of hope”... more ›

The 27th Student Conference on Latin America, organized by the Institute of Latin American Studies Student Association (ILASSA) at The University of Texas at Austin starts tomorrow, Feb. 1 with Anderson Sá, the Brazilian social activist who is the protagonist of the film Favela Rising. Sá will be speaking at 6:30 p.m. in the Thompson Conference Center, Room 1.110. Events will continue through Feb. 3 with student presentations throughout the day on Friday and Saturday... more ›

First Night Austin Schedule 2-5pm Family Festival 5:30-6:30pm Grand Procession 7pm Family Finale at City Hall 7-11:30pm Evening programming Midnight Grand Finale First Night Austin takes over downtown this Sunday, kicking off the second annual festival with three hours of family-friendly activities, performances, and art installations. From hip hop freestyling to Appalachian-style clog dancing, there promises to be enough culturally-rich distractions to entertain even that obnoxious nephew of yours who'd rather stay home to... more ›

Dia de los Muertos, or The Day of the Dead, has been steeped in Mexican tradition since the Aztecs initiated a celebration of departed ancestors. It might not be Halloween but it’s still a gala, and ME Television wants to make it a party. Powered by VJ Paul Saucido, METV's Sonido Boombox has become a vital voice in Latin music circles in Austin. La Zona Rosa will host Sonido Boombox’s latest benefit (titled “Rock... more ›

Art is tireless, and you should be too. Everyone's invited to the ultimate opening experience at the Blanton Museum of Art beginning this Saturday at 9pm and running to 9pm on Sunday. If you have to work Sunday morning, skip it. Call in sick. What's more, this event is all-inclusive! The Blanton's new building on MLK and Congress is an enormous space housing expansive galleries and a magnificent atrium. Exhibitions include the classics, American... more ›

The ninth annual Cine Las Americas International Film Festival kicks off next Wednesday, offering a wide assortment of programming from countries in North, Central, and South America and the Caribbean. The full film schedule, listed after the jump, includes music documentaries ("Si Sos Brujo," "Mestre Humberto"), classic Cuban Revolution films ("Soy Cuba," "I Am Cuba: The Siberian Mammoth"), first endeavors by Latin American directors ("El Norte: Entre el Infinito y la Nada," "Cama Adentro"), and... more ›

As always, let us know about any corrections or suggestions! MONDAY [3] [music] ICP Orchestra at Scottish Rite Theatre (link) [art] Gabriel Perez-Barreiro, Curator of Latin American Art, discusses "Art is Connection: America/Americas" at Blanton Museum of Art (Free, 6-8pm) (link) [books] Michael Gordon presents Cobra II at BookPeople (7pm) (link) [books] AAIM, Austin Area Interreligious BookGroup will discuss Peace is the Way by Deepak Chopra. Lori Seremetis will be the Special Guest at BookPeople... more ›

T H U R S D A Y [ 2 6 ] · [music] Hard-Fi with Driver F and DJ Mel at Stubb's! · [music] Aaron Reynolds presents found objects, materials, and textures at The Space (Free, 8-10pm) (link) · [music] Happy Hour at Carousel Lounge, with Peter and the Wolf, Sparrowhouse (Jared from Voxtrot), and Clapperclaw. Performance by Erica. · Fire dancing at Cafe Mundi (1704 E 5th St, between Chicon & Comal). The... more ›

W E D N E S D A Y [ 2 5 ] [music] St. James Inc, Hurts to Purr and Mike Blackhurst at Stubb's (8pm) [music] Akron/Family, Mi and L'au, Shearwater at Emo's [music] "Old Man Night," with skate videos, DJ Vomitnoise, free pizza from Slices and Ices, and special raffles and giveaways at Beerland [film] Screening of Fearless Freaks director Bradley Beesley's "Hill Stomp Holler," plus a set by John Schooley at... more ›

The sixth annual Weblog Awards, more affectionately referred to as the "Bloggies™," are now accepting nominations for your favorite blogs. From now through Tuesday, January 10, 2005, anyone with a unique email address can submit their recommendations for such esteemed categories as "Best Craft Weblog," "Best Latin American Weblog" and "Best Teen Blog." more ›

The 8th Cine Las Americas International Film Festival starts tonight with the Texas premiere of the Chilean film Machuca playing at the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum at 7pm. There is also an after party following the screening at Doña Emilia’s South American Bar and Grill (101 San Jacinto Blvd.) more ›