A MEXICAN CELEBRATION FEATURING WORLD-CLASS ART, FASHION, MUSIC, CRAFTS, STREET FOOD, WORLD RECORDS AND A DAY OF THE DEAD CELEBRATION!
iVAMOS! brings Mexico to Liverpool! A Mexican celebration of life in the pool of life!
On September 16, Mexican Day of Independence, iVAMOS! announced it is to bring a Mexican celebration featuring world class art, fashion, music, craft, street food, world records including a Day of the Dead celebration, to the splendor of St George’s Hall, Liverpool.
iVAMOS! – the award-winning national festival of Spanish and Portuguese cultures – will fill St George’s beautiful Great Hall with an audience of Calavera (the popular Mexican skull painted faces) in an attempt to break the world-record for the most together at the same time.
The Day of the Dead extravaganza takes place on October 31 – featuring a mass Day of the Dead shrine, Lucha Libre, Mariachi, Latin Rock and Roll, Mexican Djs street food and of course tequila!
iVAMOS!’s packed cultural schedule of events, running into next year, will also include exhibitions of world-famous Mexican artist Frida Khalo and the first UK exhibition of internationally renowned Mexican fashion designer Manuel Cuevas – who trained under the legendary Nudie Cohn and whose clothes have dressed everyone from The Beatles to Dolly Parton.
With more events to be announced in the coming months, including Liverpool/Mexico focused visual art and fashion commissions, Mexican craft activities and music will be brought to Liverpool which is host to the UK’s largest concentration of Latin American communities outside London.
iVAMOS! Director Nik Barrera said: “Liverpool, as a long-standing international port, has a thriving Latin community and so it has always been at the top of my mind when it comes to bringing iVAMOS! to a wider audience.
“We’re working with the local community and artists in addition to bringing in some of the best-known and respected names in Mexico to Liverpool.
“Through our partnership with the Government of Mexico and Instituto Cervantes and as part of the dual year of “Year of Mexico in the United Kingdom” and the “Year of the United Kingdom in Mexico” in 2015 we’ve got a strong Mexican influence for this festival which we are delighted to be announcing in the coming months.”
Emma Foxall, Director of Liverpool-based Monkey Mind Productions who is working with iVAMOS! to bring the festival to the city, said: “I am thrilled to be able to reveal this series of events which will bring artists and performers of international calibre to Liverpool for the first time.
“We’ve got some headline-grabbing acts already secured and we will be revealing a host of other big names over the coming months.”
‘Frida and Me’ will open Monday, October 26 at Liverpool Central Library. The first UK presentation of ‘Frida and Me’ a dynamic and engaging exhibition specifically designed for children, young people and families allowing the perfect entry point to the official launch to the iVAMOS! Liverpool programme.
The exhibition invites children to experience the inventiveness, power and magic of Kahlo’s work in a tangible and active way. It uses the self- portrait theme to present activities that allow young people to question and research about the artist’s life as well as their own lives.
Frida and Me was originally commissioned by and premiered at the Pompidou Centre in Paris, Liverpool is the second place in the world to receive it. It runs until January 3.
iVAMOS! Dead of the Dead extravaganza is taking place on October 31 in St George’s main Hall, Liverpool.
iVAMOS! is a nationally-renowned festival which has been running in the North East of England for a decade – and this year sees it move to Liverpool for the first time.
For more information regarding iVAMOS! Liverpool and to register your interest visit www.vamosfestival.com
iVAMOS! has delivered 380 events to an audience of over 300,000 and is supported by Arts Council England, Newcastle University, Instituto Cervantes and the Government of Mexico as part of the Year of Mexico in UK 2015.
In celebrating Spanish and Portuguese speaking cultures, iVAMOS! combines cuisine, art, film, theatre, dance, music, literature, fashion, sport and education offering an international festival appealing to partners and diverse mainstream audiences.
