November First Thursday with Sávila
Celebrate Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) with Sávila, cumbia/latin/world/r&b inspired music and visual art project of Fabiola Reyna, vocalist Brisa Gonzalez and percussionist extraordinaire Papi Fimbres. Enjoy Mexican cuisine, complimentary drinks, live DJs, colorful face painting with Portland artist Maria Joan Dixon, and folkloric dance with St. Johns Ballet Folklorico as we celebrate mortality in A Life.
Event Details
5 – 6 p.m. — Live music from Sávila
5 – 7:15 p.m. — Face painting with Maria Joan Dixon
6 – 6:30 p.m. — St. Johns Ballet Folklorico dance and Dia de los Muertos performance
6:30 – 7:15 p.m. — DJ Suavecito, DJ Papi Fimbres and DJ Delaselva will play traditional cumbia/latin/world/r&b inspired music until doors open for A Life in the Ellyn Bye Studio.
About Sávila
Sávila is a medicinal plant that grows wild in tropical climates all over the world as well as the name of cumbia/latin/world/r&b inspired music and visual art project by guitarist Fabiola Reyna, vocalist Brisa Gonzalez and percussionist extraordinaire Papi Fimbres.
Inspired by female musicians from multiple genres, including electronic, tejano, pop, world music, R&B and cumbia, and driven by their cultural backgrounds and life experiences, Gonzalez and Reyna are on a mission to create music that is therapeutic and moving for any audience. Expertly weaving traditional and contemporary elements into their own unique sound, the band combines hypnotic surf riffs from Fabi Reyna's guitar with Brisa Gonzalez's soothing vocals that glide from English to Spanish between percussionist Papi Fimbres' restrained drumming as the backdrop. It’s passionate, captivating and has an underlying darkness that creates depth and mystery.
About St. Johns Ballet Folklorico
Maestra Anna started the St. Johns Ballet Folklorico in 2008 to help people celebrate the connection to their Mexican heritage by learning the traditional dances and music of Mexico. Over the years, they have performed in parades, school events, private parties, fundraisers, and community festivals. The Folklorico community is enriched by the unique abilities and talents of each dancer and program support person. Dance classes are held free of charge. Anyone with a passion for dance, and the willingness to commit to the program is welcome to join -regardless of their current skill level. See you at practice!
About the DJ's
DJ Suavecito
Suavecito (Fabi Reyna) is part of Noche Libre, a Latinx Femme DJ collective featuring DJs Black Daria (Jené Etheridge), Bombón (Tatiana Marina Hernández de Hildner), Lucha (Luz Elena Mendoza), Mami Miami (Emilly Prado), Suavecito (Fabi Reyna), Tita (Diana Suarez), and Xolotl (Yuriko Zubia.) Although unofficially launched in 2017, the collective celebrated their official launch on July 29, 2018.
Noche Libre spins the songs of their childhood and are ready to throw down pachangas in Portland. From cumbias to reggaeton and rancheras to dancehall, nothing is off limits as they explore the sounds of Latin America. Book them for your next event, or stop by Dig a Pony every third Thursday to hear a rotating lineup of our hella fuego DJs.
DJ Papi Fimbres
Papi Fimbres is one of Portland's busiest musicians and as part of a panorama of bands, including psychedelic cumbia group Savila, cumbia-centric Orquestra Pacifico Tropical, experimental prog-punk band Sun Angle, and the decadent electro-funk-pop band Minden, he continues to expand his skills and introduce new audiences to his many styles.
DJ Delaselva
Delaselva is the later-ego of Savila vocalist Brisa Gonzalez and she will take turns with her band mates as DJ for the night, while playing traditional cumbia/latin/world/r&b inspired music for The Armory crowds.
About Face Painter Maria Joan Dixon
Maria Joan Dixon is a born and raised Portland painter. Teaching herself acrylic painting since childhood, Dixon developed her graffiti handle in 2005, moving to oil paints in 2010 and creating then her classic graffiti genre. Her work was most recently shown at New Image Art Gallery in Los Angeles, CA—as the only female graffiti artist in the DRUGS crew—and was previously exhibited in Portland, OR at Breeze Block Gallery, Sugar Gallery, and Stumptown Downtown.
Dixon is a staple of Portland identity, having created album covers for Adrian Orange, Valet, Swan Island, and Eternal Tapestry (upcoming), and murals for Rad Summer, The Box Social, and Sol Republic Headquarters. See her work and designs on her site below:
Current & Upcoming
July First Thursday with Pablo Rivarola
July First Thursday will feature live music by the Pablo Rivarola Trio, along with art installations by Krystal Perez and Orlando Almanza, and complimentary beer from our partners at Deschutes Brewery!
JAW Play Reading: The Sugar Hole
By Virginia Baeta and Amy Driesler
A rent increase for a legendary lesbian bar threatens its existence, and Darcy has a plan to save it. Is the 90's-themed Lesbian Pageant she dreams up as a fundraiser the answer? Or do the lesbians around her have different ideas about what needs to be saved? The Sugar Hole skips through time and space - real and imagined - exploring what it means to be a lesbian in a lesbian community, the importance of spaces for queer people, and what makes someone feel they belong.
JAW Play Reading: Teen Playwrights Showcase
Don’t miss this chance to experience some of the newest voices in theater! Four young playwrights have been commissioned by PCS to write short scripts for JAW. This showcase will feature the dynamic short scripts they’ve developed, performed by professional actors.
JAW Play Reading: Out There
Created by William Carlos Angulo, Isaac Gómez & Michelle J. Rodriguez
Music & Lyrics by Michelle J Rodriguez
Book by Isaac Gómez
When MJ, a once-great musician turned recluse, summons his best friends to his beach house with a "code red," old tensions and buried secrets resurface as the characters confront their shared pasts and uncertain futures. A PCS Commission, Out There is a richly layered story about family, love, and redemption told through the intersecting lives of three lifelong best friends—MJ, David, and Lars—and the people bound to them: Marcus, Feli, Joe, Dayana, and Kahliah. Set against storm-lashed coastlines, intimate hotel rooms, and bustling cityscapes, Out There invites audiences into a surreal world, portraying an unprecedented portrait of a modern family that feels both deeply personal and universally resonant.
JAW Play Reading: Say Gay Plays
Conceived in response to the 2022 passage of Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill, Voyage Theater Company Founding Artistic Director Wayne Maugans’ SAY GAY PLAYS offers royalty-free short plays by queer playwrights to not-for-profit theatre companies, arts organizations, and educational institutions for local activism and fundraising for LGBTQ+ communities across America. In a collaboration between Say Gay Plays, Fuse Theatre Ensemble and Portland Center Stage, JAW will feature an evening of these short plays, sharing work from playwrights across the country and a brand new commission by Portland playwright Carlos-Zenen Trujillo.
Improvisation Classes for Beginners
Whether you're looking to get more confident in social situations, think quicker on your feet, or get in touch with your imaginative side, these "one-off" improv classes will set you on the path to success!
Portland Center Stage is committed to identifying & interrupting instances of racism & all forms of oppression, through the principles of inclusion, diversity, equity, & accessibility (IDEA).
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