Season 2, Episode 5: Behind every summer is a community that keeps Fire Island alive. This episode explores the history of the beloved Pines Pantry through the eyes of its iconic Pantry Girls, alongside the volunteer firefighters of The Pines and Cherry Grove who protect the island from fires, hurricanes, beach erosion, and an uncertain future.
MÉXICO NOW FESTIVAL Returns to NYC With AMERICAN PACHUCO, CAFÉ TACVBA
The festival will showcase director David Alvarado's documentary, a celebration of CAFÉ TACVBA's album Re, and author Valeria Luiselli's work.
By: A.A. Cristi
From the revolutionary theater of Chicano icon Luis Valdez to the genre-defying music of Café Tacvba, the literary imagination of Valeria Luiselli, and the boundary-pushing jazz of Patricia Brennan, México Now Festival (MXNOW) returns November 17–20 for four days celebrating the extraordinary creativity, diversity, and cultural impact of contemporary Mexico.
Now in its 23rd edition, México Now Festival is New York City's first and only independent festival dedicated to contemporary Mexican art and culture. This year's program brings together internationally recognized artists, filmmakers, musicians, writers, and architects whose work challenges conventions, crosses borders, and reimagines Mexican identity for a global audience.
Presented at leading New York cultural institutions, including the Instituto Cervantes, NYU, The Center for Fiction, and the Americas Society, the festival offers five events spanning documentary film, architecture, literature, and live music. Most events are free with registration, reaffirming MXNOW's commitment to making contemporary Mexican culture accessible to all.
'We are excited to present our 23rd edition, featuring award-winning artists and projects focused on environmental themes, reshaping identities through contemporary music and literature, and highlighting the arts' importance in the human rights movement,' says Claudia Norman, founder, director, and producer of México Now Festival. 'We are committed to keeping the past, present, and future of Mexican culture at the center of innovation on the global stage.'
FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS
AMERICAN PACHUCO: THE LEGEND OF LUIS VALDEZ OPENS THE FESTIVAL
Tuesday, November 17 | 7:30 PM | INSTITUTO CERVANTES NY
México Now Festival opens with a special screening of American Pachuco: The Legend of Luis Valdez, a documentary celebrating one of the most influential figures in Chicano theater and American cinema. Directed by David Alvarado, the film chronicles the remarkable journey of Luis Valdez, the visionary playwright, filmmaker, and activist who founded El Teatro Campesino during the farmworkers' movement of the 1960s, brought Chicano stories to Broadway with Zoot Suit, and introduced generations of audiences to the enduring musical drama La Bamba.
Through rare archival footage and interviews featuring Edward James Olmos, Lou Diamond Phillips, Cheech Marin, Dolores Huerta, and Linda Ronstadt, the documentary explores how Valdez transformed cultural resistance into groundbreaking theater and cinema, opening doors for Latino storytelling in the United States.
Presented in collaboration with CortoCircuito Latino Shortfest of NY and in partnership with Instituto Cervantes
REIMAGINING MEXICO CITY: WHEN WATER BECOMES PUBLIC SPACE
Wednesday, November 18 | 6:00 PM | NYU Silver Center for Arts and Science
How can a city's water infrastructure become a catalyst for environmental innovation and public life?
Fábrica de Agua / Mexico City: New Futures brings together Daniel Holguín and Dan Perlin of Multiplicities, alongside NYU environmental studies scholar Dean Chahim, to explore new approaches to water, ecology, and urban design in one of the world's largest cities.
The conversation examines how infrastructure can be transformed into productive, visible, and accessible civic space, offering new perspectives on the environmental future of Mexico City.
Presented in collaboration with the NYU Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies.
CAFÉ TACVBA'S RE: THE ALBUM THAT REDEFINED MEXICAN ROCK
Thursday, November 19 | 6:00 PM | The Center for Fiction, Brooklyn
More than three decades after its release, Café Tacvba's landmark 1994 album Re continues to resonate as one of the most adventurous and influential recordings in Latin American rock.
MXNOW celebrates the album through 33 1/3: Re. New Perspectives on Café Tacvba, a conversation marking the publication of Bloomsbury's new volume in its acclaimed 33 1/3 series and the first in the collection dedicated to Mexican music.
Author Carmelo Esterrich, DJ and writer Gabriel Feijóo, and journalist Mayra Mangal revisit the album's extraordinary fusion of rock, traditional Mexican sounds, experimentation, and cultural identity, exploring why its music remains so relevant today.
Presented in collaboration with The Center for Fiction.
VALERIA LUISELLI TRANSFORMS LITERATURE INTO AN IMMERSIVE SOUND EXPERIENCE
Thursday, November 19 | 7:30 PM | The Center for Fiction, Brooklyn
What happens when a novel becomes something we can hear, feel, and inhabit?
Internationally acclaimed Mexican writer Valeria Luiselli joins sound designer Charles de Montebello for Beginning Middle End: Fragments from a Sonic Novel, an experimental literary experience that expands storytelling beyond the printed page.
Blending narrative with field recordings of wind, rain, and volcanic rumblings captured across Sicily and the Aeolian Islands, this sonic adaptation of Luiselli's new novel invites audiences into an immersive world where language, memory, and sound converge.
Presented in collaboration with The Center for Fiction.
PATRICIA BRENNAN TRIO BRINGS A BOLD NEW SOUND TO THE FESTIVAL'S CLOSING NIGHT
Friday, November 20 | 7:00 PM | Americas Society
México Now Festival concludes with an electrifying performance by the Patricia Brennan Trio, led by internationally acclaimed Mexican-born vibraphonist and composer Patricia Brennan, recognized as Vibraphonist of the Year and Album of the Year winner in the 2026 DownBeat Magazine Critics Poll.
Joined by bassist Kim Cass and drummer Noel Brennan, Brennan creates a captivating musical universe that moves between contemporary jazz, experimental composition, and ambient minimalism.
'Performing at México Now Festival is deeply meaningful to me. Mexican culture, history, and spirit have always been woven into the fabric of my music,' says Brennan. 'My Mexican roots and heritage remain an essential part of who I am and of the music I create. The sounds, rhythms, memories, and traditions I grew up with continue to shape my artistic voice and resonate across borders.'
The concert promises a fitting finale to a festival dedicated to artists who transcend genres, challenge expectations, and carry Mexican cultural traditions into new creative territories.
Presented in collaboration with Music of the Americas at Americas Society.
ABOUT MXNOW: 23 YEARS OF BRINGING MEXICAN CULTURE TO NEW YORK
Founded in 2004 by award-winning curator and producer Claudia Norman of CN Management, México Now Festival has become an important platform for contemporary Mexican artistic expression in New York City.
Over more than two decades, the festival has presented more than 500 artists in collaboration with over 150 cultural institutions, reaching tens of thousands of audience members across all five boroughs.
By bringing Mexican and Mexican American artists into dialogue with U.S.-based creators inspired by Mexican traditions and perspectives, MXNOW continues to build cultural bridges and expand the understanding of Mexico's evolving artistic identity.
At a time when cultural exchange and cross-border conversations are more essential than ever, México Now Festival reminds audiences that art has the power to connect communities, challenge assumptions, and inspire new ways of seeing the world.
Broadway news in your inbox
Weekly top stories - unsubscribe anytime.
Weekly top stories - unsubscribe anytime.
Popular episode
.gif?width=300)
Tickets From $70
Tickets From $135
Tickets From $58
Tickets From $67