Kimmel Center Cultural Campus Celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month With SONGS YOU LEFT BEHIND

The Kimmel Center Cultural Campus honors Hispanic Heritage Month with Songs You Left Behind, a celebration of culture shared by representatives from various Latin American countries. Attendees are invited to listen to music, hear personal stories, and share the emotions and experiences from members of the Latin American community as they share what they've left behind and what they carry with them.

Wherever it's memories from the music of our childhood, songs sung by our families & neighbors, or tunes heard on the radio - wherever we're from - we all have songs that remind us of home.

The evening will feature Mexican-American, Philadelphia-based artist Karina Puente. Puente is the designer behind Look Up! Look In., an exhibition of 53 hand-cut Papel Picado panels currently suspended above the Kimmel Center's Commonwealth Plaza. Puente, alongside musical collaborator Vessna Scheff, will share the in-depth story behind her process & the creation of Papel Picado.

This will be the 6th year of this FREE event, part of the Kimmel Center's Hispanic Heritage Month celebrations. Hispanic Heritage Month continues all year long on the Cultural Campus with La NOCHE, a monthly FREE program presented by PNC Arts Alive. Mixing the worlds of music and the Latin culture, La NOCHE provides a fun night out for music and dance lovers alike, with two live bands - one from Philadelphia, the other from a different Latin country each month. Alongside the Mexican Consulate and the Mexican Cultural Center, the Kimmel Center welcomes all to take part in one of the most celebrated holidays among the Hispanic and Latino communities - Three Kings Day. The 4th annual evening, on Saturday, January 4, at 4 p.m. will consist of many traditions and activities, fun for everyone.

Karina Puente's Look Up! Look In is part of the Kimmel Center Cultural Campus' ongoing Commonwealth Plaza activation and FREE programming. This exhibition is commissioned by the Kimmel Center, and is paired with Los Trompos through November 17.

"Papel Picado", or "perforated paper/pecked paper", originally derived from the Aztecs, specifically within the San Salvador Huixcolotla area of Mexico, and is created by crafting shapes into paper. Papel picado is also at times associated with air as an element.

Headed by Puente, Karina Puente Arts International is a female-run, Philadelphia-based studio. Puente's work has been displayed at Columbia University, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Studios at Mass MoCA, Corcoran National Gallery, Miami MoCA, Weeksville Heritage Center in Brooklyn, the Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe, and Elverhoj Museum of History and Art.

Puente credits her upbringing and heritage when speaking of the papel picado artform: "My custom, hand cut patterns root my practice in tradition and keep me connected to ancestors. Weekly family calls with my Tias in Santa Barbara always result in an AHA! moment. Through the exhibition Look Up! Look In, my aim is to articulate the spark of a new idea, arrive at solution-oriented thinking, and fly high during this important cultural moment."

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