Arts & Entertainment
Dorian Wood tribute to Chavela set for US premiere
Iconoclastic non-binary musician Dorian Wood is taking the stage in Los Angeles this weekend for the US premiere of their new show, “Xavela Lux Aeterna,” paying tribute to the legacy of queer Latinx musical legend Chavela Vargas.
2019 marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of the Mexican-Costa Rican singer, and Dorian’s performance piece celebrates her musical beauty, passion and pain with an evening of songs she popularized, interwoven with original compositions and folk music from Costa Rica, and interpreted by Dorian’s distinctly powerful voice.
Accompanying Dorian is a prestigious chamber orchestra under the direction of Spanish artist Alberto Montero, and acclaimed singers San Cha and Carmina Escobar.
According to publicity materials: “The road to Chavela – she of resplendent soul and a voice filled with fury, pain and ardor – has been both a Holy Grail and a journey of self-reflection. Between the similarities of both artists there is another journey; an exploration that puts in its trajectory the nakedness of the soul, the renunciation of homeland and the plea to a world that bears on its hands the blood of the marginalization of human beings. ’Xavela Lux Aeterna’ is both a tribute and a dialogue between two creative souls passing through one single body.
Dorian says, “To those of us who have been pushed aside by society, Chavela is a divine presence. I feel an intense connection to this great artist, beginning with the common aspects we both possess in terms of sexuality, origin and date of birth, and culminating with the greatest defiance, which is to live as one desires, with scars and kisses and everything. With ‘Xavela Lux Aeterna’, I am interested in exploring her ‘whys’ with great respect and reverence, and I invite the audience to join me in this exploration.”
Dorian premiered their tribute to Chavela in April 2019, at the prestigious Festival de Arte Sacro in Spain, and they toured Europe and Mexico through the summer and fall. This weekend’s dates in Los Angeles mark the U.S. premiere of the performance.
“Xavela Lux Aeterna” will perform Friday and Saturday, Nov. 22-23, at REDCAT in downtown Los Angeles.
Celebrity News
Madonna announces release date for new album
‘Confessions II’ marks return to the dance floor
Pop icon Madonna on Wednesday announced that her 15th studio album will be released on July 3.
Titled “Confessions II,” the new album is a sequel to 2005’s “Confessions on a Dance Floor,” an Abba and disco-infused hit.
The new album reunites Madonna with producer Stuart Price, who also helmed the original “Confessions” album. It’s her first album of new material since 2019’s “Madame X.”
“We must dance, celebrate, and pray with our bodies,” Madonna said in a press release. “These are things that we’ve been doing for thousands of years — they really are spiritual practices. After all, the dance floor is a ritualistic space. It’s a place where you connect — with your wounds, with your fragility. To rave is an art. It’s about pushing your limits and connecting to a community of like-minded people,” continued the statement. “Sound, light, and vibration reshape our perceptions. Pulling us into a trance-like state. The repetition of the bass, we don’t just hear it but we feel it. Altering our consciousness and dissolving ego and time.”
Denali (@denalifoxx) of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” performed at Pitchers DC on April 9 for the Thirst Trap Thursday drag show. Other performers included Cake Pop!, Brooke N Hymen, Stacy Monique-Max and Silver Ware Sidora.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
Arts & Entertainment
In an act of artistic defiance, Baltimore Center Stage stays focused on DEI
‘Maybe it’s a triple-down’
By LESLIE GRAY STREETER | I’m always tickled when people complain about artists “going political.” The inherent nature of art, of creation and free expression, is political. This becomes obvious when entire governments try to threaten it out of existence, like in 2025, when the brand-new presidential administration demanded organizations halt so-called diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programming or risk federal funding.
Baltimore Center Stage’s response? A resounding and hearty “Nah.” A year later, they’re still doubling down on diversity.
“Maybe it’s a triple-down,” said Ken-Matt Martin, the theater’s producing director, chuckling.
The rest of this article can be found on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
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