A free concert by singer Julieta Venegas and a mass ballet class directed by renowned dancer Elisa Carrillo Cabrera will help Mexico City commemorate International Women’s Day next month.
The two Mexican superstars will appear in person on March 16 and 17, respectively, at the Zócalo, the capital city’s central plaza that can hold upwards of 100,000 people.
While International Women’s Day is March 8, the Zócalo is being held open that day for women’s rallies and speeches.
“It is a fundamental day of mobilization and, therefore, it has all the respect and guarantees from the government of Mexico City,” said interim CDMX Mayor Martí Batres. “The Zócalo will be free for women’s gatherings on March 8. I make it very clear so that there is no confusion.”
Overall, there will be more than 120 activities at more than 90 locations in Mexico City during the Tiempo de Mujeres (Time for Women) festival, held March 1 through March 17 — including service fairs, films, conferences and workshops.
One of the events is a March 1 show at Teatro de la Ciudad (City Theater) in which 77-year-old American punk rock legend Patti Smith will perform a concert that combines poetry, music and images.
Smith will kick off the sixth annual Tiempo de Mujeres festival, which this year is subtitled “Festival for Equality.” It aims to recognize women’s social struggle through spaces that promote their artistic, cultural, political, scientific and educational work.
The exhibit “Eyes of a Flying Woman” by Patricia Aridjis at the Photography Archive Museum is part of the lineup, as is a presentation at Teatro de la Ciudad of the Ka’ux Women’s Philharmonic Band from Oaxaca’s Mixe community.
A new mural by artist Eva Bracamontes will be unveiled at the FARO Oriente cultural center in Mexico City’s Iztapalapa borough, and a tribute will be paid to filmmaker María Novaro, 72, who was among the first generation of female filmmakers to graduate from a film school in Mexico.
The Venegas concert — which will also feature Vanessa Zamora, Laura Itandehui and Girl Ultra — is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. March 16 at the Zócalo, with the Carrillo ballet class the next day at 9 a.m. Both events are free.
Venegas is well known in Latin America for her 2006 album and hit song “Limón y Sal” (Lime and Salt) and her worldwide hit “Me Voy” (I’m Leaving). Born in Long Beach, California, in 1970, the indie-pop star grew up in Tijuana.
Carrillo, the dancer, was born in 1981 in the municipality of Texcoco in México state and is a principal dancer with the world-renowned Berlin State Ballet. She has won the three most important international ballet awards, becoming the only Mexican and first Latin American to do so.
Her free class will turn the Zócalo into “the largest dance classroom in the world,” wrote the newspaper El Economista.
Mexico City’s Ministry of Culture has more information about the festival on its Facebook page, its account on the X social media site and on its website.
With reports from La Jornada, Milenio and El Economista
