Portland observer., October 31, 2012, Page 7, Image 7

October31, 2012_____________________________Cl,«
^ o rtlanh ©bscrUer_______________________ Page 7
photo by
R ussell J Y oung
Miracle Theatre Group explores the juncture between our world and the world of the dead in Raiz, a bilingual celebration of Dia de los muertos on stage at Milagro
Theatre in southeast Portland through Nov. 11.
A Juncture between Worlds
Theater group
celebrates Day
of the Dead
E very year, the dead have been
com m em orated in P o rtlan d ’s lo n g ­
est-running D ia de los m uertos c e l­
ebration.
T h ro u g h m usic, dance and leg­
end, P o rtla n d ’s p rem ier L atino arts
and culture group, the M iracle T h e ­
ater G roup, explores the thin veil
that separates o u r w orld from the
w orld o f o u r indigenous ancestors.
In R aiz, a C elebration o f the D ay
o f the D ead, a cabal o f A ztec gods
have fallen out o f fav o r in the m o d ­
e m w orld and seek to revive their
re le v an c e by re u n itin g a y o u n g
clow n w ith his departed partner,
A u g u stin a.
T im e turns backw ard as perform ­
ers unearth the interw oven roots o f
pre-H ispanic custom s and traditions
found at the ju n c tu re o f life and
death.
D irected by A rturo M artinini in
his first production w ith M iracle
T heatre G roup and U .S. debut, the
w orld prem iere o f R aiz is currently
show ing T hursdays at 7:30 p.m .,
Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m . and
S undays at 2 p.m . through N ov. 11
at M ilagro Theatre, 525 S.E. Stark St.
T ic k e ts c an b e p u rc h a se d from
m ilagro.org o r 503-236-7253.
Prior to Sunday ’ s m atinee on Nov.
4, b eginning at 11:30 a.m ., the Los
P orteños w riters group w ill present
original stories and poetry w ritten
fo r the D ay o f the D ead.
A free ex h ib it o f D ay o f the D ead
altars created by local L atino artists
w ill be on display one hour p rio r to
each perform ance in El Z ócalo, a
com m unity space adjacent to the
theatre lobby.
M artinini began his career at a
very young age as actor, director and
filmmaker. He has directed and toured
with several theatre com panies (per­
form ing w orks from Lorca, Pasolini,
Shakespeare and Barry), and has
worked as an independent film m aker
for notable organizations in Europe.
The sh o w ’s ensem ble includes
E n riq u e E. A n d ra d e , S a ra Fay
G oldm an, N urys H errera, Ed Lyons,
Juan A n to n io M artin ez, A lb erto
R om ero, Z oe R udm an, and M aria
Sanchez.
F o r m o re th an 28 y e a rs, the
M iracle T heatre G ro u p has been
dedicated to brin g in g the vibrancy
o f L atino theatre to the N orthw est
com m unity.
In addition to its national tours.
M iracle provides a hom e for S pan­
ish and Latin A m erican arts and
culture at El C entro M ilagro, w here
it enriches the local com m unity with
a variety o f com m unity outreach
projects and educational program s
desig n ed to share the diversity o f
L atino culture.
Get Help Paying Your Rent
Rent assistance is available for eligible low-income individuals and families. We áre accepting
online applications for our Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher waiting list from November 1
through November 10, 2012. The waiting list for this popular program only opens every few
years, so don't miss this opportunity.
Visit www.homeforward.org to learn more about the waiting list opening and our simple,
quick online application process.
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homeforward
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