Urban Voices

September 8, 2016

An experimental platform for artists in Mexico

“Platoon Mexico City” is a venue for Mexican artists that inspires new thoughts by hosting various art projects and workshops. Marcello Dato is the director of “Platoon Mexico City.” He is this week’s Urban Voice.

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March 13, 2016

Photographer Bego Anton travels the US

This week’s Urban Voice on “Americas Now” is a photographer and filmmaker who believes her camera allows her to enter new and mysterious worlds she would otherwise not be able to access.

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January 31, 2016

Stargazing at the National Portrait Gallery in DC

Usually when we think about the word “portrait” we think of an oil painting or photograph with the subject in a formal pose. But a new exhibit at The National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC is re-inventing the notion of a “portrait” in a new […]

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December 6, 2015

Father and daughter capture Mexican society in photographs

A Mexican photographer who began taking some of the first color photographs of Mexican society back in the 1970’s, inspired his daughter to follow his lead behind the lens. She joined his professional photography business and began taking photos as well – of Mexico’s upper-middle […]

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Buenos Aires street artist paints the town
August 23, 2015

Buenos Aires street artist paints the town

A 23-year-old street artist from Argentina is painting the town red – and other colors too. Her name is Fio Sliva. She is an emerging talent and her work can be seen in Buenos Aires and its suburbs.

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July 26, 2015

Trombonist Papo Vazquez at The Kennedy Center

Sometimes life’s challenges can turn you into a pioneer. Take the case of one musician who is our Urban Voice this week. Papo Vazquez spent his childhood growing up on the rough streets of Philadephia and his family’s native Puerto Rico. It was then he […]

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Los Van Van
May 17, 2015

Los Van Van: the sounds that defined an era in Cuban music

Los Van Van has been called the undisputed king of Cuban dance orchestras, and one of the most influential forces of Afro-Cuban music. The band, founded in 1969 by Juan Formell, has transcended the musical sphere to represent the modern ethos of this Caribbean Island.

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Carlee Fernandez’ sculptural hybrids
May 8, 2015

Carlee Fernandez’ sculptural hybrids

The Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery in Washington is currently offering an exhibit focusing on the contemporary portraits of six U.S. Latino artists. Under the title Portraiture Now: Staging the Self, these creative and often experimental works challenge our traditional view of a portrait.

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April 12, 2015

Washington’s hidden underground station

As the capital of the United States, Washington, D.C. is widely known for its architecture. Classical structures like the White House and The U.S. Capitol abound.  But for this week’s Urban Voice, Americas Now visited a site in the city which has a strikingly modern […]

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Urban Voices: the Queen of Cumbia in the US capital
March 27, 2015

Urban Voices: the Queen of Cumbia in the US capital

More than 1.7 million Salvadorans live in the United States with about 240,000 residing in the Washington, D.C. area. Most of them arrived in the 1980s and 1990s, fleeing a country torn by a civil war that left over 75,000 people dead.

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March 1, 2015

Mas Paz seeks to make peace through art, giving

This week in Urban Voices talked with an artist who has blended his work with a cause. His name is Federico, but he goes by the name “Mas Paz,” which means more peace in Spanish. His signature traits are quite recognizable and reminiscent of indigenous alphabets […]

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Artist Luisa Alvarez creates thoughtful illuminations
January 18, 2015

Artist Luisa Alvarez creates thoughtful illuminations

Americas Now is introducing a new segment “Urban Voices” that focuses on the many artistic endeavors in the Washington D.C. area and their impact on the Americas. Each week, we will feature the voice of a creator behind an artistic project.

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