All Events
Cup of Culture
Pelo Malo (Bad Hair)
MCC THEATER
Junior is nine years old and has curly hair, or “bad hair.” He wants to straighten his hair for his yearbook picture. Junior’s obsession with straightening his hair elicits a tidal wave of homophobic panic in his mother. She finds it increasingly difficult to tolerate Junior’s personality and tries to induce him into ‘macho’ ways, convinced his obsessions are in fact signs of his undefined sexuality. Pelo Malo is a Venezuelan film that addresses race, intolerance, hair, and sexuality in Latin America. 93 min., Spanish with English subtitles, 2013, Venezuela.
An Evening of Vietnamese Music The V’AV
MCC THEATER
Emmy Award-winning artist Vân Ánh Vo dedicates her life to creating music on the dan Tranh (16-string zither). She fuses her traditional Vietnamese foundation with freshness in new structures and compositions. Vân Ánh will take the audience on a journey to Vietnam through this performance of traditional sounds of North, Central, and South Vietnam will blend with modern Western soundscapes as Vân Ánh presents solo works and collaborative performances with her ensemble The VA’V. Tickets $5 UCSB Students and Children under 12/$15 general. Contact the A.S. Ticket Office at 805-893-2064 or buy online at www.mcc.ucsb.edu (extra fees apply). Limited Seating.
Dreaming of Selena Twenty Years Later Deborah Paredez
MCC LOUNGE
2015 marks the 20th anniversary of the passing of Selena Quintanilla Perez. How and where does Selena's legacy persist? What does her continued afterlife--or cultural amnesia about her--tell us about current struggles and triumphs faced by Latinas/os in the US? Deborah Paredez is an Associate Professor of English at the University of Texas-Austin.
Cup of Culture
Let the Fire Burn
MCC THEATER
Using only archival news coverage and interviews, filmmaker Jason Osder has brought to life one of the most tumultuous clashes between government and citizens in modern American history in Let the Fire Burn. On May 13, 1985, a feud between the city of Philadelphia and radical urban group MOVE came to a deadly climax. By order of local authorities, police dropped military-grade explosives onto a MOVE-occupied rowhouse. TV cameras captured the conflagration which quickly escalated—resulting in the tragic deaths of eleven people (including five children. It was later discovered that authorities decided to “...let the fire burn.” Discussion with Dr. Diane Fujino following the screening. 95 min., English, 2013, US.
