Rockefeller Center
47th to 50th Sts. between Fifth & Sixth Aves.
October 25-30
www.revealingmexico.com
www.rockefellercenter.com
In 1810, Mexico declared its independence from Spain. One hundred years later, the Mexican Revolution began, seeking political and social change in the country. In honor of the two events, one celebrating its bicentennial, the other its centennial, Mexican culture will be invading Rockefeller Center this week, built around a photography exhibit and book signing for John Mack and Susanne Steines’s REVEALING MEXICO (powerHouse, September 2010, $75). “Both the good things and the bad things have shown themselves to us within a short amount of time, and both have shown themselves with extreme intensity: the marvelous magic of Mexican culture and the gruesome social reality of the country,” Mack and Steines write in the book’s authors’ note. “We discovered very soon that the reasons for Mexico’s contradictions are highly complex. We also understood that it would be difficult for anybody having lived in this country for longer than ten years to still be able, after such a time span, to borrow power from the amazement that Mexican culture inspires and to use this power to call for an overcoming of anything that keeps Mexico from moving toward a dignified future.” While states such as Arizona have clamped down on foreigners, New York City will once again be opening its doors; in addition to the photo display, there will be Mexican opera and Mariachi music in the skating rink, a free concert by the Nortec Collective’s Bostich + Fussible, a meet-and-greet with Mexico’s soccer captain, Rafael Márquez, and specially prepared Mexican cuisine at the Rock Center Café, Iguana, Toloache, Yerba Buena, Café Frida, Crema, El Aquila, Casa Vieja, Barrio, Hecho en Dumbo, the Taco Truck, and La Palapa.
AMERICAN SPLENDOR is a vastly creative and entertaining love story should have been nominated for more than just a Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar. Paul Giamatti stars as Cleveland comic-book writer and all-around schlub Harvey Pekar, with Hope Davis as his neurotic girlfriend, Joyce. The marvelous script and unique visuals, which mimic comic-book panels, are joined by appearances by the real characters discussing how they are portrayed in the film and what their life is really like. You’ll think that Judah Friedlander is overplaying ultimate nerd Toby Radloff until you meet the real thing. The interweaving of fiction and reality is masterful. The film is screening as part of IFC’s Tuesday night series Stranger Than Fiction, hosted by Thom Powers and Raphaela Neihausen, and will be followed by a Q&A with star Giamatti, producer Ted Hope, artist-collaborator Dean Haspiel, and directors Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini; the discussion is sure to take on added meaning since Pekar’s death this past July at the age of seventy.
