Luis Valdez to appear at El Paso's Plaza Classic Film Festival with 2 film screenings
Legendary writer and director Luis Valdez is the first guest announced for the 2025 Plaza Classic Film Festival.
This will be the 18th year for the El Paso Community Foundation's film series, which will run from July 17-27 in and around the Plaza Theatre.
Valdez will appear for on-stage interviews before two of his classic movies — 1987's "La Bamba", about Mexican American rocker Ritchie Valens, at 7 p.m. Friday, July 18, and "Zoot Suit" (1981), considered the first major Chicano feature film, at 3 p.m. Saturday, July 19. Both events will take place at the Plaza Theatre.
Tickets for each program will be $10 and will go on sale with the rest of the Plaza Classic Film Festival schedule, starting Tuesday, June 10, at the Plaza Theatre box office (no service fees) and Ticketmaster.com (with service fees).
Valdez is one of the most important American playwrights and filmmakers living today. He has been successful in theater, television and film.
He wrote "Zoot Suit," which explored Los Angeles' racially motivated Sleepy Lagoon murder trial of 1942 and 'Zoot Suit Riots' of 1943, debuted in Los Angeles in 1978 and became the first Chicano play on Broadway a year later. La Bamba was written for the screen and starred Lou Diamond Phillips. Both films are preserved in the National Film Registry.
Valdez founded the Obie Award-winning theater company El Teatro Campesino in 1965 in California's Central Valley, joining César Chávez in his United Farm Workers' rights movement. It is the longest-running Chicano theater in the United States, according to a news release.
The prolific 84-year-old debuted his latest play, "Adiós Mamá Carlota," on May 10 at El Teatro Campesino Playhouse.
Valdez's honors include the Presidential Medal of Arts, Mexico's Aguila Azteca Award, and the Peabody Award for his 1987 PBS documentary, Corridos: Tales of Passion and Revolution.
The 18th Annual Plaza Classic Film Festival will take place from July 17 to 27.
This year's Plaza Classic Film Festival will feature 100 movies over 11 days, including "Cabaret," "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade", "The Godfather Part II", "Notting Hill", "Saving Private Ryan", "Toy Story", "Schindler's List", "Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back", and many more.
Festival passes are on sale for $200 now and include access to almost all ticketed festival movies, reservations for Philanthropy Theatre movies, special events, and discounts at nearby eateries.
Festival tickets go on sale June 10 at the Plaza Theatre box office and Ticketmaster.
More: Free summer concert series in El Paso: Your guide to outdoor music
María Cortés González may be reached at 915-546-6150; mcortes@elpasotimes.com; @eptmaria.bsky.social on Bluesky, and @eptmariacg on TikTok.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: 'La Bamba' director Luis Valdez joins Plaza Classic Film fest lineup
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Ridin' with Cuco at Dodger Stadium
By the time Cuco arrived at Dodger Stadium on a recent Tuesday evening, thousands of fans were already lined up outside the venue's gates, waiting to be let in. Though the matchup against the Arizona Diamondbacks wouldn't begin for another two hours, these Doyer diehards made their way to Chavez Ravine early to catch the pre-game festivities. It was Mexican Heritage Night, and the team had plenty of entertainment planned for the fanbase that Fernando Valenzuela built: a mini-concert by the legendary La Original Banda el Limón de Salvador Lizárraga; a lucha libre exhibition; and the throwing of the ceremonial first pitch by Chavo Guerrero Jr., scion of the storied Mexican American Guerrero wrestling clan. 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'My grandpa was big on the Dodgers,' Cuco said, noting that it was because of him that his whole family rooted for the Boys in Blue. As Cuco is escorted through the concrete bowels of Dodger Stadium by a pair of team publicists taking him to sound check, fans spot him and excitedly call out his name. Some even approach him for a selfie. When asked if he often gets recognized in public, the singer-songwriter chuckled. 'Yeah, if there's a lot of Latinos around,' he quipped. 'I'm always going to say yes to a photo. I'm never going to turn them down.' It's cliché for any artist to say that they'd be nothing without their fans, but this adage rings particularly true when it comes to Cuco. His loyal supporters, dubbed the "Cuco Puffs," turned a former precocious marching band geek into a bonafide indie pop star. He began his career in the mid-2010s by uploading Spanglish lo-fi love songs recorded in his childhood bedroom to Soundcloud and Bandcamp. Dreamy, synth-heavy ballads like "Lover Is a Day" (off of his first mixtape, 2016's "Wannabewithu") and "Lo Que Siento" (released as a single in 2017) quickly connected with countless bicultural, Gen Z Latinos, racking up millions of streams in the process. By the time Cuco started performing at backyard shows, he had packed crowds singing every lyric back at him. Such was the hype around him that several labels got into a two-year bidding war to sign the unlikely teen idol with a ready-made fan base. 'I don't need a label. The labels mostly need me,' Cuco told The Times in 2017. 'Like, in no cocky way, the reality of it is labels stay up because of the artists.' When Interscope finally won out in 2019, it was on the artist's terms — Cuco inked a seven-figure deal that allowed him to retain ownership of his music and gave him the creative freedom to do what he wanted. He was 20 at the time. That summer, he released his debut album, "Para Mi," a notable first effort that paired a blissful sound — inspired by a slew of genres, including psychedelic rock, bossa nova, pop and quiet storm R&B — with lyrics that touched on loneliness and substance abuse ("Take this and fly away till the substance numbs the pain," he sings in "Ego Death in Thailand"). The album's first single, "Hydrocodone," is a nod to the pain medication he was on after being involved in a near-fatal car crash while out on tour in 2018. This March, Cuco celebrated three years of sobriety. The year 2022 saw the release of "Fantasy Gateway," an ambitious concept album heavily inspired by psych rockers Tame Impala that takes the listener to another dimension, featuring notable collaborations with artists like Mexico's indie darling Bratty and fellow sadboi romántico DannyLux. "Sitting in the Corner," recorded with música Mexicana crooner Adriel Favela and country singer Kacey Musgraves, is a space pop ranchera that yearns for a lover who has left. "It's the vibe, man," he says of the musicians he chooses to work with. "It's not really about artists being big or not. It's just if I get along with them and they have cool ideas and it aligns with my personality." With 'Ridin',' Cuco delivers his most mature album to date. Produced by Thomas Brenneck (Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, Mark Ronson, Amy Winehouse), the record is a neo-Chicano soul instant classic that pays tribute to the likes of Brenton Wood, Al Green and Smokey Robinson — soul and R&B artists from the '60s and '70s whose music has been adopted by lowrider and Chicano culture — all while maintaining that distinct Cuco sound, a perfect marriage between the old and the new. 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"Ridin'" is an album of the summer contender for anyone whose idea of summer means hanging out at the beach with all your friends — this exact scenario describes the music video for the album's first single, "My 45," which stars Mexican American actress Xochitl Gomez as a femme fatale. And while the LP is teeming with enough vehicular references to make Bruce Springsteen jealous (the cover shows Cuco sitting on top of his 1989 Toyota Supra), Cuco says "Ridin'" isn't strictly meant for the car. 'I'm hoping that ["Ridin'"] is something that's interpreted however the listener chooses to interpret it, whether they're ridin' in your car, ridin' for somebody or just ridin' through life,' he says. After sound check, Cuco made his way back to the suite level to wait for the rest of his party to arrive, which included his parents, Adolfo Banos and Irma Mendoza. The only child of immigrants, the artist has made it a point to share his success with them. Forgoing wearing anything in Dodger blue, the elder Banos donned a hoodie from his son's latest tour. Mendoza showed up wearing a team hat and a striped shirt. Affixed to it was a button identical to her son's. It was her idea; she had made them the night before. As it got closer to game time, the singer was ushered down to the field once again. It was showtime. 'Please stand and remove your hats for the singing of the national anthem,' the stadium announcer said over the P.A. system. 'Joining us today is Cuco, indie pop star from Hawthorne!' Cuco took a beat before singing 'The Star-Spangled Banner' in his patented soft and mellow voice. His parents stood approximately 20 feet away, beaming with pride. After it was all over, the singer quickly made his way to them, and was met with smiles and hugs. A minute later, a production assistant grabs Cuco for his final obligation of the night. He's handed a microphone and is escorted back to where he performed the national anthem. He's met by a congregation of luchadores who will act as a chorus as he delivers the phrase popularized by the legendary broadcaster Vin Scully — "It's time for Dodger baseball!" In the fall, Cuco will go on a nationwide tour to promote the album — he'll be performing at the Greek Theatre on Sept. 15. But right now it's summer and he's ridin' with his loved ones, about to watch a game the Dodgers will end up winning 4-3 in extra innings. Get our Latinx Files newsletter for stories that capture the complexity of our communities. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
14 hours ago
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Ridin' with Cuco at Dodger Stadium
By the time Cuco arrived at Dodger Stadium on a recent Tuesday evening, thousands of fans were already lined up outside the venue's gates, waiting to be let in. Though the matchup against the Arizona Diamondbacks wouldn't begin for another two hours, these Doyer diehards made their way to Chavez Ravine early to catch the pre-game festivities. It was Mexican Heritage Night, and the team had plenty of entertainment planned for the fanbase that Fernando Valenzuela built: a mini-concert by the legendary La Original Banda el Limón de Salvador Lizárraga; a lucha libre exhibition; and the throwing of the ceremonial first pitch by Chavo Guerrero Jr., scion of the storied Mexican American Guerrero wrestling clan. To complete this hodgepodge of a cultural celebration, the Dodgers also asked Cuco to sing the national anthem, a fitting invitation given that the 26-year-old Inglewood-born and Hawthorne-raised artist, whose real name is Omar Banos, had just put out 'Ridin'' (released May 9 via Interscope Records). The LP, his third, is an 11-track gem of L.A. Mexican Americana dripping with the ageless sounds of Chicano soul. Donning a team cap, a long white tee, black shorts, Dodger blue Nike SB Dunk Lows and his trademark glasses, Cuco walked into the stadium entrance reserved for suite-level ticketholders accompanied by his manager and a social content creator. Despite a heat wave that raised that day's temperatures into the high 80s, a black Dodgers windbreaker that he planned to wear later in the evening hung around his neck. Pinned to it was a button that contained a portrait of Jaime Mendoza, his late maternal grandfather. 'My grandpa was big on the Dodgers,' Cuco said, noting that it was because of him that his whole family rooted for the Boys in Blue. As Cuco is escorted through the concrete bowels of Dodger Stadium by a pair of team publicists taking him to sound check, fans spot him and excitedly call out his name. Some even approach him for a selfie. When asked if he often gets recognized in public, the singer-songwriter chuckled. 'Yeah, if there's a lot of Latinos around,' he quipped. 'I'm always going to say yes to a photo. I'm never going to turn them down.' It's cliché for any artist to say that they'd be nothing without their fans, but this adage rings particularly true when it comes to Cuco. His loyal supporters, dubbed the 'Cuco Puffs,' turned a former precocious marching band geek into a bonafide indie pop star. He began his career in the mid-2010s by uploading Spanglish lo-fi love songs recorded in his childhood bedroom to Soundcloud and Bandcamp. Dreamy, synth-heavy ballads like 'Lover Is a Day' (off of his first mixtape, 2016's 'Wannabewithu') and 'Lo Que Siento' (released as a single in 2017) quickly connected with countless bicultural, Gen Z Latinos, racking up millions of streams in the process. By the time Cuco started performing at backyard shows, he had packed crowds singing every lyric back at him. Such was the hype around him that several labels got into a two-year bidding war to sign the unlikely teen idol with a ready-made fan base. 'I don't need a label. The labels mostly need me,' Cuco told The Times in 2017. 'Like, in no cocky way, the reality of it is labels stay up because of the artists.' When Interscope finally won out in 2019, it was on the artist's terms — Cuco inked a seven-figure deal that allowed him to retain ownership of his music and gave him the creative freedom to do what he wanted. He was 20 at the time. That summer, he released his debut album, 'Para Mi,' a notable first effort that paired a blissful sound — inspired by a slew of genres, including psychedelic rock, bossa nova, pop and quiet storm R&B — with lyrics that touched on loneliness and substance abuse ('Take this and fly away till the substance numbs the pain,' he sings in 'Ego Death in Thailand'). The album's first single, 'Hydrocodone,' is a nod to the pain medication he was on after being involved in a near-fatal car crash while out on tour in 2018. This March, Cuco celebrated three years of sobriety. The year 2022 saw the release of 'Fantasy Gateway,' an ambitious concept album heavily inspired by psych rockers Tame Impala that takes the listener to another dimension, featuring notable collaborations with artists like Mexico's indie darling Bratty and fellow sadboi romántico DannyLux. 'Sitting in the Corner,' recorded with música Mexicana crooner Adriel Favela and country singer Kacey Musgraves, is a space pop ranchera that yearns for a lover who has left. 'It's the vibe, man,' he says of the musicians he chooses to work with. 'It's not really about artists being big or not. It's just if I get along with them and they have cool ideas and it aligns with my personality.' With 'Ridin',' Cuco delivers his most mature album to date. Produced by Thomas Brenneck (Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, Mark Ronson, Amy Winehouse), the record is a neo-Chicano soul instant classic that pays tribute to the likes of Brenton Wood, Al Green and Smokey Robinson — soul and R&B artists from the '60s and '70s whose music has been adopted by lowrider and Chicano culture — all while maintaining that distinct Cuco sound, a perfect marriage between the old and the new. The album's opener, 'ICNBYH' (an abbrevation of 'I Could Never Break Your Heart'), would be at home in an 'East Side Story' mixtape compilation. Cuco's psychedelia roots are most apparent in songs like 'Ridin',' a track that feels like you're cruising on a spaceship down Whittier Boulevard. 'I couldn't really try to make something that sounded exactly like [Chicano soul]. I was hoping to embody that timelessness, but I had to work in the most authentic way possible so that it felt that way,' he said. 'I wanted to go for more natural sounds with the soul sound, but I think it's just inevitable for me sometimes. I'm just going to end up doing some psychedelic parts with the music because that's what I've always been.' 'Ridin'' is an album of the summer contender for anyone whose idea of summer means hanging out at the beach with all your friends — this exact scenario describes the music video for the album's first single, 'My 45,' which stars Mexican American actress Xochitl Gomez as a femme fatale. And while the LP is teeming with enough vehicular references to make Bruce Springsteen jealous (the cover shows Cuco sitting on top of his 1989 Toyota Supra), Cuco says 'Ridin'' isn't strictly meant for the car. 'I'm hoping that ['Ridin''] is something that's interpreted however the listener chooses to interpret it, whether they're ridin' in your car, ridin' for somebody or just ridin' through life,' he says. After sound check, Cuco made his way back to the suite level to wait for the rest of his party to arrive, which included his parents, Adolfo Banos and Irma Mendoza. The only child of immigrants, the artist has made it a point to share his success with them. Forgoing wearing anything in Dodger blue, the elder Banos donned a hoodie from his son's latest tour. Mendoza showed up wearing a team hat and a striped shirt. Affixed to it was a button identical to her son's. It was her idea; she had made them the night before. As it got closer to game time, the singer was ushered down to the field once again. It was showtime. 'Please stand and remove your hats for the singing of the national anthem,' the stadium announcer said over the P.A. system. 'Joining us today is Cuco, indie pop star from Hawthorne!' Cuco took a beat before singing 'The Star-Spangled Banner' in his patented soft and mellow voice. His parents stood approximately 20 feet away, beaming with pride. After it was all over, the singer quickly made his way to them, and was met with smiles and hugs. A minute later, a production assistant grabs Cuco for his final obligation of the night. He's handed a microphone and is escorted back to where he performed the national anthem. He's met by a congregation of luchadores who will act as a chorus as he delivers the phrase popularized by the legendary broadcaster Vin Scully — 'It's time for Dodger baseball!' In the fall, Cuco will go on a nationwide tour to promote the album — he'll be performing at the Greek Theatre on Sept. 15. But right now it's summer and he's ridin' with his loved ones, about to watch a game the Dodgers will end up winning 4-3 in extra innings.
USA Today
a day ago
- USA Today
What is the Oilers' goal song in 2025? Here's the answer.
What is the Oilers' goal song in 2025? Here's the answer. The Edmonton Oilers are in the hunt for a possible first Stanley Cup in decades, and with names like Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, they score a lot of goals that fans in Alberta can celebrate. If you're not one of those fans and you're watching the Oilers play in 2025, you might be wondering: what's the goal song they play at Rogers Place whenever the team lights the lamp at home? We have answers for you! That song would be Fluxland by XL, one of those fist-pumping house music-esque songs with a very singable lines that fans can shout as they're celebrating the red light going off and their team potting a puck in the net: The song ranked 13th on our list of the best NHL goal songs, given how catchy it is. Now, I'd argue it's not as catchy as La Bamba -- which was played after wins for a while -- or Chappell Roan's Pink Pony Club, which has become the Oilers' new postgame anthem this season. But Fluxland is a solid choice for a goal song, and if you're like me, you'll have that tune stuck in your head for a while after the 2025 Stanley Cup Final.
