Annual Art Festival Otoño Cultural

For the fifth consecutive year, Yucatán is celebrating its annual arts festival “Otoño Cultural” (Cultural Autumn). In 2011 the festival pays tribute to a well known Yucatecan composer, Sergio Esquivel. The festival opens on October 21 and continues to Dec. 13. Be sure to check our Events page on individual dates for a detailed listing of all events in the festival.

This is the largest art festival in the southeast part of the country and represents recognition of our artists, who cross borders carrying a message of peace to other latitudes, through their songs, poetry, books, and other artistic expressions.

The government of the state, through the Cultural Institute of Yucatán, uniting efforts with the National Council for Culture and the Arts, measures and values the importance of art and culture to the human endeavor, through this prolific festival.

In its 2011 edition, the Annual Arts Festival will unite 6077 artists and creators of 452 cultural and artistic activities, including 24 tributes and anniversaries and 21 special events, becoming a window display for all artistic manifestations cultivated in our state, providing space and opportunities for local, national, and international artists.

Our festival raises the curtain in the greatest cultural setting of Yucatán, the Teatro José Peón Contreras, and continues at the Armando Manzanero and Daniel Ayala theaters, as well as diverse alternative spaces including cultural centers, higher education institutions, public parks and plazas, without forgetting centers of special attention to vulnerable groups such as Cereso de Mérida and CAIMEDE, not to mention 45 municipalities in the interior of the state.

As in previous years, the main objective is to pay tribute to the great Yucatecan talents. For this reason, this year—a fundamental year for the culture of this state—the activities of the festival focus on the recognition of Yucatecan trova maestro Sergio Esquivel, who without a doubt has made a name for Yucatán.

Sergio Esquivel…Yucatecan cultural icon has been a composer whose songs have become an unforgettable part of the Yucatecan and Mexican repertoire. But he has also been a promoter of the “new generation” of singers and composers of Yucatán, generating projects which develop their creative and interpretative talents, to enrich even more and give continuity to our unforgettable musical tradition. As his website www.sergioesquivel.com explains: “He has been a faithful narrator of his time, in social, political, and cultural moments, as well as a spokesperson of his generation. His creative work in composition has not gone unnoticed by the great singers who have recorded his music, including José-José, Emmanuel, Yuri, Celia Cruz,  Vicky Carr, Verónica Castro, Manoella Torres, and Marco Antonio Muñiz. He has traveled to dozens of countries in his 45-year career, and has published over 350 songs.”

For more information and the schedule:

www.culturayucatan.com/otono