The godfather of Latino theater in Chicago

Plus: Midwest emo in Wuhan, China [View this email in your browser]( | [chicagoreader.com]( by Maja Stachnik|October 14, 2024 Good morning—happy Indigenous Peoples’ Day! [Anthony Tamez-Pochel]( an Indigenous and Black community organizer and a 17th Police District Council representative, spoke about the holiday in [last year’s People issue](. He is believed to be the only Native American elected official in Illinois. Today, we’re honoring Juan Ramirez, longtime artistic director of Latino Chicago Theater Company. Juan Ramirez [Credit: Courtesy the artist] [‘The godfather of Latino theater in Chicago’]( As theater and dance editor Kerry Reid was gearing up for the Reader coverage of this year’s [Destinos: Chicago International Latino Theater Festival]( she received news of the death of Juan Ramirez, longtime artistic director of Latino Chicago Theater Company—a powerhouse in the 1980s and ’90s. In 1987, the company took over an abandoned firehouse at 1625 N. Damen and transformed it into the space where Latino Chicago would do its most memorable work. For ten years, Latino Chicago produced seasons at the Firehouse filled with plays by contemporary Latine writers as well as classic (but seldom seen) works. [Kerry Reid] [READ MORE](  MUSIC & NIGHTLIFE - Midwest emo certainly hasn’t limited itself to its namesake region (and neither have [its memes]( Football, a four-piece from Wuhan China]( will prove it this Tuesday when they play Subterranean. The band have worked to establish their own voice within the genre: on 2022’s Win & Lose, Chinese Football slow their melancholic guitar lines to a loping pace, which gives their songs more grandeur; sometimes Win & Lose exudes proggy swagger, and at other times its guitars suggest a cautious elation. [Leor Galil] - [MJ Lenderman is back in Chicago]( for two nights after headlining the Logan Square Arts Festival back in June—his “post-country,” “guitar-forward” rock written empathetically for “lovable losers” recalls Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers. He’s part of Asheville indie-rock band Wednesday and has collaborated with Katie Crutchfield, who makes music as Waxahatchee. The sold-out shows at Thalia Hall are “bound to resonate with plenty of listeners in a city whose neighborhood bars are filled with people partying past the point of pride.” [Jack Riedy]  FOOD & DRINK - The Cheese People have changed JoAnna Novak’s fundamental understanding of just how good string cheese can be—I’ll be honest, I don’t need much convincing to dig into some dairy, but I wouldn’t dare refuse [Cesar’s hand-stretched string cheese](. It has the snap of a cheese curd and comes plain or applewood-smoked (though Novak heartily recommends the smoked). The exterior is a toasty gold—burnished, even—and each pull yields strings with serious chew. They’ll be at Chicagoland farmers’ markets until the season is over; while they don’t seem to post a schedule, Novak found them in Evanston, and I was able to track them down in Elmhurst, Park Ridge, Deerfield, and Wheaton.  THEATER - [El Piélago de las Calamidades]( reimagines Hamlet from the perspective of the play’s traveling actors, who are hired by the brooding prince to reenact the story of Claudius murdering Hamlet’s father to claim both the throne and Hamlet’s mother. The show, presented as part of the seventh Destinos: Chicago International Latino Theater Festival, leans into commedia dell’arte performance style and theatrical archetypes. Director Karla Galván also noted that the play pays homage to the Mexican tradition of carpa. The show plays at Teatro Tariakuri through October 27 on Saturdays and Sundays, in Spanish with English subtitles.  PODCASTS It seems like Ben Joravsky never stops! Over the weekend, he spoke to [west-side activist and former congressional candidate Kina Collins]( about President Obama’s vote-for-Kamala speech in Pittsburgh, where he told Black men it’s “not acceptable” to sit out the election. Sunday’s episode featured [Sun-Times columnist Rummana Hussain]( with a deep dive into City Hall press corps.  BEHIND-THE-SCENES We’re talking occult in this Thursday’s paper—I’m super excited about what our editorial team has planned for the special issue! We’re working on a little surprise to celebrate, so stay tuned for that announcement in the next couple of days. 📰 LATEST ISSUE: OCTOBER 10, 2024 📰 [READ ONLINE]( | [COVER]( | [DOWNLOAD PDF]( [Facebook icon]( [Instagram icon]( [X icon]( [LinkedIn icon]( [Threads icon]( [YouTube icon]( [logo] You received this email because you signed up for newsletters from the Chicago Reader. Want fewer emails from us? [Click here to choose what you want us to send you](. Or, [unsubscribe from all Reader emails](. We’ll miss you! [Sign up for emails from the Chicago Reader]( | [Forward this e-mail to a friend]( © 2024 Chicago Reader. All rights reserved. Chicago Reader, 2930 S. Michigan Ave., Suite 102, Chicago, IL 60616