This queer, artful mashup of theater, humor, physical movement and sumptuous song selections will take place July 20th-22nd at the Center on Halsted’s main stage.
CHICAGO, IL (June 5, 2023) – The International Latino Cultural Center of Chicago (ILCC) and the Center on Halsted announced today that Venezuelan actor and transdisciplinary artist Migguel Anggelo will bring his outrageously queer and gender-bending theatrical experience, LatinXoxo, to the Center’s main stage, 3656 N. Halsted St. from July 20th thru the 22nd. Doors open at 8 pm and the show starts at 8:30 pm; admission is $35, general. For tickets, visit latinoculturalcenter.org.
A queer, artful mashup of theater, humor, physical movement, and sumptuous song selections – spanning decades of pop hits, his own compositions, and the Spanish boleros – Migguel Anggelo literally peels back an onion layer of personas, strip teasing “Latin lover” clichés, and reckoning with the tragic death of his homophobic and disapproving father. With indelible precision, weaving in and out of the audience, the artist connects past and present while unraveling the stereotypes that would otherwise constrain him. With equal doses of sensitivity and sensationalism, Migguel Anggelo reminds us that our own self-worth is right there in the mirror. LatinXoxo was designed to immerse an audience in a highly personal story.
“Eleven years ago, someone told me that my art was too deep to understand so I decided to try new endeavors in New York, where I was welcomed with open arms and where I have been able to develop my art. With LatinXoxo we are reaching a very diverse audience within the United States where I can tell my personal story,” said Migguel Anggelo.
“When I first saw LatinXoxo in New York, I was taken by surprise by the sheer originality and audacity of its staging, by its ability to transcend all sorts of barriers and be able to address issues of identity while being incredibly entertaining. I knew we, as an organization, had to bring this production to Chicago because I felt that it could speak to LGBTQ and non-LGBTQ and Latino and non-Latino audiences alike. We are excited at the opportunity of working alongside the Center on Halsted for the first time and look forward to future collaborations,” said Mateo Mulcahy, deputy executive director of the International Latino Cultural Center of Chicago.
Migguel Anggelo will perform in English and Spanish with a production that combines original and reinterpreted music with dance and theater, and explores the connections of his Latino immigrant identity and his search for freedom. LatinXoxo runs 70 minutes and is performed in English and Spanish. The show was conceived by Migguel Anggelo and book by C. Julian Jiménez. Joining Migguel on stage will be a cast of musicians, including musical director Jaime Lozano, an award-winning musical theatre writer considered by Hamilton’s Lin-Manuel Miranda as the next big thing on Broadway, as well as direction by Adrian Alexander Alea, who’s preeminent work in theater and entertainment started locally at Northwestern University.
ABOUT MIGGUEL ANGGELO
Migguel Anggelo is a Venezuelan-American avant-garde artist who explores all possible performing arts: he is a songwriter, multidisciplinary performing artist, countertenor, dancer, actor, and painter. TheMiami and Brooklyn-based artist invokes muses from art history, harnessing this lineage in effortlessly forward-thinking ways. He mines from his journeys as a Latino immigrant and a queer man: a fountain of source material to explore shared human experiences. He expresses himself through costume, musical composition, movement, and theater work, evoking the “showmanship of Desi Arnaz and the performance art of Klaus Nomi” (Theater Scene). His lyrical movement recalls Marcel Marceau, and his comic timing alludes to Charlie Chaplin. Marked by pop ambition, he nods towards the likes of David Bowie and Freddy Mercury. With unabashed theatricality, Migguel Anggelo straddles decades, genres, and cultures. www.migguelanggelo.com
ABOUT THE ILCC
The International Latino Cultural Center of Chicago is a Pan-Latino, nonprofit, multidisciplinary arts organization dedicated to developing, promoting, and increasing awareness of Latino cultures among Latinos and other communities by presenting a wide variety of art forms and education including film, music, dance, visual arts, comedy, theater and culinary arts. The Center prides itself for its outstanding multidisciplinary local and international cultural programming which spans Latin America, Spain, Portugal, and the United States.
Born out of the Chicago Latino Film Festival, The International Latino Cultural Center of Chicago also produces other programs, including the Chicago Latino Music Series (formerly known as the Latino Music Festival), which is celebrating its 17th edition this year; Film in the Parks, also in its 17th season; the monthly Reel Film Club, already in its 14th year; and many others. All in all, the audience has grown from 500 people in 1985 for the first Chicago Latino Film Festival to more than 70,000 (Latinos and non-Latinos) who enjoy the year-round multidisciplinary cross-cultural exchanges offered by the Center.
ABOUT THE CENTER ON HALSTED
Center on Halsted is the Midwest’s most comprehensive community center dedicated to advancing community and securing the health and well-being of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) people of Chicagoland. More than 1,000 community members visit the Center every day, located in the heart of Chicago’s Lakeview Neighborhood.
