11 Sep ZunZún Children’s Fest 2022

FUNDarte opens its twentieth season of performing arts with the eighth edition of the ZunZún Children’s Fest next October 1 and 2 in Miami and Miami Beach.

The festival, held in collaboration with the Miami-Dade County Auditorium and the Miami Beach Bandshell, will feature two extensive days of events. The first, which will take place on Saturday, October 1 starting at 2 pm at the Miami-Dade County Auditorium, includes book presentations organized by Pikitin Learning Projects and an exhibition of illustrations for children’s books curated by Fundación Cuatrogatos, in addition to two concerts by Lydia Botana and Lucy Kalantari and The Jazz Cats.

The second day, on October 2 at 7 pm, in addition to the exhibition and book presentations, will feature the musical theater play Insectos y Bicharracos by Rita Rosa Ruesga in the Miami Beach Bandshell. This last presentation is made in collaboration with The Rhythm Foundation and the Arts in The Parks program sponsored by the city of Miami Beach.

This event is free with RSVP

About the performances on Saturday, October 1 at the Miami-Dade County Auditorium:

The exhibition of illustrations for children’s books is curated by the Fundación Cuatrogatos and features works by illustrators: Alex Lago (Cuba-United States), Ciça Fittipaldi (Brazil), Claudia Deglioumini (Argentina), Claudia Navarro (Mexico), Héctor Borlasca (Argentina), Israel Barron (Mexico), Roger Ycaza (Ecuador), Romanet Zárate (Bolivia), Vicky Ramos (Costa Rica) y Ximena García, (Argentina).

A small collection of books related to childhood by Pikitin Learning Projects will present titles such as Pato Zapato and Hello/Hola by Rita Rosa Ruesga, Family summer by Anthony Llibre and Wendy Espinosa, Diary of a dinosaur digger by Juan Carlos Quezadas, Adventures in the kitchen by Josefina Schargorodsky, Huerta by Monica Martin, Julia Child by Julie Morstad and El gato de tres colores by Eddy Diaz Souza.

De aquí para allá by Lydia Botana is a project where she performs a musical educational journey around the world to show children the origin of musical genres such as jazz, salsa, samba, reggae/ska… playing percussion, piano, the accordion, singing and telling this story. The project is complemented by a book-disc published in Galician and Spanish by the Cumio publishing house (2015).

De aquí para allá Lydia Botana (@Palacio de la Ópera A Coruña) video

Get ready for an elegantly silly time with the bilingual, swingin’ sounds of GRAMMY Award-winning band Lucy Kalantari & the Jazz Cats! Frontwoman, songwriter, and bandleader Lucy Kalantari engage her audience with interactive, jazz-scat-along play while singing from her growing collection of foot-tapping songs highlighting the joys of life, community, and resilience. Family members from 0 to 122 will find themselves lighter and smiling through and through!

“Fantastic” by Lucy Kalantari. LIVE at Brooklyn Public Library, Dweck Center

About the performances on Sunday, October 2 at 7 pm, at the Miami Beach Bandshell:

In addition to the exhibition and book presentations, there will also be a performance of the musical theater play Insectos y Bicharracos by Rita Rosa Ruesga at the Miami Beach Bandshell. This last presentation is made in collaboration with The Rhythm Foundation and the Arts in The Parks program sponsored by the city of Miami Beach.

Insectos y Bicharracos is a musical theater play, inspired by the album of the same name, produced by Rita Rosa Ruesga. The singer-songwriter, accompanied by her band of local musicians, will tell a story full of Caribbean rhythms and colorful bicharracos, with costume and set design by Celia Ledón, artistic direction by Eddy Díaz Souza, and general production by FUNDarte. In the plot, Rosa has baked a delicious tartlet to celebrate with her friends cleaning the patio. Musicians and insects have been invited to the party, but… the tart has disappeared. The investigation will serve to listen to (and also dance to) a selection of songs that can give clues to finding the culprit. Do you dare to help find it?

photo: Insectos y bicharracos, by Rita Rosa Ruesga

The ZunZún Children’s Festival celebrates annually with the family and the youngest audiences, a varied program of bilingual projects that brings together local and visiting artists to promote the appreciation of universal culture and the values of “Hispanidad”.

Financial and administrative support for this event is provided in part by Miami Dade County Auditorium; Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Mayor and Board of County Commissioners; The State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Arts and Culture and the Florida Council on Arts and Culture; the City of Miami Beach Cultural Affairs Program, Cultural Arts Council, and the Miami Beach Mayor and City Commissioners; The Rhythm Foundation; Fundación Cuatrogatos; ZunZun Arts and Education and Pikitin Learning Projects.