The Skirball Cultural Center, Grand Performances, and Zócalo Public Square honor Latino Angelenos with deep ties to Mexico and Central America through Zona Libre, an afternoon and evening of music-based community-building activities and live music performances.

Artistic expression and the joy of music is fundamental to the ancient Jewish practice of creating community while living in diaspora. On the eve of LA’s traditional Latino independence day celebrations, adults and kids alike are invited to spend an afternoon and evening in the Skirball’s oasis, making new, cross-cultural friends while enjoying live music performances, attending dance and music workshops, participating in panel conversations, tasting traditional Latin bites, and visiting Museum exhibitions. Many Angelenos have faced a particularly difficult summer with ICE raids and deportations tearing communities apart. Zona Libre is a free zone where we honor the past that shaped us, stand firmly and strong in the present, and open our hearts and minds to creating an equitable, more joyful and just world together.

A central conversation, curated by Zócalo Public Square, asks Can Music Change Minds? It used to be that Spanish-language artists had to perform in English to succeed in the US. Today, they can sing in their native tongue and top the charts. But with increased visibility, does increased industry equity follow for Spanish language artists? In an era of division over immigration—when so many love Latin music that crosses borders, but question Latin people who do—can music bring America together? The panel will be moderated by La Banda Elástica magazine founder and publisher Emilio Morales, in conversation with the twenty-four–time Latin Grammy-winning songwriter and producer Edgar Barrera, and activist, Grammy-winning singer/songwriter, MacArthur “genius,” and Chicanx-Latinx studies professor Martha Gonzalez.

Zona Libre’s additional family-friendly programming includes:

• Musical performances by Vivir Quintana, Renee Goust, La Verdad, and DJ Sizzle Fantastic (Cumbiatón)
• Sounding a New World, a collective songwriting workshop led by Martha Gonzalez
• Moving Fear Into Joy, a dance workshop led by CONTRA-TIEMPO
• ¿En que les apoyo? Legal experts available to answer questions regarding immigration-related matters
• El Mercado farmer’s market, featuring Latino products and antojitos for purchase
• El Marchante record shop
• Access to the Skirball’s museum exhibition Jack Kirby: Heroes and Humanity
• Face painting, temporary tattoos, and crafting activities

“We are thrilled to celebrate Latino LA alongside two distinguished institutions,” comments Marlene Braga, Vice President of Programs at the Skirball Cultural Center. “The Skirball offers our city the opportunity to join in community and enjoy a day of respite and rejuvenation.” 

“Music and the performing arts are a lifeline for Los Angeles, especially for our Latino communities whose stories have helped shape this city,” says Rafael Gonzalez, President and CEO of Grand Performances. “When local and global artists share their narratives, they offer more than entertainment; they offer healing, pride, and a bridge between cultures. These moments on stage remind us that our histories are intertwined and our future is strongest when we celebrate them together.”

“Los Angeles has become the center of fierce debates about immigration and what it means to belong in this city and country,” says Zócalo Executive Director Moira Shourie. “Our goal with this event is to connect people to the ideas and inspirations behind the songs we hear on our streets and on our radio stations. By bringing together some of the most important players in the music world today, we hope to show that there is power in song and in joining our voices as a city and community.”  

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 Panelists & Workshop Leaders:

EDGAR BARRERA

“Even if you don't know Edgar Barrera's name, you know his work.”—NPR

​​Edgar Barrera is an in-demand songwriter, producer, and musician originally from the Mexico-United States border. Barrera has collaborated with many of the biggest names in contemporary Latin music, including Bad Bunny, Peso Pluma, Shakira, and Grupo Firme. He has won twenty-four Latin Grammy Awards and one Grammy Award, including Producer of the Year in 2021, 2023, and 2024, and Songwriter of the Year in 2023 and 2024. As a songwriter, he has won thirty-eight BMI Awards, making him one of the most awarded writers in Latin music. 

CONTRA-TIEMPO

“Los Angeles dance company Contra-Tiempo explores joy as an act of resistance.”—Los Angeles Times

​​CONTRA-TIEMPO is a bold, multilingual Los Angeles-based activist dance theater company that champions compassion, confidence, and joy by creating communities where all people are awakened to a sense of themselves as artists and social change agents. The company creates a new physical, visual and sonic vocabulary that collages salsa, Afro-Cuban, hip-hop, and contemporary dance with theater, compelling text, and original music to bring dynamic multi-modal experiences to the concert stage.

MARTHA GONZALEZ

“For one Chicana rocker and memoirist, music is activism, and a way of life.”—Los Angeles Times

​​Martha Gonzalez is a Chicana artivista (artist/activist) musician, feminist music theorist and Associate Professor in the Intercollegiate Department of Chicana/o Latina/o Studies at Scripps/Claremont College. Born and raised in Boyle Heights, Gonzalez has received various fellowships including a Fulbright Garcia-Robles, Ford Fellowship, Woodrow Wilson Fellowship, USA Fellowship as well as the MacArthur Fellowship in 2022. Her academic interests have been fueled by her own musicianship as a singer/songwriter and percussionist for Grammy Award-winning band Quetzal. Gonzalez’s first manuscript Chican@ Artivistas: Music, Community, and Transborder Tactics in East Los Angeles was published by the University of Texas Press in 2020 and translated into the Spanish Language in 2024 by Interpec. 

EMILIO MORALES

“Started in 1992 as a photocopied newsletter to promote local shows, La Banda Elastica has emerged as a leading journal of [Latin alternative music], read and respected in alt-Latino capitals throughout the Spanish-speaking world.”—Los Angeles Times

​​Emilio Morales is the founder, publisher, and art/editorial director of La Banda Elástica. A Mexico City native, he’s lost count of the years he’s lived in Los Angeles. Under his direction, LBE has won several awards for design and content. Morales is the creator and executive producer of LBE Radio and the popular YouTube series, Hecho en Casa, in which bands and solo artists perform sets in his living room studio. In another life, he was a graphic designer for the Los Angeles Times and a guitarist and songwriter for various L.A. rock bands.  

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Performers:

RENEE GOUST

“Renee Goust is a Mexican-American singer-songwriter who is working hard to reframe traditional Mexican music to be more inclusive… She is redefining how traditional Mexican music is heard.”—Latino USA

​​Mexican-American singer-songwriter Renee Goust seeks to make historically underrepresented groups visible in Mexican music. Her songs "La cumbia feminazi" and "Querida muerte (No nos maten)" are well-established gender equality hymns in Latin America. Her music has been praised by Billboard, Rolling Stone, and El País. Renee has also performed at renowned venues like El Zócalo in Mexico City, Lincoln Center and the Guggenheim Museum in New York.

VIVIR QUINTANA

“Coahuila’s Viviana Monserrat Quintana Rodríguez has won the hearts of every woman fighting against gender violence in Mexico.”—Mexico News Daily

Vivir Quintana is a Mexican singer-songwriter known for her powerful voice and socially charged lyrics that blend folk, regional, and ranchera music. Her song “Canción sin miedo” has become a global feminist anthem, and she collaborates with organizations advocating for human rights. Quintana’s music has appeared in films and series like Mujeres Asesinas (2024), Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022), and Noche de fuego (2021). In 2023, she was named a Spotify EQUAL Ambassador, and Forbes México recognized her as one of the 100 most creative Mexicans. In 2024, the Recording Academy named her one of its Leading Ladies of Entertainment. 

LA VERDAD

“Gabrielito Y La Verdad shines in Los Angeles.”—International Salsa Magazine

La Verdad is the West Coast's premier Latin music ensemble and they truly live up to their name. La Verdad is a collective of world-class musicians embodying the truth of the Los Angeles Latino experience. Collectively led by award-winning singer-songwriter Gabriel Gonzalez (Quetzal, Boogaloo Assassins), they boast a traditional and original repertoire that spans the scope of Latin American route music, including salsa, cha-cha, boogaloo, funk, cumbia, Latin soul, and more.

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Editors, please note:

ZONA LIBRE
Skirball Cultural Center
2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90049
(310) 440-4500 • skirball.org

FREE Parking
Street parking is strictly prohibited.
Or take Metro Rapid 761/233.
Carpooling, ridesharing, and Metro are encouraged.

FREE admission
Festivities begin at 3:00 pm. Doors open at 12:00 pm.
Reserve tickets and get additional info on the Skirball website: 

https://www.skirball.org/programs/zona-libre-musical-celebration-latino-la

Walk-up tickets will also be available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Visitors are encouraged to arrive early to enjoy complimentary admission to the exhibitions. The museum will remain open until 7:30 pm.

Light fare along with a full bar will be available until 9:00 pm. Guests may bring their own food. Note: No outside alcoholic beverages or chairs are permitted.

Audrey’s Museum Store will be open until 5:00 pm, offering merchandise inspired by the Skirball’s mission, values, and programming.

Media sponsors for Zona Libre include KCRW 89.9 FM and 88.5 FM Bilingual Sounds. 

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About the Skirball
The Skirball Cultural Center is a place of meeting guided by the Jewish tradition of welcoming the stranger and inspired by the American democratic ideals of freedom and equality. We welcome people of all communities and generations to participate in cultural experiences that celebrate discovery and hope, foster human connections, and call upon us to help build a more just society.

About Zócalo Public Square
Founded in Los Angeles in 2003, Zócalo Public Square is a unit of ASU Media Enterprise. We syndicate our journalism to 290 media outlets worldwide and have hosted more than 750 events in thirty-three cities in the US and beyond, including New York, Washington DC, Chicago, Houston, San Francisco, Shanghai, Mexico City, London, and Berlin. We are a nonprofit organization that frequently partners with educational, cultural and philanthropic institutions as well as public agencies. To learn more, visit zocalopublicsquare.org, or like and follow on Instagram, Facebook, X, YouTube, and LinkedIn.

About Grand Performances
Grand Performances (GP) inspires community, celebrates diversity, and unites Los Angeles through free access to global performing arts. Launched in 1987 during a time of redevelopment in downtown Los Angeles, GP is SoCal’s longest-running presenter of free global and local performing arts. Over the years, Grand Performances has nurtured artists from LA's own neighborhoods, often providing early career opportunities. In addition, a longtime commitment to presenting contemporary artists from Latin America, Africa, Central/East Asia and other parts of the globe has brought important world-class touring artists to our community and has ensured the stage reflects the many faces of Los Angeles. GP strives to create transformative experiences that spark a greater appreciation of the arts, enrich and broaden understanding of global cultures, and encourage audiences to interact with the world around them. Visit us at grandperformances.org. 

Visiting the Skirball
The Skirball is located at 2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90049. Museum hours: Tuesday–Friday, 12:00–5:00 pm; Saturday–Sunday, 10:00 am–5:00 pm; closed Mondays and holidays. Reservations are recommended for General Admission and the permanent exhibition Noah's Ark at the Skirball, which requires timed entry and is ticketed separately. Tickets are $18 for adults, and $15 for seniors, full-time students, and children 2-17 years old The Skirball is always FREE for Members and children under 2 years old. For general information, the public may call (310) 440-4500 or visit skirball.org.

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