631 W. 2nd Street
Los Angeles, California 90012

Astrid Hadad, a legend in her native Mexico, is known for her unconventional performances that combine ranchero, bolero, rumba, rock and jazz into a genre she calls ?Heavy Nopal.? (after the 'quintessentially' Mexican cactus whose juice is distilled to make Tequila) Her unique fusion of music, theater and campy humor draws upon different traditions of Mexican and Latin popular culture. Her highly theatrical approach includes frequent costume changes that feature self-designed, hand-made ?wearable sets.? She may first appear as an Aztec Pyramid complete with carved snakes, a skull rack and a peacock's tail of agave leaves, change into the Virgin of Guadeloupe (Mexico's patron saint), embody La Malinche (the devil women who sold out the Aztec Empire to the Spanish conquerors), or become a psychedelic plant glowing with all-seeing eyes and the bleeding heart of Christ. Subversively turning upside down the symbols, stereotypes and traditions of Mexican and Latin popular culture, she attacks macho culture, the Mexican government and the USA's neo-imperialism ("Visit the United States before it visits you").

A trained actress and singer, Astrid Hadad graduated from Centro Universitario de Teatro in Mexico City and embarked first on an acting and singing career spanning the extremes of Mexican TV soaps and an all-female production of Mozart's opera Don Giovanni. Later she developed her own form of musical and artistic expression, performing in Australia, Latin America, USA, and Europe. She has published numerous CDs, contributed soundtracks to several movies, and her work has been documented in a number of TV productions.

For tickets, call 213-237-2800 or visit www.redcat.org

Added by cmb255s on February 10, 2004

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