Saturday, July 16, 2022, 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Join us for a screening of Con Safos (2021), the award-winning KCET Artbound documentary that tells the story of Rubén Funkahuatl Guevara.
Program Details
A pioneer of Chicano rock 'n' roll, Rubén Funkahuatl Guevara recounts his life in music, performance art, and activism — from his time as lead singer of the doo-wop band The Apollo Brothers, his collaborations with Frank Zappa and Cheech Marin, and his crossover into the Chicano performance art world of the 1960s and 1970s — all of which have shaped Mexican American culture.
This special screening will be accompanied by a conversation between Rubén Funkahuatl Guevara and his son, producer Rubén Guevara III, and will be followed by a spoken word performance by Funkahuatl himself.
The event is moderated by Joseph Daniel Valencia, Associate Curator and Programs Manager, and is produced in conjunction with the exhibition Sonic Terrains in Latinx Art, on view through July 30, 2022 at the Vincent Price Art Museum.
Support for this event is provided by generous grants from the Mike Kelley Foundation for the Arts, Ford Foundation, and the City of Los Angeles, Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA).
Participant Bios
Rubén Funkahuatl Guevara’s impressive 50-year career spans music, poetry, performance, theater, film, and interdisciplinary arts. Born in Boyle Heights in 1942, Guevara spent his formative years in La Veinte, a barrio in Santa Monica. Coming of age against the backdrop of the Chicano Movement, his practice reflects dynamic sonic and social interactions. Between 1972 and 1974, Guevara was the leader of Ruben and the Jets, an American rock band that released two albums, including their debut record For Real!, produced by musician and composer Frank Zappa and released by Mercury Records. In addition to his collaboration with Zappa, Guevara has performed with Celia Cruz, Bo Diddly, Johnny Otis, and Tina Turner, among others.
Rubén Guevara III is an Emmy® Nominated L.A.-based documentary film and television producer specializing in non-fiction filmmaking. His more than 10 years of work experience covers non-linear and narrative storytelling, writing for media brands such as Buzzfeed and Indiewire, and managing on-set sustainability practices for Warner Bros. Studios and Sony Pictures. Most recently, Rubén was the Co-Creator and Executive Producer of KCET and PBS-SoCal's "Con Safos," the 12th season premiere Artbound documentary chronicling the life of his Chicano activist-poet-musician father, Rubén Funkahuatl Guevara.
Joseph Daniel Valencia is Associate Curator and Programs Manager at the Vincent Price Art Museum at East Los Angeles College. He is co-curator and producer of the exhibition Sonic Terrains in Latinx Art.
Image credit: Rubén Guevara, Aztlan, Babylon, Rhythm & Blues (video still), 1992. Courtesy of the UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center