The largest art festival in Tijuana is Friday through Sunday at the Centro Cultural.
The free event, called Entijuanarte, is expected to draw more than 50,000 people from both sides of the border.
In its seventh edition, the scope of the art that is showcased has grown from painting, photography, drawing and sculpture to installation art, digital media, video, among other forms.
More than 100 artists are to exhibit in the courtyard around the Centro Cultural Tijuana (Cecut), 61 from Baja California, 34 from across Mexico and 23 from ten countries, including three from the United States (Los Angeles, San Francisco and Tucson).
The art, much of which is for sale, is housed under white canopies that surround the Cecut, located in the Río zone, just minutes from the San Ysidro border crossing.
The festival also offers dance performances, theater pieces and a variety of musical concerts, on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
The festival will have a main stage, where groups such as Zaragoza, Mucha M Teatro, Minerva Tapia and Danza Irlandesa, Nemos and Radai are to perform.
And there will be free lectures, book presentations and conferences all week long at alternate venues, leading up to the festival itself at the Cecut.
Each year the festival invites one Mexican state to participate. This year the guest is Jalisco, and state cultural officials from there are bringing a $1.7 million exhibit titled "Los grandes de Jalisco."
The exhibit will be inaugurated on Friday at the Cecut and will remain there for one month, said Cecilia Ochoa, the center's artistic director.
The goal of the art festival, according to its founder and director, Julio Rodríguez, is to showcase the rich artistic and cultural scene the Tijuana region offers.
"It's a platform to show all the talent and work generated on this creative border," Rodríguez said.
Entijuanarte has become well-known across Mexico and Latin America. This year, art and culture experts from Ecuador, Brazil and Cuba plan to attend to see how the festival is organized, with an eye to creating one at home.
andrea.garcia@sandiegored.com
[sidebar]How to attend
Entijuanarte 2011 is Oct. 7, 8 and 9 at Tijuana's Cultural Center, known as Cecut, located in the Río zone.
More information is available at the official site.
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