Galleries and theaters across the Twin Cities are opening their doors for a weekend of cultural belonging. At Minneapolis’ Main Cinema, the Cine Latino Film Festival puts drama, documentaries and animation on screen, with afterparties full of Latin American music, dance and food. On Franklin Avenue, All My Relations Arts presents six short films that trace Indigenous stories and experiences. 

On Payne Avenue, more than 60 artists will fill storefronts and galleries with multimedia art, live music and spoken word performances. And at this year’s St. Paul Art Crawl, artist Alondra M. Garza uses Hot Cheetos to celebrate the playfulness, strength and audacity of Black and brown women.

Latina artist heats up St. Paul Art Crawl

The St. Paul Art Crawl returns this weekend with a packed lineup: live studio performances at the St. Paul Neighborhood Network, the “Alebrijes” folk art show still showing at Raspberry Island; an evening of jazz, Trinidad carnival, and tango lessons at F-O-K Creatives; an artist market at Union Depot; and work by Ethiopian artist Yilma Hailu Woldemedhin at Erta Ale Ethiopian restaurant. 

Amid all the buzz, Tejana artist Alondra M. Garza’s solo exhibit “Pretty Hot” at Second Shift Studio Space stands out with cheeky and unapologetic boldness. Think oil paintings of a nearly-nude woman making snow angels in a Minnesota winter. Or female wrestlers in bikinis frozen mid-slam. Or women throwing back tequila shots, and a thong glowing with an image of Jesus on the cross. 

“Latinas are very fetishized or thought of as sexy, hot, spicy. Sometimes, it feels like they don’t see the human,” Garza said. “Just because you see a femme body in a bikini or naked doesn’t mean that it has to be sexual.” 

A signature element of Garza’s work is her use of Hot Cheeto dust. What started as a happy accident three years ago — when her red-stained fingers from snacking smudged across her collage project — became a deliberate medium. 

“I started thinking ‘what if I literally just use it as if it was a charcoal or a pencil? And I did and it still gave a lot of pigment,” Garza said. “It’s so campy but it makes you think, ‘What is this doing to my body?’ Sometimes these harmful chemicals or harmful food products are targeted to more low-income communities, so we should at least be conscious about it.” 

“Pretty Hot” reclaims the “Hot Cheeto girl” stereotype, historically used to mock hyper-feminine, working-class Black and Latina girls. Garza has also extended the concept to the community, hosting a Hot Cheeto workshop at the Minneapolis Institute of Art in 2024 that invited participants to turn the stereotype into an empowering creative tool. 

“We usually grow up with very strict parents and family members so this exhibit is just breaking down those traditional values and not being ashamed of showing your body, dressing the way you want, going out, drinking, partying and not being afraid of being criticized or repressed,” Garza said. 

During the crawl, Garza will host an “Art Soup” event from 4 to 6 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 11, where visitors can enjoy chicken or vegetarian pozole in the gallery. 

Cine Latino highlights Selena, Frida Kahlo

The Cine Latino Film Festival returns to the Main Cinema for a weekend of Latin American stories, music and food. Friday opens with Brazilian catering and two family dramas: “The Nature of Invisible Things” and “The Secret Agent.”

Saturday includes an animated film about young Frida Kahlo; a printmaking activity for kids; a chocolate and wine tasting; and live salsa, Peruvian and Ecuadorian dance performances between film screenings. The musical lineup includes local bands Ritmo Latino, Twin Cities Latin Band, Mi Perú and Away Runakuna. 

The festival closes Sunday with children’s shorts, three feature films and a documentary about Tejano singer-songwriter Selena Quintanilla-Pérez, followed by live music and a Selena lookalike contest. 

Walkable gallery celebrates BIPOC art, music and poetry

St. Paul’s East Side will transform into a walkable gallery this weekend as Solidarity Street Gallery brings together works from more than 60 artists across 20 local storefronts under the theme “We Belong Together.”

Featured artists include Dan Tran, whose abstract pieces draw on Vietnamese mythology; Sharaya Reetz, presenting portraits and installations reflecting the Black experience; Mikha Dominguez, whose photography offers a queer Venezuelan perspective on life in the United States; Graciela DeAnda, capturing the stories and resilience of Latino and migrant communities; and Carla Hamilton, whose collage and multimedia work explores her experiences as a woman of color navigating today’s political climate. Hamilton will join Melanie Pankau for an artist talk at Case Edgerton Studios on Saturday, Oct. 11. 

The gallery opens Friday, Oct. 10 at 6 p.m. with an artist talk featuring Mayumi Amada, whose work is inspired by her Japanese heritage, Buddhist philosophy, the circle of life and the element of water. The evening continues with live music from Jarrelle Barton, performing on the Chinese guzheng, and poetry by Twin Cities-based writer Bella Dawson. 

On Saturday and Sunday, Art at 967 Payne will host spoken word performances from poets including Laurine Chang and Yara Omer, alongside other East Side artists. Meanwhile, Caydence Records and Coffee will host a musical showcase on Saturday, Oct. 11, spanning folk, hip-hop, spoken word and more.

Short films explore Indigenous ties to land, heritage and language

All My Relations Arts is hosting its first ever Native Short Film Festival on Saturday, opening with performances from rapper Jada Brown and guitarist Colin Roy Monette and featuring six films exploring grief, Indigenous identity and cultural preservation. Street food from Frybread Factory will be on site. 

The lineup includes “River Bank,” about a woman who turns to the Rio Grande for healing; “When Thunderbird Dances,” following two Indigenous sisters — one who falls in love with a Thunderbird being and another who doubts the spirit world —  drawing on lessons from the filmmaker’s grandmother; “Tiger,” a documentary portrait of artist and elder Dana Tiger and her family’s creative legacy; “How the Bear Got a Short Tail,” an animated retelling of an Ojibwe traditional story; “The Comedian,” about a man trying to quit smoking; and “Language Keepers,” a documentary following three Ojibwe Minnesotans working to revitalize their language.

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