Previous Festivals
Founded in 2014, the Lit & Luz Festival of Language, Literature, and Art takes place in the fall in Chicago and in the winter in Mexico City.
Lit & Luz Chicago 2023
The 2023-24 festival is themed “TEN”—a celebration of the festival’s tenth anniversary and all things commemorative. The theme also alludes to the Spanish meaning of the “ten,” and considers what it is to have—and have not. Partnering organizations included the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Chicago Art Department, and UIC’s Center for Latinx Literature of the Americas. Check out the schedule, participants, and press release for the Chicago leg of “TEN,” and join us in Mexico City March 12-16 for Lit & Luz CDMX!
Lit & Luz CDMX 2023
The 2023 festival was themed “Revision”—re-envisioning the arts in light of the pandemic, reconsidering the canon, and revising for the future. This cultural festival ran March 7-11 with eight free, bilingual artist talks, film screenings, poetry readings, and more at venues throughout Mexico City, including Casa del Cine, Casa Refugio Citlaltépetl, Centro Cultural Elena Garro and Museo Universitario del Chopo. Check out the schedule, participants, and press release.
Lit & Luz Chicago 2022
The 2022 festival was themed “Revision”—re-envisioning the arts in light of the pandemic, reconsidering the canon, and revising for the future. This cultural festival took place October 31-November 5 with more than a dozen free, bilingual events taking place at venues throughout Chicago, as well as online. Programming partners include Chicago Art Department, Contratiempo/Co-Prosperity Sphere, among others. Check out the schedule, participants, and press release.
Lit & Luz CDMX 2022
The eighth iteration of the festival traveled to Mexico City in early spring 2022. Featuring hybrid programming and more than a dozen bilingual events, artists and writers like Jazmina Barrera, Rocío Cerón, and Pergentino José explored the theme of “Estructura”. Check out the schedule, participants, and press release.
Lit & Luz Chicago 2021
In 2021, participants in Chicago explored the theme “Structure”, considering the physical, political and social structures that inhabit and surround us. The festival featured both virtual and in-person programs including readings, conversations, and workshops. Check out the schedule, list of participants, and press release.
Lit & Luz Virtual Festival 2020
The seventh annual Lit & Luz festival was hosted virtually. Through conversations and the creation of new art, writers, artists, and musicians participated in the theme “Remix: Respond and Rebuild”, reconsidering past festival themes, while also responding to issues and events currently impacting the US and Mexico. Check out the schedule, list of participants, and press release. Find event recordings on the Lit & Luz youtube channel.
Lit & Luz CDMX 2020
The second part of the Lit & Luz festival’s “Movement” cycle featured more ten bilingual events throughout Mexico City, including conversations, film screenings, live storytelling, and much more. Check out the schedule, participants, and press release.
Lit & Luz Chicago, October 2019
The sixth annual Lit & Luz festival’s theme, “Movement,” asks the participants and audience to consider migration, social movements, and bodies in motion. It features more than two dozen free bilingual events, including conversations, film screenings, live storytelling, and much more. Check out the schedule, participants, live show info, and press release.
Lit & Luz Mexico City, February 2019
Featuring the Chicago 2018 participants! With new events and additional guests, including poet and musician Alejandro Albarrán and poet Carla Faesler. Check out the schedule and full list of participants.
Lit & Luz Chicago, October 2018
This year’s theme, “Assembly,” asks us to consider the parts we put together and those we play. Art can be created by building a sentence, a canvas, an object, and when we unite as a community of voices. Check out the schedule, participants, live show info, and press release.
Lit & Luz Mexico City, February 2018
Featuring the Chicago 2017 participants! With new events and additional guests, including Emmanuel del Real of Café Tacvba and poet Jimena González. Check out the schedule and press release.
Lit & Luz Chicago, October 2017
This year’s festival theme, "Belonging,” asks participants and audience to consider what makes us part of a community, a city, a country? The festival boasts a stellar line-up of Mexican writers and artists, including Cristina Rivera Garza, Aura Xilonen, Eduardo Rabasa, Carla Faesler, Amalia Pica, and Brenda Lozano, with Chicago-based participants Danny Giles, Jac Jemc, Nate Marshall, Coya Paz, Erika L. Sánchez, and Selina Trepp, and many others! Check out the schedule, participants, live show info, and press release.
Lit & Luz Mexico City, February 2017
Featuring the Chicago 2016 participants! With new events and additional guests, including Diego Rabasa, Julieta Venegas, and more. Click here for events and participants.
Lit & Luz Chicago, October 2016
Themed "Anti-Static/Motion," the 2016 festival featured over eleven events with writers and artists including Guadalupe Nettel, Daniel Saldaña-París, Gabriela Jauregui, Jorge Méndez-Blake, and many more. Click here for the full list of events and participants.
Lit & Luz Mexico City, February 2016
Mexico City-based writers shared works in progress at Casa Refugio and Museo Tamayo. Participants included Juan Villoro, Margo Glantz, Mario Bellatin, Miguel Calderón, and many more. Click here for the official poster, with line-up and events.
Lit & Luz Chicago, November 2015
This "mini" festival hosted novelist Mario Bellatin and poet Luis Felipe Fabre, as well as festival co-organizer, Brenda Lozano. The writers were joined by Chicagoans Adam Levin, Duriel Harris, Daniel Borzutzky, Gerardo Cárdenas, as well as Joyelle McSweeney. Plus Elastic Arts Foundation musicians and more. Click here for events and other info.
Lit & Luz Mexico City, February 2015
That time we went to Mexico City, for the first performance. With Daniel Borzutzky, Joel Craig, Kathleen Rooney, Fred Sasaki, Martin Seay, Marvin Tate, and special guest Luis Felipe Fabre.
Lit & Luz Chicago, October 2014
MAKE Literary Productions introduces the inaugural Lit & Luz Festival with the theme of "Archive," featuring Valeria Luiselli, Luis Felipe Fabre, Susana Iglesia, Brenda Lozano, Luis Felipe Fabre, Aguillón-Mata, Verónica Gerber Bicecci, Alejandro Almanza Pereda, Daniel Borzutzky, Mauricio Tenorio, Moira Pujols, Tania Candiani, Joel Craig, Kirsten Leenaars, Kathleen Rooney, Fred Sasaki, Marvin Tate, Irvine Welsh, Adam Burke, Ruth Guerra. Through readings, performances, visual art, and the 2014 theme “Archive,” the participants will explore both Chicago and Mexico City’s historical contexts; how we document our lives and our culture in a digital age; and translation between language and artistic mediums. Click here for the event line-up. Check out the poster here.
Exchange/Intercambio Chicago, October 2012
The precursor to Lit & Luz. We were just getting started.
