MAMA Said

Tony Garcia is a Chicano baby boomer wading through middle age, a veteran of the Mexican-American civil rights movement and an aging artist who really hates standing in line. "There's a whole list of shit that I don't care about anymore," says the executive artistic director at El Centro Su Teatro. "A young artist's dream is to do things that people will remember. By middle age, you hope people will forget what you did when you were young." Yet despite some gray hair, Garcia hasn’t lost his youthful interest in pissing people off.

Tonight at the Laboratory of Art and Ideas, 404 South Upham Street in Lakewood's Belmar, The Rantings of a MAMA (Middle Aged Mexican-American) is a mixed-bag peek into Garcia’s world. The show, which begins at 6 p.m., includes everything from skits to "acoustic commentaries" to stories. "We're just going up there to play for a while," says Garcia. "For example, one skit is called 'I Think I'm Turning Mexican,' and it's about a black guy who starts speaking Spanish and watching soccer. The idea is, his neighborhood is changing, and he's changing along with it."

Tickets are $5 for members, $10 for non-members. For information, call 303-934-1777 or go to www.belmarlab.org.
Sat., Feb. 2, 6 p.m., 2008