From a powerful dance piece to free speech

Las Mariposas

Brave women: Eveoke Dance Theatre’s Las Mariposas, inspired by Julia Alvarez’s novel Time of the Butterflies, uses modern dance and magical realism to tell the story of the three Maribal sisters, murdered on Nov. 25, 1960, for opposing the Dominican Republic’s dictatorship government. The performance at 2 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 12, will honor the memory of Diana Gonzalez, a San Diego City College student who was found dead in a campus bathroom on Oct. 12. She’d been beaten, and her ex-husband has been charged for the murder. A workshop for anyone who’s lost a loved one to domestic violence will follow the performance. Tickets are $20, $15 students and seniors. Las Mariposas runs through Dec. 19 with performances on Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. eveoke.org

Other Christmas tales: Write Out Loud, a group of actors who bring literature to life through live readings, says two guests from up north will visit San Diego this winter. No, not Mr. and Mrs. Claus. Toronto-based actors Lynne Griffin and Sean Sullivan will join locals Amanda Sitton and Walter Ritter for Write Out Loud’s Giving Season holiday program. This year’s readings include Christmas short stories and poems by Bret Harte, A.A. Milne and Ruth Sawyer and “Letter on the Wind: A Chanukah Tale” by Sarah Marwill Lamstein. Performances will be at the Old Town Theatre (4040 Twiggs St.) at 12:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 11, and 7 p.m. Monday, Dec. 13, and at the Dove Library in Carlsbad (3368 Eureka Place) at 7 p.m. Monday, Dec. 20. $5 for kids, $15 adults. writeoutloudsd.com

Free free speech: What we love about Jess Jollett, spokesperson for ACLU of San Diego and Imperial Counties, is that she’s not only fighting for freedom of speech—she also practices it through her participation in the spoken-word group So Say We All. For the second year, Jollett’s worlds are colliding as the ACLU and SSWA team up with local openmic producers Train of Thought for Freedoms of Expression Showcase, a night of musical and literary performances on the theme of civil liberties. This year’s readers include 2011 National Endowment for the Arts fellow Jericho Brown, hip-hop lyricist Deacon Blair and City- Beat favorite Lizz Huerta, plus musical acts Rob Deez, Summer Mencher and sojourn. The free show kicks off at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 11, at San Diego City College’s Saville Theater. aclusandiego.org

Bike in style: Velo Cult bike shop owner Sky Boyer says “tweed rides” began in the United Kingdom, where the fabric was popularized—think Sherlock Holmes— and, sure enough, the first known “Tweed Run” happened in London in 2009. Boyer also thinks the motivation was likely the desire to prove that you can involve cycling in your day-to-day routine without dressing in spandex. “When people get on their bikes,” Boyer says, “they tend to dress as awful as they humanly can. In Europe, they dress nice. It’s fashionable to be on a bike and look good. People want to bring that way of thinking to America.” In any case, the Second Annual San Diego Tweed Ride will start at Velo Cult (2220 fern St. in South Park) at 2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 11. Wear tweed—and don’t forget your helmet. velocult.com

Go west: Those who followed the call of manifest destiny back in the days of the so-called “Wild West” are often depicted in art as tough cowboys and brave heroes who eventually came to dominate both the land and the Native Americans living on it. A painting of a stoic cowboy looking out over a vast valley; a horse-and-carriage racing down a steep canyon road; a gruesome battle scene between cowboys and Indians: The style of art is pervasive in the American West, and local artist Shane Anderson has been investigating and documenting it through a photographic series called Rare Properties, which will be on view at Periscope Project (15th Street between J and K streets in East Village) beginning with an opening reception from 6 to 10 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 11. theperiscopeproject.org

City’s finest: Bedouin Vintage Collective, the shop at 2621 El Cajon Blvd. in North Park, has been killin’ it when it comes to putting on sweet little group shows that feature some of this city’s finest young artists. Sure, you have to crane your neck to see some of the pieces hung above the racks of clothing, but it’s almost always worth the extra bit of effort. From 6 to 10 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 11, Bedouin will host the art of Dion Terry, the artist whose work is on our cover this week; Spenser Little, the well-known artist who makes images by twisting a sin- “Rancho Bernardo, California. 2010” by Shane Anderson, at Periscope Project gle piece of wire; and Richard Salcido, who’s graced our cover in the past and whose gorgeous portraits of women often involve the exact same nose (his wife’s). bedouinvintage.com

Live nude girl: UCSD professor Bram Djikstra released a book in October, Naked: The Nude in America, which chronicles the use of nudity in art from the 18th century to now. Noel-Baza Fine Art “Untitled” by Dion Terry (2165 India St. in Little Italy) took inspiration from it and opened Bare, Naked & Nude, an exhibition featuring works of art with subjects who are au naturel. From 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 11, Noel-Baza will present Drawing Theresa, a unique event with Tijuana-born, Brooklyn-based artist Hugo Crosthwaite, whose work is featured in Djikstra’s book. Crosthwaite will do a live drawing with a nude woman (Theresa) as his canvas, and photographer Josue Castro will document the process for his series alternate Identities. Portions of the show will be restricted to viewers 21 and older. noel-bazafineart.com

Think Globally: Ion Theatre Company wants to shed light on the human condition and human rights. So, for seven days—Friday, Dec. 10, through Sunday, Dec. 12, and Friday, Dec. 17, through Monday, Dec. 20— Ion’s thespians will hold the HUMAN ACTion FESTIVAL, a program of screened documentaries courtesy of Human Rights Watch and staged readings of plays and other literature performed by Ion actors and Write Out Loud readers. Each day will feature a different theme, such as geographical regions or persecuted communities. It all happens at BLKBOX @ 6th & Penn Theatre, 3704 Sixth Ave. in Hillcrest. A festival pass is $60 while day passes can be had for a suggested $10 donation. Proceeds benefit charities. Too many films and readings to mention, so visit iontheatre.com for details.