Neighborhood:
Eastside Industrial With its dilapidated warehouses and crisscrossing railroad tracks, this neighborhood can feel like a working-class ghost town. (read more) But that same undiscovered, after-hours vibe is spawning lots of trendy new growth. Like AudioCinema (226 SE Madison St., 467-4554), a schizophrenic converted warehouse huddled under the Hawthorne Bridge that rents studio and rehearsal space when it’s not hosting art and performance events (like intimate encounters with Ghostface Killah and Cat Power at last year’s Musicfest NW). If you’re saddled with kiddies, try the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (1945 SE Water Ave., 797-6674, omsi.edu), which boasts rotating exhibits, laser light shows, an IMAX theater and its own naval submarine. Afterward, recharge at the Bakery Bar (1028 SE Water Ave., 546-8110) with lattes and decadent chocolate coconut cream puffs. Kidless? Swill Cuba libres at Slow Bar (533 SE Grand Ave., 230-7767) over the molar-rattling, punk-heavy jukebox that belies the bar’s handle. If you’re broke, The Maiden (previously Maiden in the Mist) (639 SE Morrison St., 232-5553) offers inexpensive happy-hour eats. And what else do broke Portlanders love? Bikes, of course. Enter River City Bicycles (706 SE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., 233-5973) and Next Adventure (426 SE Grand Ave., 233-0706), which can cover all your gear needs. Test your wheels out on the Vera Katz Eastbank Esplanade, a 1.5-mile riverfront strip, with a bronze statue of the former mayor beatifically smiling down on the city. —Amanda Waldroupe.
Events Today
Sunday November 8
Canta y no Llores
This year, Miracle Theatre’s annual Day of the Dead show ditches the symbolic conceits of the past three years in favor of a more straightforward narrative: migrant laborers living in the woods of Mount Hood in the midst of the Great Depression, hoping to find work on the construction of Timberline Lodge. They take in a Puerto Rican carpenter, a 15-year-old runaway with Hollywood dreams and a heartbroken goatherd, and eventually they all celebrate el Dia de los Muertos. The story is sappy, little more than a framework for song and dance; but it’s good song and dance, a blend of ’30s pop and Mexican and American folk tunes with similarly internationalist choreography. Osvaldo Gonzalez’s tearjerker rendition of “Volver, Volver” and Rosa Floyd’s performance of “La Bruja” are the highlights, but the whole shebang’s a lot of fun. BEN WATERHOUSE.
El Centro Milagro, 525 SE Stark St., 236-7253. 7:30 pm Thursdays, 8 pm Fridays-Saturdays and Nov. 15, 2 pm Sundays. Closes Nov. 15. $16-$22.
Upcoming Events
Thursday November 12
Canta y no Llores
This year, Miracle Theatre’s annual Day of the Dead show ditches the symbolic conceits of the past three years in favor of a more straightforward narrative: migrant laborers living in the woods of Mount Hood in the midst of the Great Depression, hoping to find work on the construction of Timberline Lodge. They take in a Puerto Rican carpenter, a 15-year-old runaway with Hollywood dreams and a heartbroken goatherd, and eventually they all celebrate el Dia de los Muertos. The story is sappy, little more than a framework for song and dance; but it’s good song and dance, a blend of ’30s pop and Mexican and American folk tunes with similarly internationalist choreography. Osvaldo Gonzalez’s tearjerker rendition of “Volver, Volver” and Rosa Floyd’s performance of “La Bruja” are the highlights, but the whole shebang’s a lot of fun. BEN WATERHOUSE.
El Centro Milagro, 525 SE Stark St., 236-7253. 7:30 pm Thursdays, 8 pm Fridays-Saturdays and Nov. 15, 2 pm Sundays. Closes Nov. 15. $16-$22.
I don't think Mr. Waterhouse is being fair to the play. Perhaps he can't multitask between reading supratitles and watching the action on stage. That is not a deficit with the performance, but with Mr. Waterhouse unfair review. For Mr. Waterhouse to discount Nelda Reye's performance as the lonely and quasi crazy radio fan, or Nurys Herrera's radio Diva panache is unforgivable. Willamette Week needs to send someone who is more competent and fair to review plays that are not in English.
Rating: Thumbs up