San Cha

Los Angeles, CA

Inebria me

Co Presented with Boom Arts
West Coast Premiere
Performed in Spanish with English supertitles

Access notes: This performance includes haze, strobe effects, and nudity.

DESCRIPTION

A new, experimental opera by acclaimed LA-based musician and performance artist San Cha, Inebria me queers cisgender and heteronormative archetypes of telenovelas with fiercely original composition, libretto, and nonlinear narrative to celebrate the liberating power of ascendant relationships.

Inebria me is led by a visionary bicoastal trans and queer of color creative team and rooted in San Cha’s personal and artistic influences, including rural Mexican family life, Catholic Church choir, cross-border experiences, Bay Area drag, queer club culture, and nightlife. Blending ranchera, cumbia, mariachi, punk, classical, industrial, and electro, the opera’s dynamic live sound score combines with bold vocal performances and innovative theatrical design to make a powerful political and poetic statement for opera’s modern stage. Both homage and subversion, both minimalism and grandeur, Inebria me defies genre, expands form, and creates its own universe.

SPONSORSHIP

A National Performance Network (NPN) Creation Fund project. 

Co-commissioned by Performance Space New York, PICA, and Movimiento de Arte y Cultura Latino American, and NPN, with additional support from On the Boards, REDCAT, Los Angeles Performance Practice, Ballroom Marfa, Denniston Hill, and Oak Head.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

San Cha is a Mexican-American artist whose multidisciplinary practice blends rancheras, electronics, cumbia, and pop to explore themes of identity, power, and liberation. Born Lizette Gutierrez to Mexican immigrant parents, San Cha's artistic journey began with singing in the Catholic Church choir and evolved within the vibrant Bay Area queer drag nightlife scene. This formative period fostered a unique fusion of musical influences, including Catholic hymns, Mexican corridos, rancheras, cumbias, and punk queer electroclash, shaping her distinct artistic voice.

Rooted in the DIY, punk and queer nightlife cultures, San Cha's work is driven by a commitment to personal, social, and political liberation. Her creative process is fueled by community narratives, lucid dreams, and cultural exploration. A transformative experience living on her aunt's farm in Jalostotitlán, Mexico, inspired her to reimagine traditional ranchera music through a queer lens, subverting established forms and cultural signifiers.

San Cha's early work, such as the Capricho del Diablo EP (2018), received critical acclaim, with Bandcamp Daily naming it Album Of The Day. Her 2019 album, La Luz De La Esperanza, earned an 8.0 rating on Pitchfork and recognition as one of The Advocate's Women Of The Year in 2020. Her music has been featured in the Starz TV series Vida and Kacey Musgraves' film Star-Crossed: The Film, with the Los Angeles Times declaring, "San Cha sings from a divine place." Her ongoing Processions (2024) mixtape, released through Ballroom Marfa, further demonstrates her artistic versatility and commitment to exploring complex narratives.

San Cha's practice extends to collaborative projects in classical music and opera. She has engaged in projects, performances, and residencies with Performance Space New York, New York, NY Portland Institute for Contemporary Art, Portland, OR; lumber room, Portland, OR; The Getty, Los Angeles, CA; LACMA, Los Angeles, CA; Red Bull; Ballroom Marfa, Marfa, TX; Denniston Hill, Glen Wild, NY; Oak Head; On the Boards, Seattle, WA; REDCAT, Los Angeles, CA; Movimiento de Arte y Cultural Latino Americana, San Jose, CA; KQED; Foundation for Contemporary Arts, Portland, OR, and more. Her work has also been supported by the California Arts Council.

Recent awards and accolades include the National Performance Network Creation & Development Fund Grant (2023), National Performance Network Documentation & Storytelling Grant (2024), Los Angeles Performance Practice Research & Development Award (2024), a 2023 California Arts Council Individual Artist Fellowship, and a Foundation for Contemporary Arts Emergency Grant. San Cha's work consistently pushes artistic boundaries, utilizing music and performance as powerful vehicles for socio-political change and liberation.