¡ARTE VIVA! Festival Lineup

The year-long celebration kicks off in September and quickly shifts into high gear in October. Along the way, the festival invites visitors to discover the joys and excitement of great art, great artists, and amazing music. The festival’s extended calendar gives art lovers multiple opportunities to delight in the diversity of Hispanic culture found on the Paradise Coast!

Some of the highlights include:

La Calavera Catrina

November 1 – March 5, 2023

Mexican-born artist Ricardo Soltero — famous for helping create the world’s largest Día de los Muertos celebration in Los Angeles — brings his unique vision of Mexico’s iconic “Day of the Dead” celebration to the Naples Botanical Garden, transforming it into a showcase featuring the eight larger-than-life sculptures of La Catrina, the elegant painted female skeleton central to the holiday. Día de los Muertos was famously portrayed in Disney’s 2017 animated film “Coco.” La Catrina reminds her viewers to see death as a celebration rather than a cause for sadness. The exhibit will also include a large ofrenda, the altar where offerings are made to the spirits of deceased family members.

26 Miles

October 13 – 30

The Gulfshore Playhouse presents a play by Puerto Rican playwright Quiara Alegria Hudes, author of the Tony-nominated musical In the Heights, about the bonds that develop between Beatriz and her estranged teen-aged daughter Olivia after a late-night call sparks an impromptu road trip for the two for them.

Clyde Butcher's Cuba: The Natural Beauty

January 24 – April 23, 2023

The Marco Island Historical Museum is the scene when Florida’s most famous landscape photographer turns his camera’s gaze on the immense beauty of Cuba. Butcher’s large-format camera and famous black and white images provide a vision of the island few have ever seen before.

Festival Under the Stars: Carmen

March 28 – 30, 2023

Opera Naples brings Georges Bizet’s unforgettable story and Spanish-themed score to life in Cambier Park. The opera is a wrenching depiction of a woman who craves love but creates obsession and features some of the most famous music of the modern era, including “Habanera” and “Toreador Song.”

Musical Interludes with a Latin Twist

Monthly starting in October

Marco Island Center for the Arts hosts a series of 90-minute performances by masters of Latin jazz, including the Venezuela-born legend Dr. Eduardo Calle of Miami as well as experts in Afro Cuban jazz and jazz from Brazil and Argentina.

Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santana presents Tablao Flamenco

April 5 – 6, 2023

America’s foremost Flamenco and Spanish dance company brings its talented troupe to Artis—Naples for performances celebrating the centuries-long tradition of southern Spain’s most iconic dance.

Frida and her Garden

January 14 – September 10, 2023

“Painting completed my life,” legendary Mexican artist Frida Kahlo (1907-1954) once said. This exhibit transports visitors to La Casa Azul (“The Blue House”), Kahlo’s iconic home and refuge. Recreated on the grounds of the Naples Botanical Garden, the show lets visitors immerse themselves in the life and work of Kahlo, who became a painter while recovering from being severely injured in a bus accident. The garden will also feature monumental sculptures representing some of the animals that sparked Kahlo’s creative work.

Frida Kahlo’s amazing life and fascinating art are the inspiration of several other events during ¡ARTE VIVA!, including:

Miradas de Mujeres

March 1 – 31, 2023

Kahlo’s iconic garments are reinterpreted in bold and bright paper creations in this exhibition by Belgian contemporary artist Isabelle de Borchgrave hosted by the Naples Art Association. De Borchgrave is famous for creating stunning paper replicas of garments seen in historic European paintings and fashion collections.

Frida Fest: Celebrating the Artist Frida Kahlo

January 21 – February 5, 2023

Stroll among the studios and galleries of the 100 artist-strong Naples Arts District to find a large colorful mural and life-sized “Fridas” decorating the district.

The Barber of Seville