Yareli Arizmendi and Sergio Arau Carpet Interview at Ballet Premiere of Like Water for Chocolate

LRM Online's Gig Patta spoke with guests Yareli Arizmendi and Sergio Arau on the red carpet at the premiere of The American Ballet Theater's Like Water for Chocolate. Nothing could be sweeter than the U.S. Premiere of Like Water for Chocolate for American Ballet Theatre’s Spring engagement at Segerstrom Center for the Arts. This full-length ballet created by the brilliant choreographer Christopher Wheeldon brings the famous novel by Laura Esquivel to mouth-watering life. Reuniting the award-winning team of Wheeldon (fresh from his Tony Award victory for MJ: The Musical) with composer Joby Talbot, and Tony-winning costume designer Bob Crowley, you’ll journey into the captivating family saga where the central character’s emotions spill out through cooking to influence everyone around her in startling and dramatic ways. Like Water for Chocolate tells the story of Tita, a young Mexican woman whose restrictive upbringing prevents her from marrying until her mother dies. Overwhelmed by a sense of duty and family tradition, Tita’s only form of expression is through cooking, but her life takes an unexpected turn when she falls in love with her wealthy neighbor Pedro. Their forbidden passion has far-reaching—and devastating—consequences. With the superstar dancers of ABT translating the richly layered story, Center audiences will be the 1st in the country to experience this magical Mexican love story!

Yareli Arizmendi: The Face of Cuba, Mexico, and Los Angeles

Gregg Chadwick
Portrait of Yareli Arizmendi
40"x30" oil on linen 2012

I recently completed a portrait of the immensely talented actress Yareli Arizmendi.



“The function of art is to renew our perceptions. The role of the artist is not to say or show what we can all speak or see, but that which we are unable to reveal” –Anais Nin


Born in Mexico, raised in the United States, Yareli Arizmendi coined a word, AmeXican to describe herself:
"It is a declaration of identity for the 21st century; my own account on how I prepared to wage battle in a world spilling over its human-made borders," explains Yareli.