Vultures & Fireflies: Storytelling Night

Marres, House for Contemporary Culture, is celebrating its 25th anniversary with a series of special events held on the 25th of every month. On March 25, Marres will be hosting a storytelling night surrounding the exhibition Vultures & Fireflies by the Mexican artist Alejandro Galván.

Alejandro paints large-scale works, drawing from a vast range of sources and materials to create a hyper-detailed chronicle of his barrio, Nezahualcóyotl. In what he calls a vivid dream of Mexican society, he seeks to address the deep injustices and widespread corruption that shape everyday life while bringing unheard stories into the grand narrative of history—ensuring they are not forgotten. His work challenges the notion that he and his fellow residents of Nezahualcóyotl are marginalized or invisible; rather, they belong to a community whose story has yet to be told. And that story, at its core, resonates far beyond Nezahualcóyotl, echoing the experiences of people from other countries, cities, villages, and even different eras. Galván paints because he refuses to let these stories disappear.

With this in mind, we invite you to gather around a campfire in Marres’ intimate city garden and share your own story—stories that should not be lost. Fact or fiction, it doesn’t matter, as long as they help connect people through oral history. They may even be told in different languages, celebrating the richness of diverse voices and perspectives.