Name: KulturalVicinity – Mexican Cultural Gathering
Start: 2026-06-07T16:00:00-05:00
End: 2026-06-07T19:00:00-05:00
Location: Taco Mucho

KulturalVicinity creates cultural gatherings with exceptional food, scholarly conversation, and art. We're on a mission to make culture more accessible and sustainable with aspirations to be a B Corp.

KV embodies our founder's love of travel to discover, learn, and grow. It amazes him how similar we are, yet how different everyone's experience is. We're here to celebrate that. He lives in Chicagoland with his family and their Maltese. He's educated at Columbia and Cornell, raised in Mark Twain's Elmira, NY, and a member of SunHearts — a Swiss ethical business community.

The Program

Join us for a cultural gathering Finding Mexico in Chicago. Features award-winning Mexican cuisine, scholar-led art conversation, and Mexican indie film.

Sunday, June 7, 2026

4:00 PM – 7:00 PM

Taco Mucho · 220 Harrison Street · Oak Park Arts District

An intimate, casual setting at our transformed neighborhood taquería.

Limited Capacity – 40 · $75/person

10% of proceeds after costs go to the National Museum of Mexican Art's traveling art program

Settling in + drinks
Your emcee sets the tone and introduces the program.
Dinner + dessert
Taco Mucho Executive Chef Ron Aleman's hand-picked off-menu sampling of authentic Mexican dishes.
Art gallery walk
A brief round-trip stroll to Dr. Ann Viernes's exhibition space and shop Purple Sun Arts. Stretch your legs, take in the work.
Scholar conversation + café de olla
Gilberto Sandoval heads up a conversation about the Mexican American influence on the visual language of Chicago's public art. Ron provides his version of the traditional Mexican coffee with cinnamon and unrefined cane sugar.
Break
A breath of air before the film. Chef Ron may have a surprise from the bar.
Film – Güeros
A sharp, playful black-and-white film following four young people through Mexico City during the 1999 student strikes. Your emcee will introduce three representative and moving ten-minute segments.
Closing remarks + feedback
A brief closing reflection and a 60-second QR survey.

Your Cultural Guides

Cultural Scholar Gilberto Sandoval

Artist Educator

Through on-site and off-site workshops, lectures, and presentations, he shares Mexican Art and Culture from both sides of the border with audiences of all ages.

As an interdisciplinary artist who has explored multiple media, his art practice is centered on printmaking, illustration, and analog photography, and speaks to the relationships between himself, a Chicago-born child of immigrants, and the Mexico his parents left behind.

Executive Chef Ron Aleman

Taco Mucho

Deep roots in Mexican culinary tradition. Every dish is a reflection of technique, local sourcing, and genuine care — his tortillas, salsas, and warmth of welcome alone are reason to show up.

Artist Educator & Founder Dr. Ann Viernes

Purple Sun Arts

Founder of Purple Sun Arts in the Oak Park Arts District, where she exhibits her own work alongside other artists. Leads transformational workshops and life coaching in her on-site lounge.

Emcee Mike Creighton

KulturalVicinity

Oak Park Arts District resident born with the nomadic bug, curious, and drawn to travel's knack of pushing him out of his comfort zone, he'll be there throughout sweating the details so you won't have to.

What People Are Saying

"It was honestly really incredible."

— ATTENDEE

"It was lovely."

— ATTENDEE

"Great event!"

— ATTENDEE

KulturalVicinity

The Program

Your Cultural Guides

What People Are Saying

Reserve Your Spot