WBEZ 91.5 Chicago

With the election of a former army general as the country’s next president, the legacy of Guatemala’s long, bloody civil war doesn’t just disappear overnight.Increasingly, Guatemala’s past and present mix not only in politics, but also in its contemporary art.

Otto Perez Molina is the first former military leader to be elected president in Guatemala since the end of military rule. Despite accusations that he took part in massacres, he promises to bring security to the country, which has seen a steady increase in violent crime.

Turns out not every artist is starving. But it’s official: dancers are not only barefoot, they’re poor and female.

The towering brick buildings that cluster around where Cermak Road crosses the Chicago River in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood, on the city’s near Southwest Side, once hosted everything from cloth manufacturers to food warehouses.There’s still an industrial feel in the area, with barges floating up a

This October the Museum of Contemporary Art celebrates the 10th anniversary of its 12x12 series. The monthly show features up-and-coming Chicago artists, most of whom have never before exhibited in a museum.