Performance | Voces Fantasmas

Voces Fantasmas (Eng: Phantom Voices) is a multi-disciplinary program by J.E. Hernández that honors immigrants detained inside ICE immigrant detention centers.
The program is inspired by Hernández’s own experiences inside the Houston detention facility, where he spent 60 days detained in 2013. Hernández seeks to honor those who have since become no more than phantom voices in his memory, continuing the path that his art has taken since the event. The program consists of a 30-35 minute performance featuring music, dance, and film, exploring the way in which each medium can-both together and separately-say something about the phantom voices that are now lost to the eternity of time.
Voces Fantasmas is organized by Concertia in collaboration with Houston Contemporary Dance Company, Apollo Chamber Players, and Filmatic.
About J.E. Hernández
J.E. Hernández (b.1993) is a Mexican-born, Houston-based cinematographer and composer focusing on elevating personal and cultural narrative through his work. Hernández’s music has been featured by distinguished ensembles and organizations such as the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Houston Grand Opera, Apollo Chamber Players, Foundation for Modern Music, Museum of Fine Arts Houston, Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, American Composers Forum, the Brazilian National Orchestra, and in a wide variety of films, both in the United States and abroad. He holds a degree from the University of Houston. Past teachers include Marcus Maroney and Gregory Spears.
Hernández’s work focuses on both traditional and multi-disciplinary mediums, and he has collaborated with directors, choreographers, and playwrights. His interest in incorporating his cultural heritage from both his native Tabasco, Mexico, and Houston, Texas led him to create Concertia, a non-profit arts organization for social causes. Its mission statement reads: “To empower social causes through the prism of new music and multimedia art,” resonating with his goal as a composer to engage communities at large.
J.E. Hernández, Voces Fantasmas performance at Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, 2021. Courtesy the artist and Concertia.