Those who know say that the Multiforo Cultural Alicia or El Alicia, as it was colloquially known, was named after Lewis Carroll and his famous novel Alice in Wonderland. In fact, in its beginnings, this cultural space, created by Ignacio Pineda and located in the La Romita neighborhood of Mexico City, had graffiti with a smiling Cheshire cat, a character from the aforementioned novel. Today, almost 30 years later, the place closed its doors.
The Alicia Cultural Multiforum, a non-commercial musical space
It all began on a distant first of December 1995, when the forum was inaugurated at Avenida Cuauhtémoc 91-A with the presentation of the bands Antidoping, Limbo Zamba, Vantroi, The Acids and a performance by The invaders. From that date, the Alicia would be a hotbed of creators and its stage would add thousands of concerts in almost three decades of existence.
The idea of the place was to present musicians who, despite their talent, did not have access to the big festivals, nor to the radio, much less to spaces focused on the commercial. Therefore, all musical proposals from the Mexican underground were welcome: ska, hardcore, hip-hop, surf, punk rock, trash, rockabilly, reggae and even metal bands.
Consequently, groups such as Jaguares, Panteón Rococó, Los Esquizitos, Lost Acapulco, La Lupita, Botellita de Jerez, San Pascualito Rey, Café Tacvba, Manu Chao and Los Auténticos Decadentes performed at El Alicia, all at the beginning of their careers.
Culture and counterculture
What also motivated Nacho Pineda to set up an abandoned space in the 1990s was to create a place for those who, despite not having the money to pay the costs of a concert, could access culture: listen to live music, watch movies, enjoy a literature talk.
In this way, in addition to the bands that performed live, an endless number of workshops, conferences, poetry readings, film screenings and documentaries were organized, all free of charge.
Finally, it seems that due to regulatory problems and the pandemic, the forum decided to close its doors permanently, which happened in March of this year.
For nostalgics: an expo of Alicia Cultural Multiforum
If you were a regular visitor to Alicia or you just want to know a little more about the Chilango countercultural movement of the nineties, from Saturday June 10 you can visit the exhibition Alicia. Do not forgetwith graphic and musical material from the forum, at the National Museum of Popular Cultures (Avenida Hidalgo 289, Colonia Del Carmen, Coyoacán).