THREE-DAY FORECAST

POP MUSIC

Afro to a salsa beat

Africando, the brainchild of West African

producer Ibrahima Sylla that fuses salsa music and Senegalese vocals, will make a rare U.S. appearance Friday night as part of the sixth annual West Coast Salsa Congress at the Hollywood Park Casino. The event, which kicked off early this week with workshops and seminars, offers nightly performances that include Johnny Pacheco & His Orchestra tonight, the Spanish Harlem Orchestra on Saturday and El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico on Sunday.

West Coast Salsa Congress, Hollywood Park Casino, 3883 W. Century Blvd., L.A. Two bands per night, today-Sunday, 9:30 p.m. $25 tonight; $40 Friday-Sunday. (310) 330-2800.

THEATER

Wordsmith with edge

Leading theater actor Mark Harelik heads the cast as eloquent and heroic poet-swordsman “Cyrano de Bergerac” in Edmond Rostand’s classic romantic tragedy, directed by Mark Rucker.

“Cyrano de Bergerac,” South Coast Repertory, Segerstrom Stage, 655 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. Opens Friday. Runs Tuesdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 7:30 p.m.; Saturdays- Sundays, 2:30 p.m.; ends June 27. $27-$55; pay what you will May 29, 2:30 p.m. (714) 708-5555.

MUSIC

Inspired by Disney Hall

“The rhythmic curves and swells of Walt Disney Concert Hall, though landlocked in downtown L.A., call up feelings of oceanic freedom and rapture,” Australian composer Liza Lim writes in program notes to explain the feelings she hoped to express in “Ecstatic Architecture,” a 26-minute piece commissioned by the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Esa-Pekka Salonen will conduct the premiere of Lim’s work this weekend on a program that also includes Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 19, with Mitsuko Uchida, and Brahms’ Symphony No. 2.

Los Angeles Philharmonic, Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., L.A. Friday, Saturday, 8 p.m. Sunday, 2 p.m. $15-$120. (323) 850-2000.

MUSEUMS

Chicano Southwest

A two-part traveling exhibition celebrating Chicano art, life and culture visits the two locations of the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego. At the La Jolla facility, “Chicano Visions: American Painters on the Verge” features art by Carlos Almaraz, Frank Romero, Gronk, Patssi Valdez and many others. At the downtown venue, “Chicano, Chicana Now: American Expressions” is a multimedia exhibition that examines contemporary Chicano culture with performance pieces, artifacts, installation and video art. This portion of the show features a hydraulically operated lowrider car simulator.

“Chicano Visions: American Painters on the Verge,” MCASD-La Jolla, 700 Prospect St., La Jolla. Opens Sunday. Hours: Daily except Wednesdays, 11-a.m.-5 p.m.; Thursdays until 7. Ends Sept. 12. $6; $2 military, seniors, students; 12 and younger, free. (858) 454-3541.

“Chicano, Chicana Now: American Expressions,” MCASD-

Downtown, 1001 Kettner Blvd., San Diego. Hours: Daily except Wednesdays, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Free. (619) 234-1001.

ART

A woman and her lens

The first woman to earn a position with the Magnum Agency a half century ago, photographer Eve Arnold captured newsmakers and celebrities in candid reality. Widely known for her photographs of Marilyn Monroe, Arnold also focused her camera on the likes of Joe McCarthy, Malcolm X and Elizabeth Taylor. A selection of the 91-year-old photographer’s work, “Eve Arnold: Vintage,” opens with a reception Friday.

“Eve Arnold: Vintage,” Apex Fine Art, 152 N. La Brea Ave., L.A. Opening reception Friday, 7-9 p.m. Hours: Tuesdays-Saturdays, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. (323) 634-7887.

MOVIES

Amorous triangle with a twist

In writer Hanif Kureishi and director Roger Michell’s “The Mother,” Anne Reid stars as a suburban sexagenarian grandmother named May, who, after losing her husband, feels she has receded into the background of her children’s lives, becoming another invisible old lady. Then she stumbles into a passionate affair with Darren (Daniel Craig), a contractor half her age who is sleeping with her frustrated daughter, Paula. The affair stirs a turmoil within her that brings May into obvious conflict with her family.

“The Mother,” rated R for sexual content including graphic images of sexuality, language and brief drug use, opens Friday in selected theaters.

FAIR

Wear your tie-dyes

The old joke goes, “If you can remember the 1960s, you probably weren’t there.” This weekend in Topanga, everyone will have a second chance to live through those times at the 31st annual Topanga Days Country Fair. Michelle Shocked, Common Sense, Suzanne Teng and Mystic Journey head a lineup of nonstop live music, and there will be more than 75 crafts vendors, contests, children’s activities and food, all with a decidedly ‘60s vibe.

Topanga Days Country Fair, Topanga Community House, 1440 N. Topanga Canyon, Topanga. Saturday-Monday, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. $10. (310) 455-1980 or www.topangadays.com.

DANCE

Strangers no more

Recently awarded the first Lester Horton Dance Award for innovation, locally based dancer/choreographer Hassan Christopher brings his Company of Strangers to Highways Performance Space in the multipart social satire “Move Your Meet.” Subtitled “strange encounters in public spaces,” the piece pops across the urban landscape from a park bench, to a clinic’s waiting room, to the claustrophobic intimacy of an elevator, to a train station, to an airport lounge. In each location, people confront one another in ways that challenge their own sense of identity, and Christopher often heightens the action by fusing the dancing with text and music in provocative and comic combinations. The program also features works created by Jennifer Li Aldridge and Lauren Weedman.

Company of Strangers in “Move Your Meet,” Highways Performance Space, 1651 18th St., Santa Monica. Today-Saturday, 8:30 p.m. $16. (310) 315-1459.

JAZZ

Playboy, groovin’ in the grass

Flutist Hubert Laws, guitarist Paul Jackson Jr. and percussionist Poncho Sanchez will each be the headliner for a day for the free Playboy Jazz in Brookside Park at the Old Pasadena Summer Fest this weekend. Laws headlines Saturday, Jackson on Sunday and Sanchez on Monday. Playboy Jazz will feature 20-plus acts performing more than 20 hours of free music over three days. The annual event, one of several leading up to the Playboy Jazz Festival on June 19-20 at the Hollywood Bowl, will be held at Brookside Park this year instead of Central Park.

Playboy Jazz at Brookside Park, 360 N. Arroyo Blvd., Pasadena. Saturday-Monday, 11 a.m.-7:30 p.m. Free. (310) 449-4070.