The Bay Area is a hub of artistic expression, attracting artists, writers and musicians from around the globe to live, work and create. We highlight some of the offerings here.
• “Adiós Mamá Carlota”: Tejano playwright legend Luis Valdez, of “Zoot Suit” fame, has a new play out that delves into his favorite topic: Mexican history. The show, getting its world premiere by San Jose Stage Company, tells the melancholy tale of the tormented Princess Charlotte of Belgium, who became the Mexican Empress through her marriage to Emperor Maximillian I. The show runs through April 28 at San Jose Stage, 90 S. 1st St., San Jose. Tickets are $32-$75; 408-283-7142, www.thestage.org.
• Snoop and friends: When hip-hop icon Snoop Dogg isn’t galavanting about with his BFF Martha Stewart, he’s still known to bust a rhyme or two. He’s headlining a star-studded show Friday, April 19, at Oakland’s Oracle Arena, which also features Bay Area hip-hop legends E-40 and Too Short. This will be a night of old-school, classic rap, f’shizzle. Show starts at 8 p.m.; 7000 Coliseum Road; tickets are $39.50-$199.50 at www.ticketmaster.com.
• Dylan, explained: A big red alert for you die-hard Bob Dylan fans who love to endlessly puzzle over the profundities in his lyrics. UC Berkeley lit teacher Timothy Hampton is the author of the just published “Bob Dylan’s Poetics: How the Songs Work” (Zone Books, $29.95, 288 pages), wherein he studies the Nobel Prize-winning singer-songwriter, not just as a pop star, but as an artist whose poetics and politics intersect. Hampton shares some of his findings at a reading at Mrs. Dalloway’s Books, 2904 College Ave., Berkeley, at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 18; www.mrsdalloways.com.
• “Queer California: Untold Stories”: In an era when the LGBT+ movement is evolving and growing, this timely multimedia exhibit at Oakland Museum of California digs deep into the stories, music, culture and history of transgender and gay people, and others who have long been been marginalized by mainstream society. The exhibit runs through Aug. 11; 1000 Oak St., Oakland; admission to this exhibit is $5 plus standard admission, $7-$21; museumca.org.
• San Francisco International Film Festival: The famed annual event continues through April 23 with screenings in San Francisco and Oakland. Some intriguing options this weekend include trailblazing filmmaker and pop culture icon Fab 5 Freddy’s “Grass Is Greener,” a look at the history of racism in marijuana arrests and prosecution (screening 6:30 p.m. Saturday, April 20, at Oakland’s Grand Lake Theatre), and “Official Secrets,” a based-on-a-true-story political thriller starring Keira Knightley (screening 8 p.m. Sunday, April 21, at the Castro Theatre in San Francisco). Tickets, a full schedule and more information are at sffilm.org.