Notes From A Native Daughter: Recent Episodes
Notes From A Native Daughter
Going indie as a designer was not in her plans. Necessity came knocking and she took her sewing skills and put them into action creating Skin Onion in 2012.
Lady Onion, as I now call her, is also an actress and appears in the upcoming (October 26) Puerto Rican film Sol de Media Noche, starring opposite Pedro Capó. Though we talk about the film a little bit in this conversation, our exchange centers more on her clothing experiment turned brand. I love that when necessity and desperation knocked at her door she made something of it. Her garments are soft, flexible, purposeful, and timeless.
Young, beautiful, and committed Lady Onion is just like her wearable expressions soft, flexible, and purposeful.
Episode 64 | Five small community-based arts organizations: BronxArtSpace, Dominican York Proyecto GRAFICA, En Foco, Inc., Literary Freedom Project, and Puerto Rican Institute for Development of the Arts make up the Urban Arts Cooperative - UAC. Bill Aguado, is spearheading the endeavor.
Bill’s career is ample deep. This beautiful article by David González of The New York Times says it best.
The crux of UAC is “to build a financially viable alternative to the existing local arts council and institute strategies for arts support that does not rely on the traditional 501(c) nonprofit model while meeting accountability standards set by funders.” Press Release 7|10|17.
The synthesis of the message is to assess and empower present and future artists, particularly those who reside in The Bronx, Harlem, and Washington Heights. UAC received seed funding from the New York City Cultural Agenda Fund in The New York Community Trust.
Bill and Ron Kavanaugh, of the Literary Freedom Project, are welcoming like-minded individuals and collectives to join the cooperative to build new models of existence for artists from The Bronx, Harlem, and Washington Heights, though it could serve as model for others.
I’ll be participating with UAC. I recognize we need one another, now more than ever. Together better than separate. Artists. To get in touch email baguado@enfoco.org.
Grateful for Bill’s time, seriousness, commitment, and candidness.
Episode 63: In the eye of the beholder. Photography. Silence. Song of Myself. A worldwide network and a one stop shop for creatives and media producers. Visura. For better or for others (her own words). Her purpose. A beauty. Family.
Chilean filmmaker Fernando Guzzoni is a poet. His film Jesús is a powerful coming of age film with a different bent. Inspired by true events Fernando writes to slash your visor off your face. Jesús is raw, real, beautiful, and devastating. This is the story about a boy that mirrors the Chile of today and the cities we all live in. Fernando is a profound thinker and cares about a lot of things. In this work, he etches a journey of tragedy all wrapped up in free love, innocence, immaturity, base behavior, repentance, treason, defeat. He doesn’t make it pretty, but he does bring us his voice with courage and respect.
The theatrical roll-out of Jesús begins September 1 in New York and follows a DVD/VOD on September 19. See his other two works, La Colorina and Carne de Perro (Dog Flesh).
I have spent most of this summer editing. Listening again, to all the people I spoke with this past year and who make up the Hostos Community College community. I spent another chunk of time editing interviews with people close to Evelina López Antonetty, the Puerto Rican leader who established United Bronx Parents. And I’ve devoted another slot of time to just reading history and pondering how all these voices fit in the context of today.
I begin a whole new weekly share in the form of a radio hour segment, the first week of September, when Hostos Community College officially sets off on celebrating its 50th Anniversary, for the College’s internal and external community. I’m on the hot seat and feeling it.
And there’s more but for now, Kim Sanabria. Something about her sincerity, her cadence, her serenity, and her story, just gripped me.
For those of you who’ve seen me these past few months, I’m sad these days. I may not look it, but I am. Fortunately, people like Kim send me off to the sphere of optimism and hope and reaffirming the notion that education is a moral imperative. The future depends on it.
This is episode 60. One of the awesome things about doing this podcast/program for the past sixty-weeks has been the chance to speak with and listen to a lot of wonderful people. It’s kept me present to the fact that there is a lot of goodness despite all the social and political parasites and white supremacists, here and abroad, who with their ignorant and retrograde intellect, insist on bringing us all to the precipice of death.
One of those good people is Melissa Rendler-García. She has been working in advocacy and policy of public health for over 20-years at a global scale. From the heart of the Amazon to Romania to Afghanistan to Central and South America, Melissa has worked on issues from malaria to cancer. Her main service, to support government ministries and agencies like the Union for International Cancer Control in bringing global attention for funding to pandemics and preventable diseases like cervical cancer, affecting poor and developing nations.
In this episode, she talks about her journey into the field. I’m super proud of her and admire her strength of character. Listen to her story, her sense of humanity might just give you a little jolt of inspiration.
Healthcare is an issue close to my heart and should be for all of you. Our pre-existing condition is being born. For now, here is one of my favorite people, proud to call her a sister, an advocate of all of us and we both agree that healthcare is a human right.
alk about real. Manny Vega is super real. Legit all the way. All the way.
Praise the Lord.
Before recording our conversation Manny showed me this spectacular book he’s been working on for 4-years. It’s a fantastical sight of black ink drawings over brown paper. The light blue leather bound of the book, a little less than a meter in size, has about 80 pages, each one a drawn world filled with life flushed in nuance and inspired by the act of surrendering.
As he tells it, to surrender is to trust in your angels, your madrina, the Gods, and the ancestors. Each second of creative action is trust in surrendering. Not surrendering as meek, but surrendering to the most high in silence and pure expression of sincere enthusiasm.
Manny is enthusiastic for the action of creating in the moment - one drawing is an 8-hour stretch. Here and there is a state of being.
He let me take one picture from the book and it turned out to be the chameleon. Fancy that. Look at him in the branch, knowing the right hue will appear at just the right time. Good dust spreads wherever the art finally arrives to rest.
Manny's heart is in his art. Surrender...
In a few words. Here in this share, George Emilio Sanchez talks about being committed to social justice and its fusion with the creative arts. At a time when the relevance of the Humanities is being questioned, George gets to do it from its very fringes. He teaches not just at Staten Island College helping to spread good, but throughout a wide network. Best advice he can give, “Listen, listen, listen…”
I’ve been thinking about Math lately. The course that we must all take and that many of us, later in young adult life think it’s useless, only it isn’t. In many ways it’s true, the saying, youth is wasted on the young. But I digress.
Dr. C is all heart-and-soul. I hope you catch that when you listen to his share in this episode 57. He’s from Poland and teaches mathematics at Hostos. For him, mathematics is about the “spirit of generalization.” He’s serious as hell and he makes sense. I say Hostos is lucky to have him.
This past week I went on the deep end of memory lane recalling how hard Math had been for me during my elementary and middle school days until I got to Algebra. Until then, I thought I was utterly incapable of understanding numbers, I suffered a lot because of it. And though that’s a different story, the realization that I wasn’t a dunce dawned on me when I took to Algebra and realized I understood numbers and counting from the experiential setting of being a dancer. Dancing in synchronicity with music is one of the fundamentals of learning the language of being a mover. So connecting what to me were disconnected worlds through the realm of movement, was a total aha moment. It was like, full contact between the invisible and physical world. When Dr. C spoke about aha moments and his students I had a smile from ear to ear.
Algebra. X, Y, Z, and variables. Just like life. We are all in it together, and so in the deep lane I thought what does “m.a.t.h.” stand for, and I came up with, Materialized Attention To Harmony.
Go count your blessings.
Have you ever gone under water searching for silence? Do you focus on staying under a bit longer to think and to feel the peace? Or, do you grow desperate and go for air? Are you thankful you can come up for air? Do you go out there and live?
For Rosary Solimanto going down under was not a choice. She was living her life and suddenly, she was thrown into the water to drown. She could see the light, the outside world, but something larger than her kept under desperate for air, for life. I think somewhere in her crucifixion Rosary found a place of stillness and silence - that place where you can go to fetch that thing that just might save your life. That, there, is such a lonely journey…
But she ferociously set herself free and came up for air to live, and she’s taking on the healthcare industry with performance (Dead without Health Care, Alive, The Patient) with sculptures (Weight, Cripple, Trigeminal Neuralgia), by building a new health care narrative, and working to debunk the image of the wheelchair from the health care lexicon in favor of ADAPT.
Listen to our talk in Episode 56.
Her valor and her work are for all of us. To put it elegantly, this entire health care debacle is disgraceful. To me, these men, the ones presenting the health care agenda are low lives. I’m repulsed by all of it and by them, and not just now, but from way before. The whole thing is just a racket. If there is any silver lining is the fact that their moral monstrosity has made it plain and apparent that health care must be universal because health care is a human right.
'Tis the summer of Despacito...
There’s this music club/performance space/art space in Santurce, Puerto Rico called La Respuesta, that mostly presents the local indie rock scene. I learned about La Respuesta in 2008 when I was down in the island for a season working publicity for several local films. One of the films, La Mala needed a place for a party and my friend Nadia Barbarossa, who was part of the film’s producers team told me about it. So I called the owner, the guy that everyone called Fofito, and asked him for a date to go see the place for a possible rental. I still remember the first impression. He was dry, serious, and straight to the point which made me love him on the spot because he didn’t waste my time with bullshit talk.
So La Respuesta was rented for La Mala’s premiere party where the lovely and amazing Lena Burke played the piano and sang her heart out. Since then he and I have been buddies. I stopped calling him Fofito. He is Jose to me, without the accent on the “e”. I like it more than his nickname. Jose is a father of two kids he adores and it’s not just talk. Jose loves music and it’s not just talk. Jose loves Puerto Rico and it’s not just talk. Some people say he’s cantankerous. I say he’s a lovable cantankerous character and if it weren’t for him many emerging artists in San Juan would have virtually nowhere to perform. For that, I love him yet again.
For several years now he’s been commuting between New York and Puerto Rico and producing programming for La Marqueta Retoña. In 2015, Remezcla included him in a “Top 10 List” .
Finally, after about two years of crossed schedules he came over for lunch last Friday and helped me hang paintings in my new apartment, get plants, and out of the blue, I decided to record an on-the-spot conversation. So this Spanish podcast episode 55 has upper west Bronx sounds. But it’s a real from-the-heart conversation with a guy that’s worked hard to make a living in the arts and culture sphere, in the music scene sphere, and with and for Puerto Rican musicians and visual artists. La Respuesta’s wall facing Avenida Fernández Juncos is a space for murals…this is now.
For episode 54 I wanted to bring back the Hostos Oral Collective. Perhaps because I’m searching left and right for people who’ve gone out and made a difference, perhaps because of the symbolism of the weekend celebrations, perhaps because I can’t stop thinking about the South Bronx and everything that’s happened there...by now I’ve heard over 150 stories about Hostos and the Bronx, los puertorriqueños, los afro-americanos, los imigrantes, the fiscal crisis, the place was burning...Somewhere in there is why I wanted to share Fernando Ferrer’s words about Eugenio María de Hostos Community College and the Bronx today.
The image of him waiting for me in Hostos’ A-Building lobby is etched in my mind. There he was, the iconic former Bronx Borough President unfazed by his lone landing on 149th Street and Grand Concourse. He looked around as if thinking to himself...He didn’t need an I.D., the security guards recognized him, as well as many of the passersby.
He sat inside my humble voice recording sound studio made of photo backdrop drapes to cancel out echo. Inside the pseudo-casbah is a little table with a super colorful drape that makes it look like a seance gathering. Only it’s not, but it does make the small hut an intimate space for one-on-ones and the only way out of nervousness is to focus, be present 100% and listen to the words...here a leader and a kind hearted man - Fernando Ferrer.
Sitting down with a vocal coach is a humbling thing. In this conversation both of us demonstrate our Spanglish sharpness, other than that she’s the pro. Rosie holds the distinction of being one of the audiobook voices for the United States Library of Congress. Take that. Rosie has rules, one hundred of them! In our conversation, we really only got to level one, but it’s worth the listen for our seamless in-and-out from English-to-Spanish-to-English and to catch an off-record mini class on proper diction. She asked me what language I wanted to perfect and I answered “neither,” but my answer should have been, “both.”
I’ve known Rosie for many years, but a couple of years ago we met up at Tio Louis’ house and caught up in a heart-to-heart talk that has brought us together. There’s a lot more to her than being an actress and a diction coach. She also writes films and is tackling dying with dignity as the theme, a matter for a different sit-down. For now, be reminded that I’m fascinated by creative workers, and she is definitely one of them. We cover her work as a voiceover artist, her near-death car crash on the West Side Highway that saved her life metaphorically speaking, a few other topics and then we go into diction exercises. She’s lovely. Simply lovely. Sweet, respectful, mature and at it with dignity and certainty. My kind of people.
This is episode 52 and Jane Gabriels as a guest is sort of poetic. Wasn’t planned. NFAND began as an experiment to save my life and the journey has been bountiful, but more on that some other time. For now, know that Jane and I are kindred in spirit and professional action. But she’s a Jane of all trades with prowess who masters her crafts. Her free style has made her a dancer, poet, performance artist, grant writer, producer, “boss” of Pepatián, a mentor to artists, and a Ph.D. holder. Jane and I have much to talk about and can follow our thoughts going faster than the sounds of our words. Though our talk stretches out, we managed to stay rooted in the journey towards a meaningful life, love of artists, learning to fund the arts, and the Bronx. Many look up to her, go to her, and need her because she’s simply one-of-a-kind.
I struggled to watch Angel Manuel Soto film La Granja not because it was bad, but because it was so good. He had me at minute three. Bravo to him. The film is a scathing socio-political commentary. The consequences of depraved corruption. In this make believe dystopian realm, La Granja’s brazen punch, if you have any humanity in you, is that it’s true. This story takes place in Puerto Rico. The Puerto Rico few want to look at, like Angel says, “It’s not the Puerto Rico you see on postcards.”
Why do we compare the most decadent and repulsive behavior of people to animals? I mean, most animals kill in self-defense or when they’re hungry, not for show. We, the people, also kill in self-defense or if we are hungry, but we also kill for show. Right? And so we’re in a category all of our own as I see it. What is animalistic about us? I’m imagining the side of human behavior that dismembers people without remorse or dismembers people with gusto as if the kill would save their lives. Another way to kill for show is to asphyxiate slowly with torture, oppression, enslavement, austerity, rape, robbery, pillage, and setting the landscape for ignorance which only turns the knob up each time a little higher until it gets to such a point that it turns human reality into a menace.
Angel Manuel Soto is warning us but also urging us to take a step back and reconsider all our options because we might just end up there. It looks like we're almost getting there by the look of things on a global scale though. Corrupt and base souls strangling the people left and right, north and south, and east and west. They, they themselves seemed captured in a twisted sinister mindset that aims to make ignorance and vitriol the only way out, towards their way. The question is, which way is that?
That is what La Granja captures and presents. Desperation, decay, oppression, indifference, and death. Colonialism plus massive white collar corruption entangled with the American Dream has dismembered a nation that is still alive both on the island and in the diaspora, el pueblo más grande de Puerto Rico.
But if there’s life, shouldn’t there also be hope? Let’s talk.
Charlie is an autodidact. He knows what he knows because he taught himself. And he’s sharp and witty and he reads, reads, and reads. I asked him how he became a writer and he went off on a story, many stories, connected stories about his life’s journey into the literary realm. It is his way of life. From song lyricist to phantasmagorical and literary terms Charlie goes at everything or has because he’s curious. That’s why he left the Bronx for a while, to see the world. I clearly see the skinny kid with no cash at 12 or so, riding the New York City subways when the whole damn thing was falling apart (just like now btw) and I guess that had something to do with him growing his thick skin. And thank goodness nothing ever happened to him. After all, he’s been through and seen and lived Charlie is sensitive, open, centered in his sense of self, forward, real, and that’s why people love him.
This is a Spanish language episode with an English intro.
My background is imbued in music. My entire life has been informed sort of like a doll cut out from the Latin music scene in its many forms. Though I cannot sing or play an instrument to save my life, my Dad gave me no choice but to learn to love music and I’m all the better and privileged for it. I’ve absorbed the arts and culture from that primal field of expression ever since I can remember.
One of those figures is Fran’ Ferrer. His work has impacted Puerto Rican popular music in profound ways. He is history. Really. He has given the cause his sweat, blood, and tears. Fran’ has produced some of the island’s most iconic and unforgettable figures and by extension, songs, in both the studio and live performance setting.
Here he talks about his musical journey in the 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s from El Topo to Roy to Batacumbele, Brown to Festival Marisol and the list goes on. We’re scheduled for a Part II sometime later in the year.
A man of the people who produced music for his people.
Esto es una remembranza linda-linda de la historia de la música de Puerto Rico.
Today he plays at the Loisaida Festival in the Lower East Side of Manhattan with a great band of masters puertorriqueños - Papo Vázquez - musical director; Henry Cole, drums; Gabriel “Gabo” Lugo, percussion; Mario Roberto Cancel Viga, cuatro; Ariel Robles, bass; Nelson “Gazú” Jaime, trumpet; Anthony Carillo, bongó; Edsel Gómez, piano; Omi, Trombone; and Jorge Castro, Sax.
In other words...Descarga Boricua (this is a reference).
An actor prepares…
After a ten-year hiatus, Jorge Merced returns to reprise the role of “Loca” la de la Locura in El Bolero Fue Mi Ruina - El Bolero Was My Downfall - the brave character created by Puerto Rican author Manuel Ramos Otero.
In a nutshell, I would say the play is a confession of sorts, an admission of actions of sins based on love, desperation, defeat, marginalization, and the universal innate need of all human hearts to feel acknowledged and respected. Loca, is a tragic story but also a heroic one.
I first saw Jorge perform this show 20 years ago at Pregones’ black box theater. The play opens June 1st, marking Jorge’s 20th anniversary with the show and his 30 years of histrionics and leadership with Pregones, now Pregones / Puerto Rican Traveling Theater.
Jorge has been part of the gay rights movement for years and our conversation here stretches out to explain how the text came to him, how he began performing it as a way to stand for queer voices, what Ramon Ramos Otero signifies for Spanish queer literature today, and how he prepared to revise and reimagine this tale for today.
Jorge is an exceptional actor and performer with an uncanny ability to deliver character dialogue in perfect synchronicity with live music. It’s as if he were an Olympic surfer riding the perfect wave that could crash at any second, only that just like the great surfer, he’s somehow always ahead of it, and comes out standing.
This new staging of El Bolero Was My Downfall is in English, and we also talked about the translation work and how some things cannot be translated but communicated in action. And so, Jorge and the cast prepared, and they're for you.
A good teacher can change you forever.
Like my 11th grade math teacher Ana. Something about how she taught opened me to the magnificence of Algebra. My awakening made me yearn for homework. I asked for more of it, I couldn’t get enough. By the time my high school graduation came, I no longer felt like I didn’t have a brain for math, which really dented in my self-esteem for years. But I did have it, it just took me a while, the right teacher.
And that’s the thing with Lew Levin, professor of English. He’s taught English at Hostos Community College for years now, like 40. In broad terms, Lew’s an old-timer of the Bronx, New York City, multi-lingual immigrant populations, communities of color, The City University of New York, and education as a principle.
I’ve seen so many eyes light up when they mention the Professor. They all say more or less the same things, that he’s respectful, fun, serious, makes them feel important, and he’s a stand-up man.
This is a beautiful story of a life of service.
Comes in Rokia Diabi. A young woman and student with a promising future. The power of her promise nested in her dream of becoming a lawyer some day. She's so sincere. Goodness. Rokia has seen a lot, suffered a lot, but she overcomes. Here is a woman's story, a student's story, an snippet of an urban tale in globalized times.
I stand with the students and allies of the University of Puerto Rico.
For the next four weeks, I will share full episodes of the Hostos50 Oral Collective.
As the repulsive PROMESA proposes to slash funding from the UPR there is no better time than to share what I have been privileged enough to document for the past eight months. The antithesis of the long-term consequences of a city without a local and public educational institution.
My first love is arts and culture.
And so Episode 45 is Wally Edgecombe. He’s amazing. Just amazing. And as I see it, and at this juncture, Wally is a chapter of South Bronx history.
This is Part I of II. For those of you into deep dives, the various links will take you to the Soundcloud page where the rest of the vast collection, will be uploaded to for the rest of the year. And there, you will find Part II of Wally Edgecombe. The rest is history.
If the legendary Puerto Rican educator, writer, and patriot Don Eugenio María de Hostos were alive today, I wonder what he’d think of the community college in the South Bronx named after him, that no one thought would make it. Alas.
Just this past Thursday, Eugenio María de Hostos Community College launched its 50th Anniversary Season.
I can't help but believe that Don Eugenio would be proud of what one of the most marginalized and disenfranchised communities to have ever been in United States history did for themselves.
The story of Hostos is deserving of a lot more attention than it has ever received. It truly is an amazing story. A story about the Bronx, New York City and a reveal of margnalized communities. My relationship with the College is long and now very profound. Life changing really. And I’ll share that story as the year unfolds.
But for part one, for the past 8 months, I’ve been coordinating, conducting, and editing an oral history project for and about Hostos Community College - Hostos50. To date, I have interviewed well over 100 people and counting for a grand goal of 200. From former College Presidents Cándido de León and Flora Mancuso Edwards, to Congressman José E. Serrano, and former Bronx Borough Presidents Fernando Ferrer and Adolfo Carrión, to young students with a promising future like Rokia Diabi.
Once a month, for the next year, I’ll share some of these testimonies if you will. The testimonies are moving, sincere, revealing, courageous, some devastating, others empowering, and the story of triumph over adversity. And more relevant than ever.
Which brings me to Tere Martínez. I wanted to start with her because I love her because she has been nothing but noble to me and because her purpose is beautiful and her testimony open and to the point.
Like the song says, I must have done something good, for the grace of God gave me the opportunity to work on this project when we have, arguably, the most despicable crew of racists, sexists, homophobic, fear mongering, science deniers, xenophobes and troglodytes leading the world order.
The point indeed is that the voices emerging from this Hostos Community College oral collective as I’ve heard it first hand, confirm to me yet again that the leaders have it all wrong.
Ignorance judges the so-called “moochers” for being good for nothings. The truth is you find moochers and good for nothings at every level and anywhere you go, is not an exclusive club of poor people of communities of color.
The bottom line is that the power of education is real and access is imperative.
Julia Solomonoff rocks. She’s cool, serious, candid, and it appears like she glides from one great thing to another great thing. At it for many years, Julia has some really beautiful credits. As director, those include, The Last Summer of la Boyita (produced by Almodovar, winner of over twenty international awards) and Hermanas (participant of Sundance and Berlinale Talent Campus labs and premiered at Toronto). As producer, Alejandro Landes’ Cocalero (Sundance 2007), Julia Murat’s Found Memories (Venecia, Toronto, 2011), Ana Piterbarg’s Everybody Has a Plan starring Viggo Mortensen (Toronto 2012), Lucia Murat’s Memories they told me (FIPRESCI winner Moscow 2013) and Celina Murga’s The Third Bank of the River executive produced by Martin Scorsese (Berlin 2014). And, she was 1st AD to The Motorcycle Diaries director Walter Salles.
She co-wrote and directed the feature film Nobody’s Watching (nadie nos mira), world premiering at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival in the International Narrative Competition with screenings on the 22, 23, 26 and 27 of April.
Spoiler alert: In this episode 43 Julia and I talk film financing, Argentinian women directors, directing from the inside and about Guillermo Pfening, the film’s protagonist and hero. Mr. Pfening (Nico in the film) is a wonderful actor. He delivers a courageous performance that reaches a gamut of difficult emotions with such elegance. It was a pleasure to watch him go at innocence, love, grief, striving, desire, utter destitution and embracing self-reliance. Broke my heart. I’ve seen this story. Nobody’s Watching is a New York story and a world story. After 27-years and counting here in the City, I don’t know of anyone, who has not faced the sun at sunset when all seems lost. But not all is lost. Ja-ja! It ends well... In Spanish we have the verb tenses “ser y estar.” This is the crux of the foundation of the language in its most literal sense, in understanding that distinction of the state of the self. “I am” and “I am” in English is one state. But in Spanish, “ser” (I am) is a permanent state, and “estar” (I am), is transitional. Somewhere in there is the story of us.
Joseph and Gloria La Morte are a special husband-and-wife creative duo. They’ve etched a place for themselves in the creative economy. Combined, Joseph and Gloria have produced films, documentaries, web series, public service announcements, special segments, edited features, written screenplays, and acted; and are parents to Emile. Good people.
For years they’ve been part of my artistic and professional compass. How do they/we do it? When and how does the creative life begin? Make something out of it. And that they have. Joseph says something really true here towards the end. I’m paraphrasing, but it’s something like, yes we have to pay the mortgage, but we find ways to feel at peace with how we earn our money. The crux of the hunt. And it lives with the actions of us/them, the creative work. In their case, Details, Crush, Entre Nos, Free Like the Birds, Get Some, 11 Million Stories, and many more. See JoeynGloria.com.
Their son Emile will know all about producing and filmmaking for sure. I tried editing down to 30 minutes but it was almost impossible because of course, thoughts come in story form as told by creative workers. Also, the sound is not ideal, but I’m proud of the edit work I did to bring balance to all the voices. But the talk stands because this conversation is really about making the quotidian matter.
Javier started his career in communications way back when his parents built him a playhouse, that at one point he turned into a studio news station. He wrote scripts and broadcasted the news. I can picture him clearly, little, doing his thing. He read the papers every day at 8:00 p.m. with his parents. His love for news is a way back thing. Good, it is.
A consummate professional in the field of communications, Javier knows government, public affairs, culture, society, political campaigns, and a whole lot more. More like acting and performing. He combines his art and what he considers his civic duty, reporting on local news.
He and I have grown up together, professionally speaking. In this episode 41, we talk about that, the things we do, the new era of news and though he’s straight laced and I the bohemian one in both style and practice, we’re good colleagues, with nothing but mutual respect. Good, it is.
Occasion: Episode 40. Towards the end of our conversation, Daniel Maldonado says that “dealing with rejection is soul crushing and it never ends...it’s about managing expectations." In this matter, I feel Daniel’s next of kin. What do you say? Doesn’t the match make us usable, strong, and mature if you meet it in the eye? Every down-and-up a swallow. Standing.
Daniel Maldonado is steady like that, like an oak, and owning his journey as a writer, director, and filmmaker. His movie H.O.M.E. is beautiful.
They went rogue. The director, cast, and crew, filming underground NY-MTA...
H.O.M.E. is on tour (2017): Festival Internacional de Cine en Guadalajara (market) - Festival Internacional Cine, Álamos Mágico (screening) - San Diego Latino Film Festival (screening) - North Hollywood CineFest (screening) - Phoenix Film Festival (screening) - Chicago Latino Film Festival (screening) - Bentonville Film Festival (screening.
Maria Nieto taught herself how to write in formulas, that’s the Hollywood way, and she takes to it. She’s working on a couple of horror and Sci-Fi scripts. Maria has a whole lot of profound and sensible things to say about being, writing, surviving, the politics of the day, and she’s a good listener.
How we got to talking about loss and mourning I’m not sure, but we did, and I thank her for it. The dead live. What a paradox.
Indeed, that this should be the week the U.S. Gov in all its mighty might announced axing the arts from federal funding. They may or may not succeed, but one thing is for sure, art will never die. Art lives.
Once, many, many years ago, I had the honor of playing Spider Woman / Spider Grandmother in Murray Mednick’s The Coyote Cycle. The culmination of performing this play meant we did seven acts through the night beginning at dusk and ending at sunrise. The Coyote, the Trickster, the Clown, and Spider Woman. The cycle of life, the story. The four elements. We had an audience. I stood eye-to-eye with an owl. Humbling.
As a native daughter, my sincere heart stands with Native Nations. We have one earth. Their fight is our fight. Truly. It was an honor to march on Friday in Washington D.C.
WaterIsLife. Without water we don’t survive. None of us. None of this.
This episode is what I heard - their proclamation, their credo, the plea, the warning.
Excerpt:
I loved the movie, Gladiator. Memory tells me, I went to see the film anywhere from 6 to 8 times on the big screen. I was mesmerized by it. Such a colossal spectacle in every single way – the music, the opening battle sequence, the costumes, the plot, the words, the vengeance, the colosseum battles, and the brilliance of Maximus Decimus Meridius, Marcus Aurelius, Commodus, Lucilla, Proximo, and Senator Gracchus.
Alfonso Díaz, is the New York City arts, culture, and entertainment reporter and red carpet correspondent for the Colombian channel. As publicist he and I have worked in a variety of projects throughout the years. Put succinctly, debonair, in the truest sense of the word. Earning respect as a serious red carpet reporter is the most challenging part of his job. We talk about that, being out there when the lights are on and things happen that curtail the job. Glamour-drinks-and-drama. To honest Work.
In the realm of music and international arts relations, Claudia Norman is a legend. Period. Sweet as pie and as serious as any true diplomat out there Claudia is a risk taker and a champion of culture.
Some of her fierce credits including working with the legendary Sheldon Soffer, serving as Artistic Director of the Latino Cultural Festival at Queens Theater in the Park, Public Programming Producer for Lincoln Center Out of Doors and Midsummer Night Swing festivals, and La Casita, a festival celebrating oral traditions, poetry, hip-hop and global sounds. She’s served on many panels, worked with hundreds of artists from across the Northern and Southern American continent including the late and beloved Chabela Vargas. But goes beyond the region and one can say she has come across artists from all over the world. Her Celebrate Mexico Now Festival will be 17 this fall.
Art funding will be as hard today as it has always been, she says, and she’s optimistic. Me, not so much, at least not today. Notwithstanding, we agree, that art is the way.
Arnaldo J. López is brilliant. Brilliant. His capacity to synthesize the underpinnings of almost any topic you present to him is uncanny. Now, all this brilliance I talk about would never-ever-ever be spilled on you as condescension, which is what sets Arnaldo apart. Truly. Anyone that knows him will tell you that it’s so. And, one of the reasons I simply love him. He is dear to my heart for that and more...
I can bounce ideas off him and he takes them in. He listens. He makes sense of them and helps you navigate towards a conversation that is filled with depth and substance. And, those who know me well know I love deep and intense. Can’t help it.
This episode is about art, culture, artists, the structures that bind, build, and help the field stay afloat. We go deep and broad but it’s specific to the field and the reality that is creation, presentation, scale, access, identity and going at it in an ever-changing financial and cultural landscape and now, a bellicose political climate.
Beatríz Ramos and Judy Mam rolled-out DADA for the digital age with DADA (dot) NYC. The original DADA movement, galloped onto the scene in the early 20th Century, to among other things, protest war and strife. Fancy that. DADA is stuff of myth for modern art history. Plenty has been studied, philosophized, and written about it.
But this is not that, it is and it isn’t. DADA (dot) NYC, is a platform where people can go draw and paint. What people draw is up to them. Beartíz imagined it as a collaborative rather than a competitive space. It is sort of like creating a Mandala. You put the time to create it, only, in the end, the symbol, the art does not get erased. Chances are someone else will come to your board and add on to it and the painting gets built together in a language without words.
We talk a lot in this episode 33, for an episode on invisible but palpable communication. But, no one is perfect...
DADA (dot) nyc is for everyone. Go Look. Open up your heart. Draw. Resist.
Powerful, determined, stand-up, a woman of her word, an award-winning filmmaker, actress, and director, Paola blows people away. She does, she’s got that something…I met her back when I was with my Falco Ink family as a film publicity and got the chance to do P.R. for her film Entre Nos.
I know her story very well. I wrote this piece for her book, The Ones Who Don’t Stay (Los Que No Se Quedan), for the Huffington Post. Her track record has enough substance for several episodes, from refugee camps in Kenya to immigration detention centers, Paola does not relent when it comes to immigrant rights. I also wrote this piece for the Huffington Post about her and the fabulous Gloria LaMorte, one of Paola’s creative and life sisters.
In this episode, we talk about the Women’s March. I asked her where her sense of duty comes from for the sake of those who don’t know her. Listen to her words. Hopefully, she’ll inspire you to stay the course and stand on simple but essential principles of humanity.
I, like her, and as stated in the Women’s March website in the Artists’ Table section, believe artists hold the power to humanize the most difficult of issues.
The work she and the women responsible for the Women’s March, have given us, the people of the world who believe that a better society is possible, a reason to stand against those trafficking with hate and demagoguery.
I for one, even in the darkest hour, hold to Anne Frank’s own words: Despite everything, I believe people are really good at heart.
I marched with the Brick x Brick brigade. Brick x Brick is a public art performance that builds human “walls” against misogyny.
We were a fabulous group of 120+ men and women and a marching band! Pictures of my instagram feed @soldanelarivera.
Brick x Brick Believes... Standing in solidarity against any actions that threaten civil and human rights. We are indivisible. One nation; one for all. Every life and every voice are equal. Misogyny, xenophobia, Islamophobia, racism, sexism, anti-Semitism, homophobia and bigotry have no place in our White House or in society. Black Lives Matter People with disabilities’ rights are human rights. LGBTQIA people's’ rights are human rights. Indigenous peoples’ rights are human rights. Immigrants’ rights are human rights. Women’s rights are human rights. Environmental rights are human rights.
In this episode 30, I speak with the profoundly creative Sarah Sandman. My heart simply opened up to her as soon as I met her back in 2011 at Hostos Community College. She works with big concepts. She creates experiences, through games and special assignments, for collectives, where human capital is built and valued by doing the work.
Sarah was selected a 2015 TED Fellow and is Co-Director of Public Displays of Affection, a Brooklyn-based agency engaged in works that ignite social and environmental causes through experiential design.
She found a serendipitous partner in award-winning costume designer Andrea Lauer, and together they developed the creative and political protest experience, brickxbrick. Two other partners came on board for Sarah and Andrea, TED Fellow, singer-songwriter, Kyra Gaunt; and TED Fellow and creative producer, Joey Foster Ellis.
Project description Brick x Brick is a public art performance that builds human “walls” against misogyny. During the wall performances, participants wear brick-patterned jumpsuits adorned with colorful brick patches bearing statements of misogynistic violence made by President Elect Trump and his Administration. Placing divisive words on the jumpsuits is a symbol of our resistance and determination to maintain control over our bodies. Linking hands to form community walls of individuals further blocks and subverts the harmful messages that subjugate women. When standing in wall formation, we hold silent space that amplifies our message and builds unity through passive participation with the audience.
The Brick x Brick group, now over 120+ people, will march next Saturday, January 21, 2017, in Washington D.C. at The Women’s March.
The mission for the march Brick x Brick marches with the Women’s March on Washington to protest misogyny. We resist patriarchal, heteronormative, discriminatory and oppressive systems and structures of power. We stand in solidarity with an intersection of voices from all socio-economic, geographic, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including indigenous communities, people of color, people with disabilities and LGBTQIA communities. We acknowledge the strides women have made historically; we are continuing the work of those who have stood in resistance before us.
I’m marching with the Brick x Brick brigade next week at the Women’s March and am looking forward to it.
One of my favorite projects ever is Cinema Tropical. Equally a favorite of mine, is Carlos Gutiérrez, its co-founder and executive director. In this episode 29, I welcome him with sincere gusto. I admire him tremendously and love him with a bit of teenage innocence. We talk about life, fluid identity, film, and how and why Cinema Tropical champions Latin American cinema.
Cinema Tropical has matured holistically, fueled by Carlos’ admiration for filmmakers, using cinema as a tool to interpret the world, and his respect for the artistic, cultural, and civic voice of Latin America.
Carlos Aguilar of IndieWire published (December 26, 2016) “20 Latin Americans Making a Difference for American Independent Film Today, Meet the unsung heroes keeping Latin American film alive in the United States.” Great piece and Carlos is there, top left in the title image composite.
Next Friday, January 13, 2017, the 7th Cinema Tropical Awards. Visit the page for a full slate. Captivated by “Embrace of the Serpent” and “The Man Who Saw Too Much.”
This episode 27, is a Spanish podcast with an English intro. Here is my mom, pops and I sitting around mom’s dining table a few days ago.
In this episode dad and I talk about one of my theories on why I’ve lost my “joie” for holidays in general, his love for Christmas, his Pido Paz album, childhood and Christmas in Puerto Rico in the 1950s, a song for Sister Isolina Ferré, and all the while Bebe, my mother, throws her wisdom of historical references. She didn’t “want to be” interviewed but she spoke anyway. ‘Tis her style to let her voice be heard. I owe her so much I can’t even, I’ll save her for Mother’s Day. Dad is incredible. At 71 his voice is solid, mature, profound and uncracked. A beast. He’ll get more episodes, I mean he’s a series onto itself.
Later today, I’m spending Christmas with my parents for the first time in over 35 years. Amazing and beautiful. I’m verklempt and grateful. Here’s to wishing you all a Merry season and a prosperous and bountiful year 2017. Resist neo-fascism
Here in New York City Louis Perego Moreno, also known - far-and-wide - as Tio Louie, is a staple character of the hustle and bustle Latino arts and entertainment scene. He supports and champions filmmakers, actors, and musicians, but really all the arts. He’s hell-bent on arguing his point on how Latinos are not at the table at almost every turn. And, while I do agree with Louis on several points, I favor other equally and arguably more important points, regarding Latinos “at the table,” mostly that, I think we can do a better job of telling and presenting our stories. It’s a big one and a conversation that Louie and I and others can continue to have and expand. Don’t expect a cat fight here, we’re civil, loving, and listen to our conversation.
Innocence and wisdom shine out of Trina’s eyes when she speaks. Trina is an American, Venezuelan, and Italian extract, who from dancing to cycling to producing, does it all with gusto and bravado. El flamenco is one of the greatest loves. Because of it, she holds to el duende (sprite) as a means to sustain living with meaning and purpose. We talk about that, her Made in NY fellowship year, Habla, Latino Media Works, and Flamenca Films.
Episode 24 is part two of two, of my conversation with Elba Cabrera. Here In New York City, Elba Cabrera is an esteemed figure of the Puerto Rican diaspora. Of strong stock, with strength and honor, she’s of one of those people everyone here knows. Her sister, the beloved and legendary leader hailed as the mother of the Bronx was Evelina López Antonetty.
She personifies cultural legacy. She greeted me with homemade banana bread, coffee, and quiche, and then gave me a tour of her apartment while she went on about her paintings and pictures. Her eyes and times have seen much.
Here In New York City, Elba Cabrera is an esteemed figure of the Puerto Rican diaspora. Of strong stock, with strength and honor, she’s of one of those people everyone here knows. Her sister, the beloved and legendary leader hailed as the mother of the Bronx was Evelina López Antonetty.
She personifies cultural legacy. She greeted me with homemade banana bread, coffee, and quiche, and then gave me a tour of her apartment while she went on about her paintings and pictures. Her eyes and times have seen much.
Episode 23 is part one of two, and this first part of our conversation plays unedited because is nuanced - history bits and in-between the lines…
Lucía Castellano Vega and Inés Mongil Echandi is the team of directors behind the lovely short doc., Clubman 13.3.13. The piece trails one man whose work ethic, dignity, and elegance reveals itself by his own words and actions. For over sixty-years, this man devoted himself to men’s wear. His sense of honor and duty reflected. The story is so simple it feels like a caress, a gesture.
What gets us up each day? How come we live and for what? What is our purpose? How does time change and alter what we do and focus on? What happens when circumstances change and we must take a different course? Clubman 13.3.13 addresses these themes. A poetic story about lifelong commitments but also about a changing labor market and workforce.
The protagonist holds to his work ethic because he knows only it, will save him. As long as he has his will to live there is always something to do.
Inés and I talk life, finding stories, elegance, and dignity.
Melissa Montero is an Ecuadorian-Puerto Rican warrior, activist, filmmaker who dances the hustle. Automatic five stars, in my book. Her moral compass directs a lot of her creative efforts. We talk dance, the hustle, salsa, discipline, Oscar Lopez Rivera, and Isabel Rosado.
Melissa is one of the core committee members of the 35 Mujeres NYC X Oscar, a group of 35 women of different ideologies, faiths, and backgrounds who gather in neighborhoods throughout New York City the last Sunday of every month to rally until Oscar Lopez Rivera is pardoned and released from prison.
She’s been working on a documentary, Mi Madrina Revolucionaria (My Revolutionary Mother) for several years, about her search for a deeper sense of her identity as a Nuyorican through her encounters with Isabel Rosado, a woman whose life encompassed the history of Puerto Rico over the last century, and whose struggle reflects the politics that have divided Puerto Ricans to this day.
This is episode 20 of Notes From A Native Daughter. My guest is Puerto Rican award-winning actress, writer, and filmmaker Kisha Tikina Burgos. In our second go at recording, we end up having a heart-to-heart philosophical conversation about creativity and purpose. Lovely.
Next week, on November 9th, her award-winning film “Antes que cante el gallo” (Before the Rooster Sings) directed by Ari Maniel Cruz, opens the International Puerto Rican Heritage Film Festival (IPRHFF) here in New York City. Among other awards, “Antes que cante el gallo” just received the Mejor Pelicula de Infancia 2016 by UNICEF Colombia during the 33rd edition of the Bogotá Film Festival. This is very cool and head over to Google translate to learn what this is all about. The film’s executive team are all a bunch of super Puerto Rican pros. Also very cool.
So be on the lookout for streaming and listen to us if you wish. This is a Spanglish podcast.
Photo by Sophia Guida, Standing Rock, September 2016... I have a grievance. We the people, have no where else to run. Inspired by the Hollow Men by T.S. Eliot. Listen and share. Respectfully yours.
My good friend Francisco Serrano, who is one of those people I consider brilliant, calls me up a few weeks back to tell me I have to listen to the guy that his little daughter Isabel (3) is obsessed with. “She just can’t get enough of him.” I love Francisco and his plea was real.
So I went ahead and listened and tuned in for a few hours of Google video watching. Turns out that 123 Andrés (Andrés Salguero) has a Spanish/English music shtick, with substance, for kids and with it, he’s making a respectable career. So much so that, for two consecutive years he’s been a Latin Grammy ® nominee for Best Children’s Album. Last year with his debut album ¡Uno, dos, tres Andrés! and this year with Arriba Abajo (Above Below).
123 Andrés is not a one-man band, Christina Sanabria, his wife, completes the power house team behind all the fanfare. The band expands and “shrinks” depending on the gig and though they themselves are Colombians, their other bandmates represent Latin America and the Caribbean in various forms.
The bilingual element in 123 Andrés is intentional, smart, and fun. He puts out vallenato, rock, cha-cha-cha, cumbia and much more. Andrés is a skilled music man with a doctorate degree and all. His mission is to educate and validate children. In this episode #19, Andres and I talk bilingualism, being Latino in the U.S., seeing children learn, parenting and a bunch of other stuff. We became friends.
During these times of such grotesque political behavior, I search for things to hold on to. I think of Patricia Zárate and Danilo Pérez and the work they're doing with hundreds of children in Panama in the City of Knowledge; or the elegant campaign and action Paola Mendoza and Michael Skolnik are engaged in, in the U.S. with undocumented children to bring attention to immigration reform; and the commitment of Andrés Salguero and Christina Sanabria to use music and language to educate children of all backgrounds on the wonder and beauty of the Latin American continent. They, of course, are not alone in quest and purpose, but today they're very much on my mind and it makes me smile.
I It’s time to repent.
II There’s no business like show business.
III Caridad de la Luz “La Bruja” A poet, a sister, a mother, and daughter
IV Puertorriqueñas Boogierican Nuyorican Latinas Amigas Vecinas Alma True hearts
V This show was made in four parts And features poet Emilio Montilla with "Meet me in the Middle"
VI Vote SOS
I have the good fortune of knowing people that act and live in accordance to the greatest dream of all, to make the world a better place. Beginning with my dad, Danny, who has devoted years to good causes unbeknownst to most, moving about with his underlying tactic, music. I’ll get to talk to him at some point in the near future, but for now, the long story short is that Danny takes chances on the young. A consistent small gesture that plays a big part in his pursuit of that grand dream.
Many years ago, right before a rehearsal was to start for a concert date he had in Panama, a kid pianist was brought on last minute to play the concert date because at the very last minute, the adult musician was unable to play the gig. Danny hadn’t arrived yet and the promoter was freaking out and asking that the kid be removed from the piano, when Danny walked in and said, “the kid stays.” That kid was Danilo Pérez.
Almost thirty years later, Danilo invited Danny to be part of his festival, the Panama Jazz Festival. At the press conference, Danilo shared this story, and I paraphrase but the gist was that Danny’s gesture made all the difference in the world, because he was validated.
The Panama Jazz Festival, aside from being a performance platform of the highest caliber, is also a music project meant to change the world.
The Executive Director of the Panama Jazz Festival is a woman, the fierce Patricia Zárate.
When I say fierce, I mean to the 10th power. She believes music can change the world.
And, the silver lining is that indeed the festival’s impact is doing just that, transforming lives, my own included.
I was there this January and saw Patricia Zárate and Danilo Pérez, her husband, in action.
On September 5th, 2016, the Panama Jazz Festival became Law 312.
Patricia and I talk about her journey as a musician, student, wife, mother and executive director.
Music is all about timing. This week’s synchronicity is nothing short of poetic and music is its crux. This podcast plays three days after working the 2016 Latin Songwriters Hall of Fame LA MUSA AWARDS, two nights after catching the music giants Gilberto Santa Rosa and Sergio George in the audience of I Like It Like That, and the night after I went to see Danilo Perez’s Jazz 100: The Music of Dizzy, Ella, Mongo & Monk gig at the Rose Theater at Jazz at Lincoln Center.
I did not plan it this way but I do have a concrete takeaway, I too believe that music can change the world.
There’s so much I want to say about Eduardo Alegría, and yet I'm out words. Eduardo’s artistry was the first light I saw at the end of a dark tunnel. A performance artist, writer, dancer, vocalist, philosopher and band leader. Una Estrella, a star. He calls Se Nos Fue La Mano a musical “novelette.” The album is an outstanding piece, a Spanish alternative-rock gem for the ages.
In the episode: Poneletreros and El Recipiente/Tsunami. His words, music, queer life, Clowns Caress Me, Puerto Rico’s quagmire, made in the sea…
From the personal to the universal or from the universal to the personal – I believe that’s the quest of all artists. To nail that very thing that grabs at us in our core. A hit and miss type of thing, but the noblest of efforts. Argentinean filmmaker Gaston Solnicki has an uncanny ability to achieve just that, every single time it seems. He’s known for his non-fiction documentaries Süden (2008) and Papirosen (2011).
Gaston's latest film Kékszakállú, his first fiction feature, was an official selection at this year’s Venice, Toronto and New York Film Festivals. He won the FIPRESCI Award (International Federation of Film Critics) a few weeks back at Venice.
“Kékszakállú is a singularity: a playful portrait of spiritual lethargy. A portrait of several young women at the threshold of adulthood…"
Partly inspired by Béla Bartók’s sole opera Bluebeard’s Castle, Kékszakállú is a must see.
Ivonne plays a fabulous Alba Gloriana Villanueva, la abuela, in The CW hit show, Jane the Virgin. Ella es una gloria puertorriqueña / a Puerto Rican glory, with a career path of many years. I offer a heartfelt introduction about her and to her, for all of you, which, I hope will make up for the fact that I lost the first nine minutes of conversation. Humbling.
Ivonne es bella y tremenda and she’s family. She's part of my childhood framework regarding arts, culture and entertainment in Puerto Rico during the 70s and early 80s. Beautiful times. Beautiful person.
Rosal Colón is a real thoroughbred of the theater. Serious stuff. This kid has credits.
Some of those are: Alumna of the Conservatory of Theater Arts, SUNY Purchase; Member of the acclaimed Labyrinth Theater; Freeman of Color (Broadway); The Motherfucker with the Hat (Broadway and regional D.C.); Much Ado About Nothing (The Public Theater); Ninth and Joanie (Labyrinth Theater); Between Riverside and Crazy (2015 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and read the New York Times review); Season 4 Orange Is The New Black (filming season 5).
And carrying on…
Zaida Adriana Goveo Balmaseda, her name sounds like the great Latin American novel, à la Anna Karenina, less the tragic ending. Her name befits her. She’s an alchemist artisan. Dexterous with her hands, Zaida Adriana creates textiles from natural and recycled materials. She does a lot more than that but do check out BALMASEDA.com so you can see her poetry.
There’s one big BUT in this episode. My DIY sound engineering capabilities failed to ask Adriana to speak closer to her microphone… sorry. My editor did make it better, but my voice is over powering. However, our conversation was lovely and I stand by it. It’s symbolic in a way, that the artisan that shares how she has to be so present and in the moment when she does her alchemy, should get a podcast episode that requires the listener to do just that, be still, present and listen…ja!
Solid, supportive, soulful, singular and a superb professional with one of the most beautiful smiles ever, that’s Tony Chiroldes. He loves to sing Out There from the film The Hunch Back of Notre Dame for his cabaret show. Out There is all about chops and heart something Tony has galore. And, he reminds me that being out there in the world and living, is what it’s all about.
Paola Lázaro is fierce. Here’s a young, talented and emerging wordsmith, in a very crowded landscape, standing as a unique voice. Recent credits: Selected by the Atlantic Theatre Company to be its Tow Playwright-in-Residence as part of the Tow Foundation’s 2016–17 playwright residency program. She was part of the 2015 Emerging Writers Group at the Public Theater. Received an Arts Entertainment Scholarship Award from the National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts for the pilot episode of her TV show, Trópico. Appeared in "To the Bone" at the Cherry Lane Theatre and received a 2015 Drama Desk nomination for Outstanding Featured Actress. In May of this year, Paola participated in the Sundance Institute’s pilot Theatre Lab in MENA, held in Morocco.
Harry Nadal is a creative a mind and consummate professional. His next gig - Arena Stage in D.C. to work on A Raisin in the Sun. Harry does what he does because, “it’s the talent that God gave me and it is what I was brought into this world to do.” In a field that is not Latino dominated, Harry is a mentor and an example for future Latino designers.
Members of the band Balún, Angélica Negrón, José Olivares, Noraliz Ruíz, Raul Reymundi and Lawson White, head of Good Child Music, talk about their upcoming album Prisma Tropical (Tropical Prism). Balún is an electronic, dreamy, pop, daze. All of them are truly accomplished. Prisma Tropical is produced and released by Good Child Music. Balún’s collaboration with Lawson White is a mix of musical prowess and mutual respect.
Visit: http://www.balun.bandcamp.com/ www.goodchildmusic.com
Roberto Busó-García is the Director of the Film and Media Masters program and of the Saul Zaentz Innovation Fund in Film & Media at Johns Hopkins
Roberto Busó-García, a k a “Tito,” is a true professional. We go back to the early 80s Roberto and I. For some reason we share several dear friends that are, to this day, in both of our lives, and I love that. In a nut shell, he’s is a literature and film man.
In 2015, Roberto designed and launched a new graduate program in film production at Johns Hopkins. The Film & Media Master of Arts Program focuses on the areas of business, writing, sound design and production and emphasizes experiential learning. In 2016, he also designed and launched the Saul Zaentz Innovation Fund in Film & Media at Johns Hopkins University. The Saul Zaentz Innovation Fund identifies innovative visual media artists in Baltimore and connects them with prestigious artists, veteran executives and successful entrepreneurs to produce powerful projects and bring meaningful stories to life. Currently, Roberto serves as the Director of the Film and Media Masters program and the Director of the Saul Zaentz Innovation Fund in Film & Media at Johns Hopkins. He teaches at the undergraduate and graduate level and is working on his second television pilot.
As a woman of color in the philanthropic sector, Leticia is a rare leader. I admire her immensely not only for her professional acumen, but because she has one of the bravest hearts I’ve encountered.
Her work in social justice requires her to talk race, equality, and gender all day long, which is exactly what she wants to be doing.
Leticia is a native Nuyoriqueña (borrowed from La Bruja) and our conversation tracks her path from dancer to executive director of the Andrus Family Fund. She shares insight about the philanthropic sector, her Afro-Caribbean identity and the future of work.
Visit the Andrus Family Fund to learn more: http://www.affund.org/
Guest Desmar Guevara is a music artist, keyboardist, a theater music composer. As musical director and composer of Pregones Theater/Teatro Rodante Puertorriqueño for the past 10 years, Desmar has created over 20 full-length, original musical scores for the theater, among them, “The Red Rose,” “The Harlem Hellfighters on a Latin Beat,” “Neon Baby” and “An Astronaut’s Desire,” and “Hey Yo! Yo Soy!” For additional + visit: www.desmarguevara.com and www.pregonesprtt.org
Noemí Segarra is an incredible artist and dancer. I’ve known her to be super skilled since childhood. A few years ago I wrote two pieces about her that appeared on the Huffington Post, Latino Voices’ vertical. I promised her a third piece, and though I’m a few years late, this conversation/interview makes good on that promise. Our conversation was deep.
Reflections of our conversation by Noemí Segarra:
“Translate the art of action and movement to the spoken and written word, as a self-reflection exercise for documentation, self-learning and knowledge.”
“Delve in defining myself (as a person and as part of a collective whole) rather than allowing others to define me.”
“The only thing that removes doubt and fear is practice. Making, testing, documenting and trying as many times as necessary.”
José García has a beautiful voice. I can always tell when he’s singing even if I’m not watching. I particularly admire that he’s been part of Camp Winnarainbow for the past 23 years. We met many years ago through our shared tribe of Pregones Theater and worked together on Promise of a Love Song, an original dramatic-musical created by Roadside Theater, Junebug Theater and Pregones Theater.
His present passion is a music project in homage to Pedro Dávila Ortíz, a k a Davilita, one of the greatest voices to come out of Puerto Rico, and is a symbol of the Puerto Rican diaspora. José has known and studied Davilita’s life and works for years and with his band, The Rubi Band, Davilita’s work is refreshed and played on and with, the sounds of the times.
Starting September 23 The Rubi Band will play at Don Pedro in Williamsburg, for 8-weeks on Fridays from 7pm -9pm.
Marlène Ramírez-Cancio, Associate Director of Arts & Media at the Hemispheric Institute of Performance and Politics.
Marlène Ramírez-Cancio, Associate Director of Arts & Media at the Hemispheric Institute of Performance and Politics.
In my estimation, Marlène has one of the coolest jobs in the entire national and perhaps even global landscape, of arts and culture. Really. She’s a powerhouse of incredible talent as actor, artist, creative worker, cultural advocate, producer, writer, mentor, and linguist. She earned a BA in Literature from Harvard; a MA in Comparative Literature and PhD coursework from Stanford; and an MFA in Creative Writing from New York University’s Department of Spanish and Portuguese.
Marlène is also known as Fulana, for the project Fulana, a Latina video + Performance Collective. Visit their site, they’re amazing. Fine satire.
Visit and learn about the Hemispheric Institute of Performance and Politics. Hemisphericinstitute.org. It’s also amazing.
She and I are friends for 30 years. In this recorded conversation we talk life, artistic paths, and dedicating a career to artistic expression and social justice.