Mas Natalia

Larry Hott and the organizers on the 12th Annual Pioneer Valley Jewish Film Festival, presented by the Springfield Jewish Community Center, runs March 18 through April 4, 2017, screening 22 films in 9 cities and towns across Hampden, Hampshire and Franklin Counties.  More info here: http://pvjff.org

Also, Estela López, an educator living in Hartford, originally from Cuba and Puerto Rico, on mixed identities and desires.

The soul queen of Cuba, la Lupe, sings us out with “Lamento Boricano,” a national anthem of sorts for Puerto Rico. As Cuban journalist, poet and rabblerouser José Martí said, Puerto Rico and Cuba are two wings of the same bird.

The Museum of the Old Colony is a work of conceptual art conceived by Pablo Delano. The exhibit at the King Juan Carlos l of Spain Center at New York University, 53 Washington Square South, NYC, gathers still photographs and moving images of Puerto Rico that reveal the visual logics of colonialism. This repertoire of images and subjects form a visual history of the political and cultural hegemony imposed by the United States on virtually all aspects of Puerto Rican life. More info here: http://www.kjcc.org/event/the-museum-of-the-old-colony/

Patricia Sandoval, professor of communications at Holyoke Community College, produced and directed the heart-filling and bursting multimedia event “Latinas con Pluma,” a Spanish-English bilingual performance of poems, plays and essays by famed and distinguished writers from Springfield-based Magdalena Gómez to Chicago-based Sandra Cisneros and beloved friend, the late playwirght Dolores Prida; and music by congueras por excelencia Julissa Rodríguez and Iréne Shaikly, plus a photo exhibit curated by Waleska Santiago of some of the city’s grandmothers with text about their influence in their lives provided by their adult grandchildren, plus fabulous food from Mexico to Puerto Rico. Julissa Colón, Ticina Cotto, Jocelyn López, Caila Lourdes Ver, Alora Machuca, Priscilla Page, Jovan Roman and Nathalie Vicencio declaimed as if they were the authors of every word. A magical night at the Leslie Phillips Theater at HCC.

Then filmmaker Larry Hott sounds the warning about what federal cuts in the arts could mean; essentially, silencing the diversity of arts and voices that contribute to the cultural enrichment of the United States, such as “Latinas con Pluma” and extraordinary documentaries.

We interviewed Charles Blatcher lll, chairman of the National Coalition of Black Veteran Organizations, about the very limited display of black veterans and their contributions to the country in times of war and peace and the Civil Rights Movement at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, DC.

We also speak with Shereen Marisol Meraji, one of the hosts of among the best podcasts in any category, called “Switch Code” and presented by NPR.Shereen recently did a story on the 100th anniversay of the Jones Act, which gave Puerto Ricans American citizenship. What that means, what that feels like, what the Diaspora is about, was the focus of her program. On Vaya, we ask her about her Puerto Rican identity and how the work of putting together her program felt to her.

Then we speak en español, con Ariadna Goenaga, crítica de cine por exelencia, sobre el valor del cine en esta época dominada por Donald Trump.

Janine Fondon is an Assistant Professor and Chair of Communications at Bay Path University, and one of the conveners of the March 8 “On the Move Forum” that honors our collective intention to advance women -- from Seneca Falls to Houston for the 1977 Women's Conference and now Longmeadow, MA.

Also, La historiadora y coordinadora de Arecibo es Color, el proyecto cultural de Arecibo, Cynthia Velázquez, comparte su perspectiva de cómo la crisis de Puerto Rico se va desarrollando.

Susan Sarandon famously said that if Trump won, the revolution would start sooner. What she did not know is that millions would suffer devastating harm. But she didn't care. For her, it was either Bernie or Trump.