Notes From A Native Daughter

“Brick x Brick is a public art performance that builds human “walls” against misogyny.” Last year we marched in D.C., here's last year’s post.

This year, Brick X Brick held simultaneous walls against misogyny beginning at 1:00 p.m. EST, in 12 cities across the nation: San Francisco, Los Angeles, Austin, St. Louis, Nashville, New Orleans, Greensboro, Columbus, Providence, Boston, Montpelier, and New York City.

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This episode 82, is a conversation/interview with the great Howard Jordan and Alex Rodríguez, and it was recorded as part of the Hostos50 Oral Collective. I’m still editing and re-editing interviews. The more time passes the more I realize the project is more profound than I ever thought, with more to show than I ever thought. I’ve heard so many incredible stories from people who thought they stood no chance, but alas, the little college that everyone thought would flounder, that so many look down upon for being a community college in the South Bronx, has defied adversity and time in every single way.

Testimonies from people coming from some of the most vulnerable communities here in the U.S. and countries abroad, prove wrong the notion pushed by inhumane conservative pundits, that the poor are stealing the resources of the nation. So much repugnant chatter I am dismayed. But I seek inspiration. I seek purpose.

So, from where do you draw strength? Have you ever gone around asking and listening to the dreams of young students? Try it. Listen to Alex. He’s going to be a music producer and a sound engineer. He’s from the South Bronx and he feels free working at the studio. Making music and living are one and the same thing for him.

It boils down to this, “I believe that children are our future, teach them well and let them lead the way.”

#NFAND #Hostos50 #HostosOralCollective #HowardJordan #SoundDesign #MusicDeisgn #NYC #Bronx #History #urban #Education #CUNY

NFAND Episode 81 | Maria Torres, dancer and choreographer

I was a dancer once, so my love and respect for dancers is a bit biased. But so be it, the discipline dancers have is mostly unrecognized and misunderstood. It’s not all games and play at the ballet. Dancers dance. Dancers arrive early for class. Dancers can count, can change the accent of their physical move just to make it fun. Dancers experience life with a sense of physicality, quick wit learning, doer action, and improvisation that blends well with everyday common life.

María Torres’ first dance class was at 1-year old in her family living room. The daugher of a conguero, I guess she was born to feel the rhythm and show it. The long story short is that she ended up winning a ballroom dance competition that started her off on a journey that has not stopped since. You have to hear her tell the story. Here is an artist that has gone at it her way without excuses. Here’s a self-realized woman who mentors others with talent and grit who are also going at it their way, because if not, something inside will die.

Here’s to focusing, going for it, and dancing…

IN SPANISH Episode 80 - After the storm no Puerto Rican is the same, at least I’m not. I am me, always deep, intense, reflecting, but something is different. A puzzle gets assembled piece by piece. Big stories are made up of pieces of lore. I realized that with Frank, I’m looking to put together something I’m not sure what it is. I think maybe after memories of what Puerto Rico once was or had. Somewhere in there is my movement at the moment.

Frank is an old-timer of film and television. He was around and working before Univision was Univision, which he was a part of before it all got built up into the empire it is today. Frank worked with Dad in seven television specials. I remember being a kid in his sets and even having a little part in the children’s television special they made. Maybe this year Dad and Frank can have a conversation about it and we can let the thing play in streaming. Just ideas. Like I said, I’m trying to put something together I’m not sure what it is yet. Frank is a part of the aspect of Puerto Rican history I know best, its arts and culture. It is in Spanish. We couldn’t have done it in English but we didn’t. Asi que disfruten de Frank lo que puedan entender.

Luego de María no soy la misma. Creo que ningún puertorriqueño lo es. Algo busco que aún no se que es o algo busco armar que aún no se lo que es pero algo me dice que con Frank comencé a buscar algo nuevo. Veremos. De seguro busco historias. De seguro busco fundamentos para emular el profesionalismo, aprender de los que corren las largas distancias, y razones para ayudar a otros a conocer quienes somos en especial en el campo de arte y cultura que es de lo más que conozco de mi isla. Frank es un ‘viejo lobo de mar’ como escribió Sylvia Rexach. Recuerdo estar en los sets de Frank para las grabaciones de especiales de televisión que hizo con Padre. Siete en total. En fin. Muchos recuerdos de mi país. Mucha música, mucha gente linda.

Y eso. Stay the course.

Resist neo-fascism, white supremacy, stand for DACA, Native Nations, Puerto Rico, call your senators to defend Net Neutrality. That is the last bit of democracy we have left. Black Lives Matter be better today than yesterday.

Sol

Who can put a price on memories? Pictures are precious for this very reason I suppose. We hold on to moments of moments. It is one of the ways in which we can capture time. In this is the age of citizen journalism and citizen photography, who and what is the real deal? Amateurs and Pros meet at junctures of action and practice. There is so much to see. How it turns out is that most famous images are credited to men photographers. But as photography experts and buffs know, women photographers have also captured history. This is for them...

The article, The Women Who Covered Vietnam by Elizabeth Becker immediately made me think of Verónica Sanchis Bencomo, founder of Foto Féminas, a platform exclusively devoted to showcasing Latin American women photographers. Since its launch, Foto Féminas features one photographer a month. Today, Foto Féminas is a showcase platform and a library. The collection is named after Maria Cristina Orive, a pivotal figure in Latin American photojournalism from Guatemala, who passed away this September. Orive, alongside legendary Argentinian photographer Sara Facio founded La Azotea one of the most respected oldest photography publishing houses in Latin America.

This month’s featured photographer is Gabriela Rivera Lucero. A beast. And I mean wonderful and good. The work is literally beastly, it’s called Bestiario. Check it out. The proposal is not for the faint of heart, but it is real and timely and some of the most exciting work I’ve seen in some time.

Foto Féminas has an important role and we have Veronica thank. The collective voices of these women photographers are telling the story of Latin America with bravery and not a hint of shyness. Fierce.

Sol

Pride of ancestry comes in the form of poise. Such is Malín Falú. Incredibly poised. A Puerto Rican lady from the town of Santurce who apparently, according to her, came to this world with a bent for conversing with people. She explains that when she was a young adolescent she was asked what she liked to do and her response was, “I like talking to people.” And, she made a career out of it.

Malin has been a fixture of Spanish language radio in New York City for over 40 years. She has interviewed countless Latin American figures in the fields of arts and entertainment, politics, human interest, sports, and much more. Her style sealed her reputation as a woman of word and substance years ago. She is beloved and respected by the industry and the community because she is one of those hearts, at the center of community and legacy.

Malin is one of the organizers of the SILENT PROCESSION taking place next Sunday, November 19th. Meeting time is 10:00 a.m. at White Park on East 106th Street and the procession begins at 10:30 a.m. and heads to Trump Plaza on 57th.

Live long and prosper,

#NFAND #PR #TIMEFORACTION #EndJonesAct