"Nashville is at a crucial juncture in its history. We are not yet a truly diverse city,
but we are about to become one, and the real question is, Can we do it right?"
Former schools director Pedro Garcia finds "racial code" in Nashville; compares board member treatment to Cuban dictatorship
"Refusal to Resegregate Nashville"
"Racial code ... permeates the culture of our community" Former Metro Nashville Public Schools Director Pedro Garcia authored a document titled "Refusal to Resegregate Nashville" that has surfaced only now in the context of the city's school rezoning plan. In it, Garcia covers a wide variety of topics related to segregation and his history in the top job at MNPS, and he compares his working conditions under the Nashville school board to the dictatorships of his native Cuba.
According to the document, Garcia believed racial politics permeated life in Nashville.
“I had never lived in the south before I came to Nashville,” the document says. “This is a great city and we have many friends here. But, I have also had to adjust to many racial issues. There is some sort of racial code or expectation that permeates the culture of our community. Sometimes it is like having an elephant in the living room of your house but refusing to recognize it is there.”
The document compares the behavior of some school board members with life under dictatorships in Cuba.
“I spent the first fifteen years of my life in Cuba living under two dictatorships, Batista and Castro,” the document reads. “I saw and experienced hate, violence and abuse. I expected such behavior from tyrants and oppressive regimes. However, I never expected board members and community leaders would become acrimonious and demeaning.”
“I believe in parental choice and in freedom of expression. I fought against Castro for these rights from the age of thirteen. And yet, here in America, I was the target of behind the scenes manipulations and fear tactics. My tenure at MNPS should not have ended this way,” the document states.
Copies of the documents can be found here on the Tennessean's web site or here on the Nashville City Paper's web site.
The complete story about school rezoning and Garcia's document can be found in either this article in the Tennessean or this article in the Nashville City Paper.
Symphony kicks off summer with sounds of Spain and Latin America
The Tennessean reported here that the Nashville Symphony and incoming director Giancarlo Guerrero will kick of the 2008 First Tennessee Summer Festival with a concert of Spanish Guitar, with an emphasis on "the traditions of Spain and Latin America," according to the Symphony.
Incoming music director Giancarlo Guerrero returns to town to lead a program of works by Latin composers, including Spaniards Manuel De Falla and Joaquín Rodrigo, Brazil's Heitor Villa-Lobos, Mexico's Silvestre Revueltas and Argentina's Alberto Ginastera.
The featured soloist is the Cuban-born guitarist Manuel Barrueco, who has lent his prodigious talents to all kinds of music, from the classic works of Bach and Mozart, to the jazz compositions of Keith Jarrett and Chick Corea, to the contemporary music of Estonian composer Arvo Pärt. The emphasis here, however, will be on the alternately percussive and lulling sounds of his Latin heritage.
Friday June 13, 2008, 7:30 p.m.- Laura Turner Concert Hall
Saturday June 14, 2008, 7:30 p.m.- Laura Turner Concert Hall
Nashville Symphony Giancarlo Guerrero, conductor Manuel Barrueco, guitar
De Falla - El sombrero de Tres Picos (Three-Cornered Hat) No. 2 Rodrigo - Concierto de Aranjuez Villa-Lobos - Bachianas Brasileiras No. 4 Revueltas - Sensemaya Ginastera - Estancia: Four Dances
Manuel Barrueco is internationally recognized as a superior instrumentalist with a seductive sound and uncommon lyrical gifts. To kick off our next Summer Festival, Barrueco weaves together the traditions of Spain and Latin America for a night of música fantástica!
Summer Festival Feast Come early and enjoy a Summer Festival supper prepared by our award-winning chefs and accompanied by strolling musicians. The buffet, which is available for purchase at each event, has a sumptuous menu
The Tennessean reports today on the award and ceremony as reproduced below.
Three Nashville-area public school principals were among 18 in Tennessee whom an education-focused organization recognized this week for excellence. In a ceremony Monday at the state Capitol, the Education Consumers Foundation honored principals whom it called "the best of the best" in advancing students academically. Among them are: • Mary Lou Del Rioof Paragon Mills Elementary in Metro Nashville. • Brian Bass of Fairview Middle School in Williamson County. • Johnny Chandler of Dickson Middle School in Dickson County. The winners were selected from the more than 1,300 public elementary and middle schools statewide, based on year-to-year gains in reading and math. Schools whose students make the greatest annual achievement gains earn the highest value-added scores.
Mrs. Mary Lou Del Rio, an educator with more than 30 years of experience, is the wife of Mr. Luis del Rio, a retired coach, bilingual interpreter, and a prominent Cuban-American in the advisory board of COPLA (Comitede Padres Latinos, the council of Hispanic parents with children in Metro schools).
InsideVandy has this recap of a student's experience in Uruguay as a part of Vanderbilt Hillel's Alternative Spring Break, which immerses students in service. According to its web site, Vanderbilt Hillel is "the center of Jewish life at Vanderbilt, serving the religious, social, and educational needs of the undergraduate and graduate Jewish student communities."
Hillel has spent previous Spring Breaks in other Latin American countries, including Mexico (recap here and picture here), Cuba, and Argentina (video recap here).
Excerpts from the Uruguay recap:
We went to connect with the large Jewish population in Montevideo but also to somehow accomplish the arduous task of building four houses for four impoverished families before we left the country. ... My concept of poverty changed. The impoverished individuals I saw had family, community, love and hope. Families worked alongside one another and laughed.
Excerpts from the Mexico recap:
That is to say, what part, if any, of Judaism provides the impetus to want to help others? Students read a number of Jewish readings during the course of the week that dealt with such concepts as the significance that every human being is created in the image of G-d, the impact of globalization on the world community and the importance of action accompanying thought. ... To be a good person, it is important to give as much as you can and then give some more.
Walwyn in last year as chairman of the board of the Nashville Area Hispanic Chamber
Goodpasture Christian graduate with Cuban heritage, founded Nashville law firm
Nashville attorney Marc Walwyn is in his last year as chairman of the board of directors of the Nashville Area Hispanic Chamber of Commerce*, which is more commonly associated with its President, Yuri Cunza. Walwyn addressed the group in its recent annual meeting (text of address below), highlighting increased influence and interaction with other local and national groups. Profiles of the full board are available here, including one of Walwyn:
Marc Walwyn is an attorney of Cuban heritage and the founder of the only certified minority owned law firm in Tennessee. Marc is very proud that his lawyers and staff speak to clients in their own language which include Portuguese, Korean and Spanish. While serving large American companies, Walwyn takes pride on serving families and those who need an advocate. He served as an Administrative Law Judge in Chicago before returning to his home town of Nashville. Marc graduated from Goodpasture Christian High School, obtained his B.A. from Carleton College in Minnesota, and graduated from the University of Wisconsin Law School where he served as Administrative Editor of the Wisconsin Law Review.
Walwyn's address to members of the chamber:
Dear members,
Last year has been both challenging and exciting for the NAHCC. Re energized by our successes we at the NAHCC will continue the work that will strengthen our Hispanic businesses and aggressively move the NAHCC forward.
This work cannot be done unless we all team up JUNTOS, because TOGETHER we can make a difference.
Serving as NAHCC Chairman has given me the opportunity to work with our Board of Directors to move the organization towards financial self-sufficiency.
This is a hard task for any volunteer board; I am very appreciative to those who have invested time and effort to advance the work of the NAHCC.
To our Board, President, staff and volunteers: THANK YOU for your determination and hard work.
Highlights from last year include our increased our influence and participation with the mainstream business community and government. We are here to serve our members, but to serve our members we are to work diligently, creating opportunities, building the much needed trust, creating a bridge between communities. In order to move forward the PARTICIPATION of all of us is needed.
To our members and supporters who helped us this past year, we THANK YOU for your time and commitment. JUNTOS we are creating a better Nashville for all.
Gracias Marc Walwyn NAHCC Chair 2006-2008
Upcoming events and announcements can be found on the Nashville Area Hispanic Chamber's web site.
Cuba is still waiting for its big day, says Ferguson Weir
Cuban-American Nashville blogger Carrie Ferguson Weir of Bilingual in the Boonies reacted to Fidel Castro's resignation here and here. Some excerpts:
When the arch enemy of your people just kinda resigns it's a little bit of a let down. ... For those of you with kind of a passing or romanticized idea of bearded dictators, know this: Bearded Dictator: Bad Bearded Dictator Brother: Badder ... Growing up, I imagined the Any Day Now really could be Any Day Now. I imagined taking to the streets, like we did when the Dolphins won in '72, honking horns, causing traffic jams, waving flags. I imagined the pachanga of a lifetime. A party to last for days, a party to end all parties. The tears of joy, the boats leaving for Havana Harbor and coming from Havana Harbor, just like during the 1980 Mariel Boat Lift.
The Any Day Now of my making would have meant these TV reporters could barely have heard themselves above the total Cuban racket, the kind only Cubans know how to make. But it was so damned calm.
According to her bio, Weir is a former newspaper reporter who now sells a line of Spanish children's T-shirts. She lives on the outskirts of Nashville, "far from the Cuban-American homeland that is Miami."
Last week's Nashville Scene included this review of Lime, an upscale "Latin fusion" restaurant at 1904 Broadway. Raving about the food, the Scene noted rumblings of poor service that have been repeated elsewhere:
After two consistently excellent meals in the newly opened Lime, we’re looking forward to the summer months, when the garage doors rise and the sleek cocktail crowd pours onto the patios. But it’s worth noting that while our experiences were flawless, we have heard several complaints of inattentive or indifferent waitstaff. With pricey entrées as high as $44 and cocktails clocking in as steep as $13, it’s not unreasonable to insist on flawless service. When the fair-weather crowds storm Lime’s high-visibility patios and tequila bars, it will become even more challenging to deliver a top-quality experience to diners. Then again, Hyndman, who presides over the dining room with the sangfroid of Terry Benedict in Ocean’s Eleven, knows that better than anyone.
The Tennessean reported here that "[t]he menu draws from a multitude of Latin cuisines, including Mexican, Spanish, Cuban and Colombian."
Inside Vandy gave it this favorable review, including props to the wait staff and the attractiveness of the clientele.
Tickets on sale at noon Wednesday for Olympic soccer qualifying games at LP Field
Road to Beijing 2008 requires win in Nashville
Two spots up for grabs by eight neighboring American countries: USA, Mexico, Canada, Cuba, Haiti, Guatemala, Honduras, and Panama
Four teams will arrive in Nashville after field narrowed in L.A., Tampa
May 20 semis and May 23 finals here
Seats available from $18 to $65 for each doubleheaderConfederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) and U.S. Soccer have announced that individual tickets for 2008 CONCACAF Men’s Olympic Qualifying in Los Angeles, Tampa and Nashville will go on sale Wednesday, Jan. 30, at 12 p.m. local time in each market.
The eight-team event, which includes national teams at the Under-23 age level, will be played as eight doubleheaders from March 11-23, 2008, and will send two finalists to the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.
Group A, which includes the United States, Honduras, Cuba and Panama, will play at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla. on March 11, 13 and 15. Group B features Canada, Guatemala, Haiti and Mexico facing off on March 12, 14 and 16 at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. LP Field in Nashville will host the semifinals on Thursday, March 20, and the championship match and third-place game on Sunday, March 23.
Tickets priced from $18 to $65 for each of the eight doubleheaders in the tournament go on sale beginning Wednesday (January 30) at 12 p.m. local time in each venue through ussoccer.com, by phone at 813-287-8844 (Tampa), 213-480-3232 (Los Angeles) or 615-255-9600 (Nashville) and at local Ticketmaster ticket centers in the venue cities.
In Tampa and Los Angeles (where first round doubleheaders are scheduled), teams competing at those sites will have seats at every price level set aside for their fans, allowing supporters of the same country to sit together. Fans must order online to choose from this allotment.
In Nashville, where the participating teams won’t be known until several days before the semifinal round, seating until the end of the first round will be allocated (based on the local population) for U.S.A., Mexico, and mixed/neutral fan sections at each price level.
Series ticket sales will end on 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 29, for fans looking to buy tickets to all three match dates in each venue.
The U.S. Under-23 Men’s National Team is led by head coach Peter Nowak, who is also an assistant on Bob Bradley’s staff with the full team. The team is currently holding a training camp that features top young professionals based both in the U.S. and abroad in Bradenton, Fla., through Feb. 3.
2008 CONCACAF Men’s Olympic Qualifying
– Details –
Event: Eight-team qualifying event to decide two CONCACAF positions at 2008 Olympics Dates: March 11-23, 2008 Venues: Raymond James Stadium (Tampa, Fla.), The Home Depot Center (Carson, Calif.); LP Field (Nashville, Tenn.) Teams: USA, Mexico, Canada; Cuba, Haiti; Guatemala, Honduras, Panama
– Schedule –
Group A (Tampa, Florida; Raymond James Stadium) Date Home Visitor Kickoff (local) March 11 Panama Honduras 5:30 p.m. ET March 11 USA Cuba 8 p.m. ET
March 13 Honduras Cuba 5:30 p.m. ET March 13 USA Panama 8 p.m. ET
March 15 Cuba Panama 4:30 p.m. ET March 15 USA Honduras 7 p.m. ET
Group B (Carson, California; The Home Depot Center) Date Home Visitor Kickoff (local) March 12 Haiti Guatemala 5:30 p.m. PT March 12 Canada Mexico 8 p.m. PT
March 14 Canada Haiti 5:30 p.m. PT March 14 Mexico Guatemala 8 p.m. PT
March 16 Guatemala Canada 3:30 p.m. PT March 16 Mexico Haiti 6 p.m. PT
Final Stage (Nashville, Tennessee; LP Field) Date Matchup Kickoff (local) March 20 Semifinal 1 * 5 p.m. CT March 20 Semifinal 2 * 8 p.m. CT
March 23 Third-Place Match 1 p.m. CT March 23 Final 4 p.m. CT
* Winner advances to 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing
Bilingual in the Boonies: a Cuban-American Nashville diary
Carrie Ferguson-Weir, an entrepreneur, mother, and former newspaper reporter, writes the Nashville-based online diary Bilingual in the Boonies. Channeling her Cuban heritage, Ferguson-Weir writes about topics as diverse as her approach to speaking Spanish with her little girl (see "How we do the Spanish thing") and running her Los Pollitos Dicen clothing line (see "Hen House").
I am a former newspaper reporter who now hangs with her bilingual-in-the-making chiquitica, when I am not selling my line of Spanish children's T-shirts. I live in Tennessee, far from the Cuban-American homeland that is Miami, so for Spanish comfort I stalk Latina moms at the park, grocery store and gym. I often dream of pastelitos and old men in crisp guayaberas. Me llamo Carrie.
There are other Hispanic bloggers in Nashville; one who immediately comes to mind is Mack of Coyote Chronicles, who is coincidentally rumored to have some big news out today (keep an eye out at MusicCityBloggers.com to see if the rumors are true). If you know of any Latin-blooded locals with an online presence, let us know in the comments below or contact the editor.
Both Bilingual in the Boonies and Coyote Chronicles are written in English.
Photo: Carrie Ferguson-Weir, used with permission.
The Vanderbilt Center of Latin American & Iberian Studies (CLAIS) will show the movie Balseros ("Rafters"), "a 2002 Spanish documentary about Cubans leaving during the Período Especial after the financial support of the former USSR stopped. In 1994, some 50,000 Cubans left the island, unimpeded by the Cuban government, using anything they could find or build to get to the nearest land in Florida. The seven Cuban protagonists in this feature length film represent, with their personal experiences, the thousands of people from all corners of the planet who leave their homes in search of a supposedly better future."
The film will be shown at 7pm Thursday, November 8, in Buttrick 102. More information here.
Cuban jazz greats to burn up Murfreesboro, Nashville stages Thursday and Friday
Dalia Garcia, Richie Flores, Jesus Diaz, Lalo Davila, Glen Caruba, Horacio "El Negro" Hernandez
MTSU tonight
"Cuban Fire" tomorrow: joint performance with Nashville Jazz Orchestra at VanderbiltEric Moreno, president of the Hispanic Student Association at MTSU, wrote in to mention "several events going on involving a Salsa Band headed up by MTSU's own Lalo Davila, [in] which he is featuring very famous percussionists who have played with several amazing acts throughout the Latin music industry. He will be hosting a tribute to Celia Cruz and Tito Puente in a concert in Murfreesboro." The music comes to Murfreesboro tonight and to Nashville tomorrow night.
The MTSU tribute is tonight, Thursday October 18, at 9pm at Sweetwater. There is a $7 cover charge and no one under 21 will be admitted.
Details of the Nashville event are below:
A NIGHT OF EXPLOSIVE SALSA AND JAZZ NASHVILLE JAZZ ORCHESTRA PLAYS "CUBAN FIRE" OCT. 19 WITH GUEST ARTISTS RICHIE FLORES, JESUS DIAZ, DALIA GARCIA AND SPECIAL GUEST HORACIO “EL NEGRO” HERNANDEZ
The Blair School of Music at Vanderbilt University will host "CUBAN FIRE", a night of explosive salsa and jazz by the NASHVILLE JAZZ ORCHESTRA in the Martha Rivers Ingram Center for the Performing Arts on Friday, Oct. 19, 2007, at 7:30pm and 9:30pm. Both concerts will feature the classic Latin jazz music of Tito Puente, Celia Cruz, Arturo Sandoval, and others climaxed by selections from Stan Kenton's famous 1956 Latin jazz opus "Cuban Fire Suite". A special 27-piece edition of the NJO, led by Director JIM WILLIAMSON will take the stage, including vocals by DALIA GARCIA, and guest percussionists Pearl Recording Artists RICHIE FLORES, JESUS DIAZ, LALO DAVILA, GLEN CARUBA, and HORACIO “EL NEGRO” HERNANDEZ, acknowledged as the top Latin drumset player in the world today. With NJO drummer Bob Mater also being a Pearl Recording Artist, the NJO will have an all-Pearl percussion section, and Pearl Drums USA will be a co-sponsor for this event. Guest conductor for the "Cuban Fire Suite" will be ROBIN P. FOUNTAIN, Professor of Conducting at Blair School of Music where the NJO is "Artist in Residence". Admission to either concert is $20 general admission, $15 for seniors, VU faculty and staff, and $10 for students. Tickets are available from Blair or band members; or at the Ingram Center box office the night of the performance.
THE ARTISTS
HORACIO HERNANDEZ, given the name “El Negro” at birth, was already a master studio and touring percussionist in his native Havana when he escaped Cuba to live in Italy in 1995. Two years later he came to the US, where top Latin jazz musicians like Paquito D’Rivera and Michel Camilo began using him. Word quickly spread of his explosive virtuosity in both Latin and jazz idioms, and he has worked non-stop since. From the Latin sounds of Santana, Los Hombres Caliente, and Tito Puente, to the pop of Paul Simon, to the progressive jazz of Dizzy Gillespie and Joanne Brackeen, Horacio’s universal percussive abilities have already made him a drum legend with dozens of videos, books, and articles published about him. www.elnegro.com
RICHIE FLORES was born in Brooklyn but raised in Puerto Rico, and began playing congas at the age of 5. In a few years he was playing with top groups like El Gran Combo and Batacumbele. Moving back to New York, he joined Eddie Palmieri at the age of 17. He also works with David Sanchez, Dave Samuels, and a host of Latin Jazz greats.
JESUS DIAZ arrived in the San Francisco bay area from Cuba in 1980. His talent as percussionist, arranger, and vocalist have kept him working with top artists like Carlos Santana, Dizzy Gillespie, Pete Escovedo & Sheila E, and the Caribbean Jazz Project ever since. As an educator, he does numerous clinics and workshops, and has several instructional videos and books as a member of "Talking Drums". www.bombomusic.com
From Nashville, Pearl Recording Artists LALO DAVILA and GLEN CARUBA will complete the expanded percussion section. Davila is co-leader and vocalist of Music City's popular Latin jazz band, "Orkesta Eme Pe", Director of Percussion Studies at MTSU, and leader of the MTSU Salsa Band and Percussion Ensemble. Caruba is a percussionist and teacher, author of several books and DVDs, and has worked with Jimmy Buffet, Barry Manilow, the Mavericks, and "Orkesta Eme Pe". www.lalodavila.comwww.pearldrums.com
DALIA GARCIA, from Madrid, Spain, is an award-winning singer, songwriter, and actress. After being crowned Miss South Carolina, she toured for 8 years with Julio Iglesias, performing in 8 of his videos, and appeared in the movie "Lycanthrope". Her singing and songwriting has dominated several charts on MP3.com, and she appears across the US with Al Delory & Salsa En Nashville, and others. www.daliamusic.com
THE MUSIC
STAN KENTON led one of the most famous jazz big bands from 1941 to 1979. One of its seminal works was the 1956 "Cuban Fire Suite" by composer Johnny Richards. At the time, the marriage of American swing music and traditional Afro-Cuban music into a form called Latin jazz was little more than a decade old. Richards was of Latin heritage (born John Cascales), his work encouraged more use of Latin idioms in big bands, and musicians in the Latin jazz movement continue to site the Cuban Fire album as an influence and inspiration.
TITO PUENTE, master percussionist and arranger, was the most popular and influential of the "Mambo Kings", the great bandleaders who created Latin jazz in the 40's. "El Rey" (The King) worked from 1937 to 2000, recording well over 100 albums. His fame skyrocketed in the 50's dance craze for mambo and cha-cha, and his "Oye Como Va" was a huge hit. He won 5 Grammys, is in the Hispanic Hall of Fame and the Jazz Hall of Fame, has a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame, and received a Smithsonian Lifetime Achievement Award.
CELIA CRUZ is the best-known and most influential female figure in Cuban music, with 23 gold albums and the title "La guarachera de Cuba". Joining Cuba's renowned Sonora Matancera orchestra, she became a star all over Latin America in the early 50's. In 1960 she moved to the US to pursue a solo career. Two decades of work with Tito Puente and the Fania All-Stars made her even more famous, and she continued touring the world in the 80's and 90's, winning a Grammy in 1990.
ARTURO SANDOVAL, composer and bandleader, was a virtuoso trumpeter in his native Cuba in the 70's and 80's. A master of Afro-Cuban music and influenced by bop trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie, he became a leading exponent of modern Latin jazz upon his defection from Cuba in 1990. His band and bravura trumpet style were featured with the Nashville Symphony in 2001.
The Oct. 19 “Cuban Fire” concert is the first event in the NJO's 2007/2008 concert season as "Artist in Residence" at Blair School of Music. Founded in 1996 by Director Jim Williamson, the NJO is a 501 (c)(3) not-for-profit organization dedicated to perpetuating big band jazz. With 17 of Nashville's top session and jazz players, they play clubs and jazz festivals, often with guest artists like Randy Brecker, Lou Marini, Donald Brown, Bob Kurnow, Annie Sellick, and Connye Florance. Later concerts in the series include Dec. 1 - NJO presents David "Fathead" Newman in association with the Country Music Hall of Fame's Ray Charles Exhibit, Feb. 29 - NJO presents Wycliff Gordon, and April 17 – NJO's Third Annual Jazz Writer's Night. Their current CDs are Live at B.B. King's featuring Annie Sellick, and Legacy – First Annual Jazz Writer's Night.
The Martha Rivers Ingram Center for the Performing Arts is on the Blair campus at 2400 Blakemore Ave. For tickets, call 615-322-7651.
Kingston Springs-based baby and toddler clothing retailer Los Pollitos Dicen has had a good run of initial sales of its Hispanic heritage clothing items on the Web site of Target, the huge national retailer.
Target sells clothes printed with endearing phrases in Spanish made by the local company. There are T-shirts with "Pio, Pio, Pio" — the sound of baby chicks chirping in Spanish — printed on the front. Or sleepers with terms of endearment for mother and child such as "gordito," which means chubby, usually spoken as the mother kisses a baby's cheeks.
Co-owners Carrie Ferguson Weir and Oscar Alonso are Cuban-Americans who knew each other through their work for the Tennessean - Ferguson Weir as a reporter, and Alonso as a graphic designer.
The Celebration of Cultures will be held this Saturday and Sunday at Centennial Park in Nashville. In association with the Celebration, a Walk As One will take place at 9am Saturday (check-in at 8am near the park's plane and train), and the Schermerhorn Symphony Center will have an open house with free musical performances (Saturday only), including Serenatta and the MTSU Salsa Band. Free shuttles will run between Centennial Park and the Schermerhorn.
Latin influence will abound, including the following demonstrations highlighted by this article in the Tennessean, "Cheekwood Botanical Garden & Museum of Art will have a project pertaining to the upcoming Latin American holiday El Dia de los Muertos ... American Roots Music Education will perform American traditional music such as ... Tejano, [and] ... Grow Nashville will demonstrate for children how to make salsa from organic vegetables."
Centennial Park returns to its original roots with this event. The original Centennial Exposition on the site included "villages" from around the world, including a Cuban Village with Spanish Sen Sen Dancing Girls (see photo here and description here).
The press release below highlights other Latin highlights of this year's Celebration of Cultures, like the San Rafael Band and "Villages" of Bolivia, Brazil, El Salvador, Mexico, and Peru:
You don’t have to travel the world for exotic food, music, and art. It’s all right here in Nashville at the 11th annual Celebration of Cultures Festival on October 6th and 7th in Centennial Park.
Presented by Metro Parks and Scarritt-Bennett Center, this FREE event will showcase the diversity and highlight the multi-cultural fabric of Nashville. “This festival has proven to be a wonderful opportunity for Nashvillians to learn about the rich mix of cultures we have here,” says Jose Ochoa, Superintendent of Cultural Arts and celebration co-chair for Metro Parks. “It’s also simply a wonderful two days of incredible entertainment, art, and food for everyone to enjoy.”
The festival began over a decade ago by a group that works continually to bring cultures together in Nashville: Scarritt-Bennett. “It’s very important to understand and celebrate the diversity of Nashville‚ to learn about other cultures and to get to know other people’s traditions‚” says Cindy Politte‚ director of marketing for Scarritt-Bennett Center‚ which started the Celebration of Cultures in 1995. “It’s a true potpourri of everything that is Nashville.”
Times are Saturday, 10 a.m. – 7 p.m., and Sunday, 12 p.m. – 5 p.m. The event will feature over forty ethnic dance and musical performances on multiple stages. Entertainers like the San Rafael Band (Latin Jazz), African Drummers (Ghana), Chinese Culture Club (China), Cripple Creek Cloggers (USA), Gary Cady (Native American), Ketsana (Laos), Pega Kadivar (Azerbaijan), and much, much more.
Enter “The Villages” and be transported around the world! New this year, The Villages offers an authentic look at the customs and traditions of Burundi, Ethiopia, Laos, the Philippines, and the Latin American countries of Bolivia, Brazil, El Salvador, Mexico, and Peru. As you walk through, you will hear traditional music in the background as the native language of each area is spoken, and you will see colorful clothing and decorations that are customary for each country.
Original art and imported hand-crafted items will be available for purchase in “The World Market”. A special exhibit called “Nashville’s Internationals” will also be on display at the Centennial Art Center October 5-26, and will be featuring fifteen artists from around the world that now call Nashville home. Plus, a children’s area will include free interactive music and dance programs, storytelling, nature activities, and arts projects.
Celebration of Cultures provides an opportunity for the community to gather, honor, and explore the diversities and ethnicities that make Nashville so unique and culturally enriched.
Parking is free in Centennial Park and in the HCA parking lots off Park Plaza behind the park. Shuttles will run throughout the event to transport people to and from parking in Centennial and at HCA. Plus, Saturday, there will be free shuttles between Centennial Park and the Schermerhorn Symphony Center.
Photo by Beth Kindig, courtesy of Celebration of Cultures.
The Nashville Scene published this review of Murfreesboro road restaurant Los Happy Belly's:
LOS HAPPY BELLY'S 895 Murfreesboro Road, 356-7757
...
Co-owner Jose Santos arrived in Nashville about five months ago from New York, where he immigrated as a teenager from the Dominican Republic. His business partners are fellow Dominican Alexandra Abreu and Guatemalan brothers Alfonso, Santos, Chavelo and Danny Perez, who came to the U.S. about a decade ago.
While none of them is from either Cuba or Puerto Rico, the owners would all be familiar with the flavors and ingredients that weave throughout the Caribbean and find their way to Los Happy Belly’s. Beans and rice are a primary feature of the buffet table, which usually holds moro rojo (red beans and rice), arroz con gandules (white rice with peas), congri (rice with black beans) and plain white rice.
...
Los Happy Belly’s offers a handful of specialties that are interesting, even delicious. Among them is the yuca frita (fried cassava root). The thick, deep-fried exterior of the tuber chunk melts in the mouth, and is made even more intriguing by a drizzle of garlic-infused oil.
...
Los Happy Belly’s opens 11 a.m. Tuesday through Sunday and closes 6 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and 10 p.m. Friday and Sunday. Saturday is Caribbean Night with dancing from 10 p.m. to 3 a.m.
Cuban owners of Green Hills Upholstery benefit from World Relief micro-loan
"Church-centered, grassroots" Micro Enterprise Nashville project has made over 170 loans to entrepreneur expatriates
"Everything changed for us."The Tennessean reports here about Yadira Santana-Torres and her husband, Edgardo Martinez, owners of Green Hills Upholstery, and their micro-loan from World Relief's Micro Enterprise Nashville project:
"A master upholsterer, Martinez was working two jobs and dreaming of the day he could own his own shop. They had a dream, and they had a business plan. What this Nashville family lacked was seed money and a bank willing to take a chance on them."
"Instead of a bank, the community reached out to them with a 'micro-loan' — $10,000 to rent a storefront, buy materials and meet payroll for the first rocky months when their shop, Green Hills Upholstery, was finding its feet."
"'I don't have words to describe what it's been like,' Santana-Torres said. 'Everything changed for us.'"
"'They helped me with the accounting part, they helped me print up fliers, helped me do the advertising. They guide you through everything,' said Santana-Torres, who received a micro-loan from World Relief, a Nashville-based nonprofit that serves the refugee population. She and her husband are from Cuba."
"Over the past four years, World Relief has made 178 small loans to newcomers to Nashville. Those loans helped launch at least 20 new businesses and helped an equal number of businesses expand, said Jeremy Crawford, World Relief's director of finance."
According to its web site, "World Relief empowers, equips and strengthens churches to serve their communities, enabling them to act as beacons of hope to their people and to spread the life-changing power of Jesus Christ. Church-centered, grassroots initiatives tackle entrenched and intertwined problems of poverty – and people experience transformation in their lives, in their families, in their churches, and in their communities."
Strings of Fire ("Cuerdas de Fuego") is a lively, interactive show with Ramón Romero on the harp, the national instrument of his native Paraguay, Santiago Maldonado of Mexico (guitar and vocals) and percussionist Carlos Caro of Cuba. Much smaller than its cousin in the orchestra, the Paraguayan harp often sounds like a guitar, from rapidly picked melodies to rich combinations of chords. The internationally renowned artists use a variety of fun-to-watch techniques to play traditional and contemporary music from Latin America.
The City Paper published an advance review here, mentioning that "the lineup also includes equally marvelous Chilean guitarist and vocalist Rafael Manriquez."
Idyllic small-town life draws Cuban family from Miami to Williamson County
Southern hospitality shines through
The Tennessean reported in this Christmas day story about the extended Lopez family, a group with roots in Miami and Cuba, who decided together to move to Williamson County. They were drawn by its small-town character and met with Southern hospitality after their arrival.
"Amidst a traditional 'Noche Buena' celebration, which includes roasted pig, opening presents and children putting on a play, there was a family reunion and the marking of a new beginning."
"Four branches of one family tree with roots in Miami, moved to Williamson County this year. The last of this Cuban clan arrived Friday, completing a 17-hour drive. Two sisters, their brother, their spouses, children and parents (eight adults and nine children in all) all made the move after one family member saw Franklin on a magazine list of the best places in the country to live."
"Carlos was searching online and found Franklin on CNNMoney.com's 2005 list of best small cities to live in. It ranked 58th. Carlos said he clicked on a link and was directed to a Williamson County Web site. He said the description of the county, the school system, the proximity to Nashville, home values and amenities were exactly what he was looking for."
"Carlos Lopez called three Franklin real estate agents and formed an instant, over-the-phone connection with Shannon Wheeler, who ended up giving Jenny, Jetza and their brother, Javier Nunez, a tour of the town."
"It was our first encounter with Southern hospitality," Carlos said.
"Carlos said days after moving into Fieldstone Farms, neighbors began bringing goodies to welcome them. They were invited for dinner and St. Thomas threw a welcoming reception for the family."
The Tennessean reported here that the Nashville Symphony and incoming director Giancarlo Guerrero will kick of the 2008 First Tennessee Summer Festival with a concert of Spanish Guitar, with an emphasis on "the traditions of Spain and Latin America," according to the Symphony.
Contribution by Cesar A. Muedas
Bilingual in the Boonies has links here to a Talk of the Town piece on Mamamade, a group of businesses owned by Nashville-area mothers.
Cuban-American Nashville blogger Carrie Ferguson Weir of Bilingual in the Boonies reacted to Fidel Castro's resignation here and here. Some excerpts:
Photo by Carol Crisosto Cadiz. Licensed under Creative Commons.
Last week's Nashville Scene included this review of Lime, an upscale "Latin fusion" restaurant at 1904 Broadway. Raving about the food, the Scene noted rumblings of poor service that have been repeated elsewhere:
Carrie Ferguson-Weir, an entrepreneur, mother, and former newspaper reporter, writes the Nashville-based online diary Bilingual in the Boonies. Channeling her Cuban heritage, Ferguson-Weir writes about topics as diverse as her approach to speaking Spanish with her little girl (see "How we do the Spanish thing") and running her Los Pollitos Dicen clothing line (see "Hen House"). 
The Vanderbilt Center of Latin American & Iberian Studies (CLAIS) will show the movie Balseros ("Rafters"), "a 2002 Spanish documentary about Cubans leaving during the Período Especial after the financial support of the former USSR stopped. In 1994, some 50,000 Cubans left the island, unimpeded by the Cuban government, using anything they could find or build to get to the nearest land in Florida. The seven Cuban protagonists in this feature length film represent, with their personal experiences, the thousands of people from all corners of the planet who leave their homes in search of a supposedly better future."
The Celebration of Cultures will be held this Saturday and Sunday at Centennial Park in Nashville. In association with the Celebration, a Walk As One will take place at 9am Saturday (check-in at 8am near the park's plane and train), and the Schermerhorn Symphony Center will have an open house with free musical performances (Saturday only), including Serenatta and the MTSU Salsa Band. Free shuttles will run between Centennial Park and the Schermerhorn.
The Nashville Scene published this review of Murfreesboro road restaurant Los Happy Belly's:
The Tennessee Performing Arts Center will host Ramon Romero and Cuerdas de Fuego ("Strings of Fire") this Saturday, February 10, at 2:00 p.m. Tickets are $12 for adults and $9 for children.
