Torres: son of Peruvian immigrants, 3.9 GPA at Austin Peay, Purple Heart and Bronze Star

Espaillat: came to Maury County from Dominican Republic, honors at Spring Hill HS, enlisted week before 9/11

This Memorial Day, the Hispanic Nashville Notebook remembers two Hispanic servicemen who came to Tennessee before their names were added to the lists of the fallen:

Army Lt. Richard Torres was the first Austin Peay ROTC graduate killed in combat since the school began the program in 1971. ... Torres grew up in Passaic, New Jersey, the son of Peruvian immigrants Dora and Gulian Torres, and during his childhood he discovered his interest in military service. ... The Rev. Antonio Rodriguez, pastor at Holy Trinity Church, performed the liturgy in both English and Spanish for those who had traveled from Tennessee, Texas and Peru to pay their final respects. ... entered the Reserve Officers' Training Corps program at Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tenn., where Torres got a three-year scholarship and maintained a 3.9 grade-point average. ... "His dream was to retire in the military and get his master's and teach at West Point. He said he wasn't going to stop until he got his doctorate. He said, 'Watch, one day, I'll be the president of the United States.' " ... Richard Torres was posthumously honored with a Purple Heart and the Bronze Star

Air Force Senior Airman Pedro I. Espaillat Jr. came to Maury County in 1993 with his mother and two brothers from the Dominican Republic. His father, an assembly worker at Saturn Corp., had arrived about three years earlier. ... a 2001 honors graduate at Spring Hill High School ... chose to enlist ... one week before the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Labels: dominican republic, english, faith, immigrants, peru, spanish

Benefit concert follows jazz master class

Steve Smail, Web Site Manager and Geology and Film/Digital Video teacher at University School of Nashville, announced the upcoming performance of and jazz master class performance by the Gabriel Alegria Sextet:

Afro-Peruvian Jazz
with the Gabriel Alegria Sextet
at the University School of Nashville Auditorium

Tuesday, February 19th

Jazz Master Class: 4:00pm – 6:00pm
Learn about Afro-Peruvian styles, instruments, and history with the band
Tickets $20/person (purchase in advance online, space is limited)

Benefit Concert: 7:30pm; Doors open at 6:30, food and drink available for purchase
Final performance of the US/Canadian Nuevo Mundo Tour
Tickets $5/person (purchase in advance online or at the door)

Both events are appropriate for all ages and open to the public. Proceeds fully benefit relief efforts for those affected by the August, 2007 Peruvian earthquake.

Online and Phone-in advance ticketing for both events:
USN Evening Classes - www.eveningclasses.org or 321.8019

"Smoldering jazz is kicked up with the intoxicating polyrhythms of coastal Peru as trumpeter and composer Gabriel Alegria continues to chart a fresh new idiom. Combining his own distinctive approach to the jazz trumpet with the rich heritage of Afro-Peruvian music, Alegria is joined by saxophonist Laurandrea Leguia, guitarist Yuri Juárez, bassist Joscha Oetz, drummer Hugo Alcazar and master percussionist Freddy “Huevito” Lobaton - who plays traditional instruments such as the cajón (box drum) and quijada (jaw bone) and adds spectacular passages of zapateo dancing."
www.gabrielalegria.com

University School of Nashville 2000 Edgehill Avenue 37212
Free parking available in the USN 19th Avenue parking lot
The sextet also performs at the Nashville Jazz Workshop on February 8th

Labels: arts, events, peru

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.

Labels: arts, bolivia, cuba, el salvador, events, mexico, peru

Co-sponsored by the Office of Student Unions and Programming and the Office of Intercultural and Diversity Affairs, in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month

Laura Fuentes y Calicanto will bring their Latin urban and roots stylings to MTSU with a performance at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 4, in the Tennessee Room of the James Union Building. The concert is free and open to the public.

Earlier in the day, Fuentes will be at a brown bag lunch at 12 noon in the SunTrust Room of the Business and Aerospace Building. MTSU students, staff, faculty and administrators are welcome to attend. Reservations can be made by calling the June Anderson Women’s Center at 615-898-2193 or sending an e-mail to jawc@mtsu.edu.

Fuentes, who was born to North American parents in Santiago, Chile, is a classically trained guitarist and vocalist. She lived in Chile until 1973, the year Army Commander-in-Chief Augusto Pinochet overthrew President Salvador Allende in a coup d’etat. The coup and its aftereffects had a great impact on Fuentes’ social consciousness

According to the Web site http://www.realpeoplesmusic.com, “Calicanto is a bridge of warmth and song between musicians from Latin America and audiences from all over the world. Founded by Laura Fuentes in 1996, the Calicanto project gets its name from the historic landmark that once united the shores of the Mapocho River in Santiago, Chile. The core duo of Laura Fuentes and Pedro Villagra join together to light a new fire, celebrating the rich diversity of Latin American music from Chile, Mexico, Peru, Puerto Rico and Venezuela.”

Calicanto is: Fuentes on lead vocals, guitar, cuatro and percussion; Villegra on quena, quenacho, sikus, flute, charango, saxophones and vocals; Patricio Acevedo on guitar, vocals and percussion; Orlando Cabrera, percussion; Raquel Gonzalez Paraiso, violin, mandolin, sikus and vocals; and Robert Schoville, percussion and drum set.

The concert is co-sponsored by the Office of Student Unions and Programming and the Office of Intercultural and Diversity Affairs in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs from Sept. 15 through Oct. 15. For more information, contact Intercultural and Diversity Affairs at 615-898-2987.

Labels: arts, chile, mexico, peru, puerto rico, venezuela

Democracy has solid majority support in Peru yet still lags behind most other Latin American countries, according to a survey by the Latin American Public Opinion Project released in Lima, Peru. But there is widespread dissatisfaction with the country’s political system and general skepticism about how the government protects Peruvians' rights, according to the report LAPOP issued in cooperation with the Instituto de Estudios Peruanos, a Lima-based, independent, non-profit organization devoted to social science research.

“The challenge is to increase the quality of democracy, making institutions more effectively responsive to the requests of the population, hence reducing popular dissatisfaction,” concluded the report by Julio Carrión and Patricia Zárate titled Cultura Política de la Democracia en Perú: 2006. The results were released Monday at the Instituto de Estudios Peruanos to officials in the executive office of the Peruvian government.

The poll was carried out in June 2006 among 1,500 people in Peru shortly after Alan García was elected president. This study is part of a series of surveys by LAPOP's AmericasBarometer, an effort to measure democratic values and behaviors in the Americas using national probability samples of voting-age adults. The surveys are made possible with funding from the United States Agency for International Development and the Center for the Americas at Vanderbilt University. The series covers 19 countries in Latin America, the Caribbean and North America, and is directed by Mitchell A. Seligson, Centennial Professor of Political Science at Vanderbilt University.

Dissatisfaction with the political system in Peru is balanced by relatively high levels of political tolerance toward minorities, the survey shows.

The best scenario for a stable democracy includes both support for the system and political tolerance, said Carrión, LAPOP regional coordinator for Mexico, America Central and South America, and Zárate, a researcher at the Instituto de Estudios Peruanos.

“In Peru, only 1 out of 5 people are in that place. …This number is among the lowest found in Latin America in 2006,” Carrión and Zárate say in the report.

Fragile citizen support of the political system manifests itself in the low levels of confidence in institutions linked to the administration of justice and to political representation. These levels of confidence are among the lowest in the region.

Relatedly, the perception of corruption of public officials is among the highest in the region. The poll found that approximately 30 percent of those interviewed claim to have been victims of at least one act of corruption, whether in the private or the political sphere. This percentage is significantly higher than the numbers registered in Chile (9.4 percent), Colombia (9.7 percent) and Panama (11.3 percent). The report states that citizens more affected by corruption are more willing to tolerate it, thus creating a vicious cycle.

High crime levels also present a significant challenge. Peru is the country with the highest rate of victimization through crime in the entire region, according to the report. More than 25 percent of the people asked stated that they had been victims of a criminal act. Of these, almost 40 percent had been victims of violence. As the study discovered, in Peru crime affects everyone without regard for social or economic status.

While the report noted high levels of citizen involvement in local government, such activism does not seem to translate into higher levels of confidence in the system, in part because the majority of Peruvians (almost 60 percent) feels that they have no influence in political matters. Finally, high citizen participation in strikes and public protests is consistent with the finding that most Peruvians have only a scant level of support for and confidence in their political system.

The publication and data are free to the public and can be obtained at the following link: www.lapopsurveys.org.

LAPOP, a project group in the Center for the Americas at Vanderbilt University, was founded in the 1970s by Seligson to conduct scientific surveys of Latin American citizens about their opinions and behaviors related to building and strengthening democracies. Its new AmericasBarometer now covers nearly the entire Western Hemisphere.

Labels: education, peru

"Parishioners who yearned to hear the word of God in their native language"

The Tennessean reported in this story that Sumner County Catholic churches are supportive of a groundswell in demand for Spanish-speaking mass and religious gatherings in various churches. The article lists three specific congregations and cites one reverend who visits five Spanish-speaking communities weekly.

"Diorka Ortega, a Cuban from West Palm Beach, Fla., said the idea for a Spanish-language Mass at Our Lady of the Lake started with a few parishioners who yearned to hear the word of God in their native language."

"'We had seven families that got together and proposed it to Father Bevington and the congregation. Everyone was so supportive,' said Ortega, who serves as the coordinator for the church's Hispanic ministry."

"Ortega said that the Spanish-language Mass began at Our Lady of the Lake about a year ago, with about 30 in attendance. 'Now, we have about 200 people who attend on a regular basis,' she said. Ortega attributed the rapid rise to word of mouth in a close-knit Hispanic community."

"She said that the Hispanic parishioners 'come from all over Latin America … Panama, Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador, Argentina and Peru. (Hispanics) are a growing part of the population, and there's a real need for spiritual enhancement in their lives,' Ortega said."

Read full story here

Photo by Tracy

Labels: argentina, colombia, ecuador, faith, mexico, panama, peru, spanish

Peru, Ecuador featured in Pigeon Forge

Celebrate the pageantry of more than 250 international performers at Dollywood’s Festival of Nations, a multi-cultural spring festival. Musicians, dancers and artisans bring a world of entertainment to the Great Smoky Mountains.

From Ireland to Russia to Zambia and Ecuador, enjoy all the festivities at this five-week event where the best of East Tennessee blends with spectacular international performances for an extravaganza like no other at Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee near Gatlinburg.

Don't miss a world of entertainment from The Russian National Theatre, Peru's Yawar Chicchi folk music & dance, Switzerland's Streichmusik Alder, featuring folk music and alpine horns, master yodeler Kerry Christensen, Ukraine's Dyvo Kalynove, children's folk music and dance group, Zambian Vocal Group, Trinidad's Stix on Steel and Ecuador's Atahualpa.

Yawar Chicchi delights audiences with the “dance of scissors,” the artistic symbol of Peru. A dance of religious origin featuring captivating displays of art and physical skill, the “dance of scissors” features traditional song and dance along with colorful costumes as Yawar Chicchi shares the customs and traditions of the Andean man.

Veterans of various festivals around the world, Atahualpa's traditional rhythms celebrate the rich history and culture of South America’s Andes Mountains where salsa and meringue music creates a colorful and entertaining carnival festival for all to enjoy.

Photo: Atahualpa (Ecuador)

Labels: arts, ecuador, peru

The Hispanic Community Group of Tennessee sent this invitation to its February 24 anniversary celebration featuring folk art of Peru:

In celebration of the 1st Anniversary of the Hispanic Community Group of Tennessee, you are invited to join us for a

FOLK ART EXHIBITION
from the
LAMBAYEQUE REGION OF PERU
Saturday, February 24, 2007
4:00pm – 8:00pm

Progreso Community Center
2720 Nolensville Pike, Suite 210

Featuring entertainment from
the Hispano America School of Dance
and appetizers from
El Inka Peruvian Restaurant
La Hacienda Mexican Restaurant

Organized by:
Local Regional Government of the Lambayeque Region, Peru
Hispanic Community Group of Tennessee
United Peruvian Association of Nashville

Labels: arts, peru

Incorporates Latino/Latin American themes

Peruvian-Jewish-Chinese heritage

Part of series sponsored by Nashville's ALIAS

"Honesty and genius ... unself-conscious craft and mastery ... brilliantly effective ... striking, original ... luminous"

As part of the Double Take series, ALIAS and the Nashville Symphony are pleased to present a performance lecture with composer Gabriela Lena Frank, who will speak about her string quartet, Leyendas: An Andean Walkabout.

The lecture will be held Thursday, January 18, at 3:00pm in Turner Recital Hall at the Blair School of Music at Vanderbilt University. Admission is free.

Starting Thursday evening and continuing through Saturday, join the Nashville Symphony as they perform Ms. Frank's work Manchay Tiempo. Also on the program are works by Shostakovich and Prokofiev. This is a rare opportunity to hear how a living composer approaches the composition of both symphonic and chamber works.

According to her publisher, "Composer and pianist Gabriela Lena Frank has been hailed as representing 'the next generation of American composers.' She regularly draws on and incorporates Latino/Latin American mythology, archeology, art, poetry, and folk music into western classical forms, reflecting her Peruvian-Jewish-Chinese heritage. Her compositions exhibit 'honesty and genius' (Springfield Union-News), 'unself-conscious craft and mastery' (Washington Post), and 'brilliantly effective writing' (New York Times); and have furthermore been described as 'striking, original' (Seattle Post-Intelligencer), and 'luminous... bursting with fresh originality' (Los Angeles Times). Her work Los Sombras de los Apus for cello quartet was recently elected to Chamber Music America's list of 'Top One Hundred and One Great American Ensemble Works.'"

ALIAS is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit chamber ensemble dedicated to an innovative repertoire, artistic excellence, and a desire to give back to the community. Its wide-ranging repertoire brings Nashville audiences a mix of chamber music that cannot be heard anywhere else, and its education and community programs enrich the lives of Nashville's students, families, and diverse communities with the gift of chamber music.

ALIAS is sponsored in part by the Blair School of Music, Vanderbilt University, the Metropolitan Nashville Arts Commission, the Nashville Scene, and Ventures Public Relations. For more information, visit www.aliasmusic.org

Labels: arts, peru

Merry Christmas from the Hispanic Nashville Notebook, and saludos navidenos to our friends across Latin America.

Glory to God in the highest
and on earth peace
good will toward men

Gloria a Dios en las alturas
y en la tierra paz
buena voluntad para con los hombres



El Salvador
Photo by Calero

Ecuador
Photo by jremigio

Peru
Photo by Jeff Barry

Argentina
Photo by blmurch

Chile
Photo by Ryan Greenberg

Colombia
Photo by Montanero

Venezuela
Photo by Spanner Dan

Mexico
Photo by Suchy

Labels: argentina, chile, colombia, ecuador, el salvador, mexico, peru, venezuela

"Champ" doll accompanied young patient through surgery donated by Dr. Shelagh Cofer

Three-year-old Betsy Vilca Sucari managed to charm everyone she met when she visited the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt. To Betsy, a native of Peru, the Americans-- with their strange habits, completely indecipherable language and interesting toys-- were just fun to visit with. But to those who got to know Betsy in the one-and-a-half weeks she was here, her visit was so much more. Betsy had a fast growing tumor in her neck that was beginning to hurt her ability to eat and sleep. It had to be removed and ear, nose and throat surgeon Shelagh Cofer, who met Betsy on a medical mission trip, volunteered to do the surgery for free. The surgery was a great success and throughout recovery, Betsy clung to her Champ doll, which she had named “Perrito,” (Spanish for “puppy”) and within a day or so, she was back to playing and charming once again. Betsy made a great recovery and climbed on a plane one week after surgery and was home with her mother in Peru by two days later.

The Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital is putting out an urgent plea to the community to help save Champ. The Hospital’s canine “champion” isn’t sick, but a stuffed animal made in his likeness that is given to every young in-patient (except newborns) is in critically short supply.

“Champ dolls are made overseas and then must be shipped. The only way to make that affordable is to order the dolls in bulk,” said Susan Kohari, interim Champ Program manager. “We need to place an order at a cost of more than $15,000. That will keep us supplied for maybe six months.” Currently the Champ fund stands at less than less than $4,000. Meanwhile, there are only a couple of dozen of the dolls left to give to sick and injured children who are admitted to the hospital. That means by the first of the year there will be no more Champ dolls to give to patients unless additional funding can be found.

To keep up with the greater-than-expected demand for Champ dolls, hospital officials are re-designing the Champ to be smaller; more like a “beanie Champ.” “Our patients say they love the beanie style and this will allow us to order smaller dolls in larger amounts and at lower cost,” said Kohari.

The current cost is $16.00 for each Champ. If you are interested in supporting the Champ doll program, please send your donation by check to:

Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital Champ Fund
2200 Children’s Way
Suite 2410
Nashville, TN 37203-1042

Please make checks payable to Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital (put in description line: For Champ fund).

The Tennessean also published this story about the call for Champ donations and the response of four Bellevue children.

Labels: health, peru