The Tennessean posted this interview of Ramon Cisneros, president of the Tennessee Hispanic Chamber of Commerce*.

Here is an excerpt:

In 1975, I came here to attend college. I was fresh out of high school. I stayed at UT-Martin for a couple of years, and then in 1977 I moved to Orlando, Florida, and graduated in environmental engineering from Central Florida.

I was in a very small town at UT-Martin. But because they had a big English as a second language program at the time, there were about 600 international students there, about 120 of them from Venezuela. At first, it was a pretty big cultural shock, because it's a rural area there, and the people weren't used to having foreigners around. But when we started buying in the stores, and things like that, the businesses started realizing this was an interesting group of people.

Right after graduation, or a couple of weeks later, I moved back to Venezuela and worked there for 11 years, until 1991. I started working with Exxon in the area of oil spills and environmental issues. I also attended college in Venezuela and got a master's degree in marketing during that time.

Cisneros was also profiled by the Nashville Business Journal in 2003 (story here).

Labels: chambers, immigrants, venezuela

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

Venezuelan among exhibitors

The Tennessean reports here that an art exhibit featuring the creations of sixteen Nashville immigrants will be hosted by the Centennial Arts Center from October 5 through October 26:

"Titled Nashville's Internationals, the show features contributions from artists representing Haiti, Venezuela, Belgium, Germany, Croatia, Russia, China, The Philippines, Nigeria and Sudan. In some cases, their work couldn't be more different, but all represent a common urge to give voice to their experiences through painting, sculpture, drawing and other visual media."

"Nashville's Internationals is timed to coincide with Metro Parks' and Scarritt-Bennett Center's Celebration of Cultures, a free festival in Centennial Park on Oct. 6-7. This art exhibit lends an added dimension to what should be a fun, family-friendly occasion."

Labels: arts, events, immigrants, venezuela

Famed conductor has Central and South American roots

Nicaraguan-born and Costa Rican-raised Giancarlo Guerrero will become the Music Director of the Nashville Symphony starting in 2009, according to this press release:

Nashville Symphony President and CEO Alan D. Valentine announced today that Giancarlo Guerrero will become Music Director of the Nashville Symphony beginning with the 2009/100 season. A native of Costa Rica and current Music Director of the Eugene Symphony, the 38-year-old conductor was unanimously selected to be the Symphony's 8th Music Director by a 12-member search committee, half of whom were musicians from the orchestra. Leonard Slatkin, who has served as Music Advisor of the Nashville Symphony since 2006, will conclude his tenure at the end of 2008/09.

Mr. Guerrero has developed a relationship with the Nashville Symphony through four subscription engagements over the past two years and was the first guest conductor to lead the Symphony following the death of its last Music Director, Kenneth Schermerhorn, in 2005. He is currently in his sixth season as Music Director of Oregon's Eugene Symphony and will continue in that post through the 2008/09 season. Under the terms of an initial 5 year contract extending through 2012/13, Mr. Guerrero will conduct 10 weeks of concerts with the Nashville Symphony in 2008/09 as Music Director Designate and 14 weeks as Music Director beginning in 2009/10.

"We are all truly excited about Giancarlo's appointment," commented Alan D. Valentine. "From his first concert with the Nashville Symphony in the week following Kenneth Schermerhorn's death, the chemistry between Giancarlo, the musicians and the audience was apparent. Each return engagement since then has strengthened our relationship and reconfirmed what we already knew – that Giancarlo is the right conductor to take our orchestra to the next level. I speak on behalf of the musicians, staff and board in welcoming Giancarlo and his family to Nashville and to the Nashville Symphony."

"It is a great honor to become the next Music Director of the Nashville Symphony," remarked Giancarlo Guerrero. "I look forward to wonderful music-making with the musicians of the orchestra in their terrific new hall and to continuing the orchestra's rich and long recording tradition. This is an exciting time in the orchestra's history and it is my privilege to accept the responsibility of leading this orchestra to new artistic heights. I am thrilled about working with President Alan Valentine, the orchestra's staff, board members, and the musicians of the Nashville Symphony, and my family and I are looking forward to becoming a part of the Nashville community."

"The appointment of Giancarlo Guerrero ensures the continued growth of the Nashville Symphony," said Nashville Symphony Music Advisor Leonard Slatkin. "His dynamic leadership with the Symphony over the past several seasons made him the clear choice for this position. I know that he will add vitality and excitement to the community, as well as be a perfect fit for the orchestra."

Giancarlo Guerrero will lead the Nashville Symphony as its first Music Director since the opening of its new home, the $123.5 million, 1,844-seat Schermerhorn Symphony Center, which opened on September 9, 2006 to critical acclaim. Both Mr. Guerrero and the Nashville Symphony are champions of American music, which the Symphony has highlighted through its American Encores initiative – featuring "encore" performances of works by living American composers and American masters that have been performed rarely or only once previously (at its premiere) - and through its award-winning recordings on Naxos' American Classics series. Mr. Guerrero initiated a guest-composer series in Eugene, where under his leadership the ensemble has hosted several of America's most respected composers, including John Adams, John Corigliano, Jennifer Higdon, Aaron Jay Kernis and Michael Daugherty.

Hailed for his precise yet sensitive performances, Mr. Guerrero has guest-conducted many major American orchestras including the Baltimore Symphony, The Cleveland Orchestra, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, the National Symphony Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra, Seattle Symphony and the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl. He served as Associate Conductor of the Minnesota Orchestra from 1999-2004 and made his Minnesota Orchestra subscription debut in March 2000 leading the world premiere of John Corigliano's Phantasmagoria on the Ghosts of Versailles. Mr. Guerrero recently made his European debut with the Gulbenkian Orchestra and his UK Debut with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra.

During the 2007/08 season Mr. Guerrero will conduct the Nashville Symphony's first classical series concerts on September 13-15, as well as Verdi's Requiem on May 8-10, 2008. In addition to his performances in Nashville and Eugene, Mr. Guerrero's conducting engagements this season include his return appearances with The Cleveland Orchestra both in Cleveland and on tour including the orchestra's residency in Miami. He also leads the Australian premiere of Osvaldo Golijov's chamber opera Ainadamar at the Adelaide Festival. Additional engagements include appearances with the symphony orchestras of Dallas, Kansas City, Milwaukee, San Diego, among others, and the Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra in Venezuela.

In June 2004, Mr. Guerrero was awarded the Helen M. Thompson Award by the American Symphony Orchestra League, which recognizes outstanding achievement among young conductors nationwide. Born in Nicaragua and raised in Costa Rica, Mr. Guerrero began his musical training in Costa Rica as a member of the Costa Rica Youth Symphony. He received his bachelor's degree from Baylor University in Texas and his master's degree in conducting from Northwestern University in Illinois. Mr. Guerrero's principal conducting teachers were Michael Haithcock, Stephen Heyde, Victor Yampolsky and Guillermo Scarabino. Prior to his tenure with the Minnesota Orchestra, he served as Music Director of the Tachira Symphony Orchestra in Venezuela. Mr. Guerrero plans to reside in Nashville with his wife Shirley and daughters Virginia and Claudia.

Recognized as one of the nation's fastest growing orchestras, the 84-member Nashville Symphony gives more than 200 performances annually and is rapidly developing an international reputation for unique programming and high musical standards. The Symphony's award-winning recordings and focus on new American music, coupled with the high-profile opening of Schermerhorn Symphony Center, have thrust the Symphony into the national spotlight. The Nashville Symphony has 11 recordings on Naxos and one on Decca, making it currently one of the most active recording symphony orchestras in the country. The recordings have received four Grammy nominations, including one for "Best Classical Album" in 2004 for the works of Elliott Carter. In the 2007/08 season, the Symphony's American Encores series will include performances of seldom-heard works by Richard Danielpour, John Corigliano, Michael Torke, Robert Sierra, Paul Creston, Claude Baker, Paul Hindemith, Erich Korngold, Kurt Weill and Aaron Copland, among others.

Labels: arts, costa rica, immigrants, nicaragua, venezuela

The School of Nashville Ballet will be welcoming a new faculty member, Mr. Gonzalo Espinoza. Mr. Espinoza will be instructing Upper Division classes, Adult Division Classes and assisting with the Youth Ensemble (an audition-only performing group). Born in Venezuela, Gonzalo danced with National Ballet of Venezuela and with the Ballet Nuevo Mundo. He has danced with Cleveland Ballet, Sacramento Ballet, Ballet San Jose Silicon Valley, and has done extensive work with Dancing Wheels, a dance group encompassing both wheel chair and non wheel-chaired dancers. Former Assistant School Director of Ballet San Jose Silicon Valley, Mr. Espinoza brings a wealth of experience to the School of Nashville Ballet. Donna Delseni, School Director, states, "Gonzalo has the innate ability to bring out the best in all of his students and challenges them to aspire to greater levels of dance. We are so pleased to bring in an instructor of his caliber to our team of professionals here at Nashville Ballet."

Photo by Louise Docker

Labels: arts, venezuela

The Tennessean reported here on the graduation of Puerto Rican Jessica Smith from Trevecca University. Smith is blind and has worked part-time as a Spanish translator in Nashville. She has plans to start a family and return to graduate school. As a Puerto Rican, Smith is a U.S. citizen and has no immigration bureaucracy to navigate.

The Tennessean also reported here on the graduation of Venezuelan student Luis Pacheco from Vanderbilt's Owen Graduate School of Management and the prospect that he will not be able to legally remain in the United States, despite the fact that he is well educated and has applied through the proper channels.

"The H-1B visa program is designed to give foreign workers an opportunity to work in the United States for up to six years in their field of expertise. The visas are awarded to 65,000 new foreign-born workers by lottery each year. This total is known as the 'cap.' An additional 20,000 visas are reserved for those with master's degrees or higher."

"This year, the capped H-1B visa program began accepting applications on its traditional April 1 start date. U.S. Immigration and Citizenship Service, the agency that processes the applications, had received 'well in excess of 120,000 petitions,' and on April 2 it officially closed the lottery, Christopher Bentley, an agency spokesman, said."

"Last year, applications were accepted until May 26; in 2005, applications were accepted until Aug. 10."

"Pacheco said Amazon.com's attorney told him that the H-1B visa petition submitted on his behalf arrived by the April 2 cutoff. But in the six weeks that have followed, neither Pacheco nor Amazon has received a lottery decision. It is unclear whether Amazon will hire him if he can work only one year."

"'Obviously, the main point of doing the MBA is finding a job,' Pacheco said, 'When you come here you know this process is going to be hard. But I had no idea this year would be like this.'"

Labels: education, immigrants, puerto rico, venezuela

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