It was my pleasure to correspond with Wendy Guevara, a Carib descendant from Trinidad, who has earned recognition as a wonderful jazz singer. You can learn more about Wendy Guevara and her music at:
www.myspace.com/wendyguevara
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From Caroline Neisha Taylor:
We've got some great news -- the CRB (Caribbean Review of Books), which was incorporated as a nonprofit in Trinidad & Tobago last year, has received a substantial grant from the Prince Claus fund to develop the magazine,
That includes increasing the magazine's size and scope, as well as a pilot translation project to make the magazine available in multiple languages throughout the region.
The latest issue of the CRB (No.15: February 2008) now has excerpted articles online, and all past issues -- including the last November 2007 issue -- are now available in our ONLINE ARCHIVE, free of charge. For articles over 500 words, you'll need to set up a free online account with us.
Thanks as always for your support, and don't forget to check us out online:
CARIBBEAN REVIEW OF BOOKS
CARIBBEAN BEAT MAGAZINE
[see a review of RUINS OF ABSENCE, PRESENCE OF CARIBS, in the CRB archive]
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Liga Guakia Taina-ke, Inc.
Quedas cordialmente invitado al Foro Re-educando a un Pueblo: El Caso del Programa de Inmersión Cultural Lingüístico. El foro se celebrara el 10 de abril a las 5:30pm en el Vestíbulo de la Biblioteca Lázaro de la Universidad de Puerto Rico -Recinto de Río Piedras.
Esta actividad pretende crear un espacio donde académicos y escritores puedan reunirse para presentarle al publico (estudiantil, académico y general), puntos de vista variados e informativos sobre la cultura taina en su contexto etno-histórico cultural y lingüístico. El foro dará a conocer el Programa de Inmersión Cultural-Lingüístico (http://guailiguakia.blogspot.com/), implementado en las escuelas publicas de la región sureste de Puerto Rico por la Liga Guakia Taina-ke.
El Programa de Inmersión Cultural-Lingüística es un programa específico para el aprendizaje intensivo de la cultura y etnohistoria taina. El programa piloto promete crear las bases para un mejor entendimiento de nuestra cultura y lenguaje indígena. Dentro de este marco etnohistórico cultural se persigue, afanosamente, la reconstrucción del idioma taino (arahuaco). Esta iniciativa, de rescate ertnohistórico y lingüístico, será el primero en la isla a nivel escolar y comunitario. Con este programa queremos concienciar a nuestros jóvenes sobre su herencia indígena y ofrecer una nueva perspectiva de la cultura autóctona de Puerto Rico – la cual brilla por su ausencia en los textos escolares.
Nuestro invitado especial, Dr. Edil Torres Rivera, nos presentara su ponencia: Herencia Taina: Identidad liquidad. En esta ponencia el Dr. Torres, nos “mostrara evidencia de como la cultural Taina mantiene la reconciliación sicológica entre culturas opuesta en términos de actitudes, valores, y creencias.” También contamos con las ponencias de maestras que participan en el Programa en los distritos escolares de Yabucoa y Maunabo. Las experiencias de estos maestros(as) servirán para desarrollar un plan de trabajo dirigido a la revisión de materiales escolares que tratan la temática etno-historica cultural de Puerto Rico.
Adjunto envió el Programa tentativo. Próximamente estaremos enviando el programa actualizado del foro. También le invito a que visites nuestra pagina Web: http://www.tainakepr.blogspot.com/ para obtener mas información de otros eventos y actividades de la Liga.
[see a PowerPoint overview of the program: click here]
Carlalynne Meléndez, PhD
Liga Guakia Taina-ke, Inc.
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Below is the final version of the public service announcement and the itinerary for "A Symposium: Garifuna Popular Music and Arts as Identity" and the Tribute to Andy Palacio concert to be held April 14 - 20, 2008 in Atlanta, GA.
These events are being sponsored by the School of Music, the Office of Student Life and Leadership/Intercultural Relations, and the Rialto Center for the Performing Arts at Georgia State University, the Auburn Avenue Research Library on African-American Culture and History, and the Georgia Humanities Council. The Tribute to Andy Palacio concert will be held at the Rialto Center (Box Office: 404-413-9TIX/9849). The symposium will feature a film series on Garifuna history and culture, a discussion and demonstration on Garifuna music, a drumming master class, lecture-presentations on music and culture by invited scholars, a visual arts exhibit, and a panel discussion on the Garifuna arts as a commodity. All symposium events are free and open to the public.
Tribute to Andy Palacio: Concert & Symposium on Garifuna Music and Arts
Week-Long Celebration of Garifuna Culture at Georgia State University
ATLANTA – Georgia State University’s School of Music, Rialto Center for the Arts, Office of Student Life and Leadership/Intercultural Relations, and the Auburn Avenue Research Library on African-American Culture and History are partnering for an exciting week of Garifuna culture and a tribute concert to Andy Palacio April 14 through April 20, 2008. The Symposium on Garifuna Popular Music and Arts and the musical Tribute to Andy Palacio will be held at various venues on the campus of Georgia State University and at the Auburn Avenue Research Library. On April 19th the Garifuna Collective, Umalali, Adrian Martinez, and Aurelio Martinez will perform a concert in honor of the celebrated musician Andy Palacio at the Rialto Center for the Arts at 8 PM.
For tickets to the Tribute to Andy Palacio concert contact the Rialto Center Box Office at 404-413-9TIX (9849). All symposium events are free and open to the public. For information on specific symposium events contact the School of Music at 404-413-5900, the Office of Student Life and Leadership/Intercultural Relations at 404-413-1580, the Auburn Avenue Research Library at 404-730-4001, ext. 303 or visit www.rialtocenter.org/garifunasymposium.html.
The late Andy Palacio, Cultural Ambassador of Belize and a UNESCO Artist of Peace, was the Garifuna musician whose 2007 critically acclaimed and award winning CD “Watina” (BBC Radio 3 and World Music Expo awards) brought international attention to Garifuna traditional and popular music. The Garifuna are an African and Native American people who live along the coast of Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua and in urban centers in the US. The symposium will feature a film series on Garifuna history, music, and ritual arts traditions, a discussion and demonstration on Garifuna music, a drumming master class, lecture-presentations on music and culture by invited scholars, a visual arts exhibit, and a panel discussion on Garifuna arts as a commodity. This project is supported by the Georgia Humanities Council and the National Endowment for the Humanities and through appropriations from the Georgia General Assembly. The evening will conclude with a concert to commemorate the music and legacy of Andy Palacio.
The Tribute to Andy Palacio, featuring the Garifuna Collective and Umalali, will include guest artists Aurelio Martinez, a guitarist, vocalist, and congressman from Honduras, and Adrian Martinez, a rising Belizean Garifuna musician. The collective features Garifuna musicians selected specifically by Andy Palacio. Umalali, a vocal ensemble of Garifuna women, performs songs typically sung by women.
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS & CALENDAR LISTINGS:
A Symposium: Garifuna Popular Music and Arts as Identity –
Contemporizing the Traditional
Monday, April 14 – Sunday, April 20, 2008
Monday – Sunday (April 14 – 20) Garifuna Art Exhibit (Rialto Center Lobby)
(Watercolor paintings by Greg Palacio.)
Tuesday - Thursday (April 15 - 17) Film Series (Auburn Avenue Research Library)
Tuesday: The Garifuna Journey by Andrea Leland, 12:00 pm.
Wednesday: Play, Jankunu Play: The Garifuna Wanaragua Ritual… by Oliver Greene, 12:00 pm. Thursday: The Garifuna – An Enduring Spirit by Robert Flanagan, 12:00 pm.
(Films on Garifuna history, cultural practices, music, and processional rites.)
Friday (April 18) Demonstration and Discussion (Rialto Center Lobby)
Garifuna Collective & Umalali with Aurelio Martinez and Adrian Martinez, 1:10 – 2:00 pm.
(Garifuna Musicians perform various styles of traditional music and explain how such music is transformed into arrangements of popular music.)
Drumming Master Class (Haas Howell Building, Room 150)
Garifuna Percussion Music, 2:15 – 3:15 pm.
(A master class for students of Georgia State University and the general public.)
Saturday (April 19) Lecture Presentations (Rialto Center Lobby)
“It’s a Global thing, Now”- Cultural Iconicity and Transnational Garifuna Identity - Preserving the Traditional through the Popular
Oliver Greene – Punta in Office: The “Politics” of Garifuna Popular Music, 11:00 am.
Michael Stone - Garifuna Global Groove, 11:30 am.
Joe Palacio (Keynote address) – UNESCO Proclamations & Popular Identity, 12:15 pm. (Lectures by researchers of Garifuna culture and music will examine how popular music and musicians help preserve cultural identity locally and across national borders.)
Lunch Provided (Reservations required.) 1:00 pm.
Contact Rialto Box Office: 404-413-9TIX (9849)
Panel Discussion – (Rialto Center Lobby)
“Reflections on Andy Palacio,” 1:30 – 2:00 pm.
“The Commodification of Culture: Punta as Preservation and Profit,” 2:00 – 3:00 pm.
Moderator: Leslie Gordon (Rialto Center), Participants: Oliver Greene, Ethnomusicologist (Georgia State University), Andrea Leland, Independent Filmmaker (Chicago/Virgin Islands), Greg Palacio, Painter (Los Angeles), Joe Palacio, Cultural Anthropologist (Belize), Michael Stone, Cultural Anthropologist, (Princeton University).
(Reflections on the life and influence of the late Andy Palacio will be followed by a dialogue on the performing arts as a commodity and as a tool of cultural preservation).
Pre-Concert Discussion: Michael Stone, 7:00 – 7:30 pm.
Rialto Series Presents:
A Tribute to Andy Palacio featuring the Garifuna Collective & Umalali
Guest Artists: Aurelio Martinez and Adrian Martinez
Afro-Caribbean Soul
Saturday, April 19, 8:00PM
The Garifuna Collective pays tribute to the late Andy Palacio with Afro-Caribbean rock and soul. Palacio dedicated his life to presenting Garifuna culture, unique in its blend of West African and Native Caribbean heritage. The sound is undeniably soulful – nodding to its African origins – with Caribbean swing and echoes of Jamaican, Haitian, and even coastal-Mexican styles. The April 19th concert also features Umalali, a female singing group, in addition to guest artists Adrian Martinez and Aurelio Martinez.
Venue: Rialto Center for the Arts at Georgia State University
Cost: $26/$36/$52 – Free Parking
(Group and Georgia State University faculty, staff, and student discounts available)
Contact: 404-413-9TIX (9849) or www.rialtocenter.org
Sunday, April 20, 2:00pm. Reception: Meet & Greet Garifuna Musicians & Film Makers
A reception for members of the Garifuna Collective, Umalali, Aurelio Martinez, Adrian Martinez, and film makers whose works have been presented during the symposium.
Venue Locations:
Rialto Center for the Arts at Georgia State University
80 Forsyth Street NW, Atlanta, GA 30303 (on the southwest corner of Forsyth and Luckie Streets)
Box Office Phone: 404-413-9TIX (9849)
For directions see: http://www.rialtocenter.org/directions/index.html
Haas Howell Building, Room 150
75 Poplar Street NW, Atlanta, GA 30303
(Ground floor, on the northwest corner of Forsyth and Poplar Streets)
Auburn Avenue Research Library on African-American Culture and History
101 Auburn Avenue NE, Atlanta, GA 30303. 404-730-4001
(On the southeast corner of Courtland Avenue and Auburn Avenue)
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