Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Playwright Diaz wins ATC's 2008 Latino Award - Latino Perspectives Magazine - January 2009 - Phoenix, Arizona

Playwright Diaz wins ATC's 2008 Latino Award - Latino Perspectives Magazine - January 2009 - Phoenix, Arizona: "Arizona Theatre Company has selected a Puerto Rican playwright with a “hip-hop flair” as the winner of its 2008 National Latino Playwriting Award.

Kristoffer Diaz’s winning entry was The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity, a work with a main character called The Mace, a Puerto Rican pro wrestler from the Bronx. The play takes a “comic look at pro wrestling, geopolitics and raisin bread.”

Arizona Theatre’s Company’s National Latino Playwriting Award annually recognizes an outstanding work by a Latino playwright. The winner receives $1,000. Diaz earned an MFA from New York University’s Department of Dramatic Writing."

Sunday, December 28, 2008

Feliz Navidad: Puerto Rican tradition says Christmas isn't over yet

Growing up in Puerto Rico, I have fond memories of the holidays. Christmas, was just the beginning and we would receive one gift. The real holiday came on January 6, El Dia de los Reyes (Three Kings Day).  I remember the day before and going in the fields with the other children in the neighborhood to gather grass. We would put the grass in a shoebox and leave it out for the camels. 

After waking up and receiving our presents our family would get in the car and visit relatives who live in the mountains for the real celebration.  Lots of relatives, lots of children and the food, arroz con gandules, pasteles, and lechon, all made for an experience I still long for today. Unfortunately, times have changed and that tradition is being forgotten. 

Reading the article below brought back all these fond memories. 

Feliz Navidad: Puerto Rican tradition says Christmas isn't over yet

Thursday, December 25, 2008

Ron Rivera, Potter Devoted to Clean Water, Dies at 60 - Obituary (Obit) - NYTimes.com

As the year draws to a close, it is a time to remember those who passed. I always look forward to reading the New York Times year end issue "The Lives They Lived" to read about fascinating people that died throughout the year. Often I come across people who I had not heard of and their contributions. 

This one in particular drew my attention because he was a Bronx born Puerto Rican who devoted his life to helping others. He was a potter that created "Potters for Peace" and help build 30 factories in the poorest parts of the world. His main cause was bringing clean water to stop disease. It is ironic that he died at 60 due to malaria while finishing his 30th factory, this one in Nigeria. 

Read the obituary below to learn more about this great human. The second link is to the article in this week's NYT Magazine.

Ron Rivera, Potter Devoted to Clean Water, Dies at 60 - Obituary (Obit) - NYTimes.com

Sunday, December 21, 2008

Lemon's Where I Am From Poem

This Tony Award winning poet will be performing his one man show "County of Kings: The Beautiful Struggle" at The Public Theater as part of the Under the Radar Festival. Lemon won a Tony Award for his participation in Russell Simmon's Def Poetry Jam . He can also be seen in HBO's version of the show.

PERFORMANCE DATES & TIME:

Wednesday, January 7 @7PM

Thursday, January 8 @3PM

Saturday, January 10 @9:30PM

Sunday, January 11 @3PM

Monday, January 12 @7PM

Tuesday, January 13 @7PM

Wednesday, January 14 @2PM

Friday, January 16 @7PM

Saturday, January 17 @3PM

Sunday, January 18 @7PM

Tickets $15

Ticket information can be found at The Public Theater Web Site

Support Latino Theater!



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Friday, December 19, 2008

The Lost Taino Tribe

For most of my life, I have been taught that Tainos were extinct. In the past few years, there has been a movement to disprove this theory. This documentary is a work in progress to look at the facts and the myths surrounding the Taino Indian legacy. The filmmaker, Alex Zacarias has created a website and social network where people can share their stories or knowledge of the Tainos. The website is www.losttainotribe.com or you can click on the badge below.

Visit LOST TAINO TRIBE



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Friday, December 5, 2008

Cumba Media Presents Podcast Episode 1 - A.B. Lugo

A.B. Lugo is an actor, playwright, poet and director who lives in New York City. I had a chance to sit down with him and discuss his career, his inspirations and his body of work. With three plays being produced at the same time, he is a busy man on the verge of a breakout. The first play is "Manchild Machismo" a one-man show he wrote and performs, the second play Geneva is being presented in both Spanish and English as part of the Asi Somos Festival at Teatro LaTea at the Clemente Velez Soto Community Center in the Lower East Side. The third play "Emboscada (Branches)" is being performed this month at Teatro Coribantes in Hato Rey, Puerto Rico.

Listen to interview here - Cumba Media Presents Podcast Episode 1 - A.B. Lugo

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Monday, December 1, 2008

Pageant Honors Link to Puerto Rico’s Native Tribe - NYTimes.com

Wow, I can't believe that the New York Times had two articles on Puerto Rico one right after the other. More surprising is that it was a featured article on the front page of their web site and it had nothing to do with tourism.

This article is about the Taíno influence on the island and centers on the National Indigenous Festival of Jajuya where they award a young girl for her Taíno looks and costume.


Pageant Honors Link to Puerto Rico’s Native Tribe - NYTimes.com

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