“The Cemetery of Untold Stories” : A Reading with Julia Alvarez

“How does it feel being the elder that you yourself didn’t have?” asked moderator, Dr. Rebeca Hey-Colón, an assistant professor at Temple University. 

This was one of the questions posed to Julia Alvarez on Thursday, April 4, 2024 at the Free Library of Philadelphia. She was there to read from her new novel The Cemetery of Untold Stories. Alvarez spent the entire evening comfortably in her role of elder, inspiring, offering advice on writing and storytelling, and on life. She discussed aspects of creativity and the writing process in addition to reading an excerpt from her novel. 

I first heard of and met Julia Alvarez over 30 years when I had been studying in the Dominican Republic at the Catholic University in Santiago de los Caballeros. I attended a conference held in Santo Domingo on Caribbean Studies. What I remember was standing on the buffet line next to her, waiting to get our food, and talking about whether or not her poetry would be accepted by Dominicans on the island. Alvarez did not think it would be. 

This was heartbreaking for me to hear, but it was a time when there was not a market yet for United States literature written in English or a mixture of Spanish and English by latino authors. It was considered exotic (and questionable according to some) for me to travel to the Dominican Republic to study abroad—Mexico and Spain were much more mainstream destinations. “Why are you going THERE?” was probably the least offensive. Dominicans were migrating to the United States and mainly lived in New York City, and back then they were referred to as “Dominican Yorks.” They had to adjust to a new reality in a northeast city in the USA, but if/when they returned to the Dominican Republic they were considered “suspect,” and “different” by those living on the island. This immigrant story of being neither from “here” nor “there” continues to repeat with every group that migrates. 

In her talk on Thursday, Alvarez peppered her conversation with words and phrases in Spanish, and a good number of audience members understood, as there was much laughter at her jokes and an uplifting vibe to the entire event. Her down-to-earth candor and humility were well received. Philadelphia has a large Dominican American population, immigrant Mexican community, as well as the second largest Puerto Rican population on the continent (over 145,000 Puerto Ricans) behind New York City. However, the audience was a mix—people of all backgrounds, native languages, and ages, even some who had read her works in other languages besides Spanish and English were present and enthusiastically engaged.

I haven’t read The Cemetery of Untold Stories yet, but I’m looking forward to it. It’s about a woman writer who is retiring, and she wants to find some closure from the stories that haven’t been told but still live in her head. She moves to the Dominican Republic and creates a cemetery that is not of dead people but these stories. Without giving spoilers, it seems like something in the “magic realism” vein is going to happen, and that Alvarez draws from her own experience too. After all, she is now in her 70s and she thinks about aging and desired to create more mature characters that are in their twilight years. The stories in the writer’s head though, are not dead, but seem to have a life of their own, and they would live on beyond the author. Actually, this happens when a book is published or when a story is told and retold. It takes on a life of its own living in other people, continuing to influence, change realities, touching the next person who hears or reads it.

According to Alvarez, stories create communities, and the diaspora broadens the community. Both moderator Rebeca L. Hey-Colón and Alvarez mentioned the importance of the oral tradition in Latin American cultures. This is an intrinsic part of Alvarez’ life and her aesthetic. She told us that storytelling was always happening while growing up. Many people in her childhood didn’t read a lot of literature, but they sure could talk. When she was studying in a Creative Writing MFA, she realized that some of the techniques she was learning in classes, she already knew how to do–she had picked them up from listening to stories and following master storytellers in her family and community.  

Another insightful idea which grew out of a reference to Haiti and the massacre of Haitians under dictator Trujillo, was that “the diaspora brings people together who might have been separated on the island or in their homeland.”  Dominicans who migrated to the United States and on the island have joined with Haitians to form Borders of Light. Trujillo ordered the murder of Haitians at the border in 1937 and it was a horrific crime for which he was never punished and which created a distrust and hatred between Dominicans and Haitians. The class and race divisions that existed on the island, are at least blurred when they arrive in the United States, since they are all immigrants, and often starting from scratch, and facing the same challenges, and an organization like Border of Lights was established to make sure that the world knows what happened in 1937, and to join together to remember the victims.

Near the end of the evening, Alvarez stated, “We don’t own the stories” and that “each book is different” when asked about knowing when a book is finished. This seems to be instinctive in her case, although she did admit that sometimes a good editor would step in and determine where the ending should be. The final question from the audience requested advice for a young Dominican writer who was struggling to get his work out there. Julia Alvarez the elder recommend that you need to “find community” and don’t give up. You need to write and tell your stories because simply “that was what you were put here to do.”

Drexel Cartonera: Memorias al cartón

The second exhibition of cardboard books at Drexel University’s Hagerty Library. There will be an opening panel discussion on March 13, 4-6 pm EST. Click the link to register for in person or VIRTUAL (Zoom) attendance. All are welcome.

cartonera-opening-event_2024.03.13Download

Café con aroma de mujer: Adapting to a New Generation

Making coffee from its cultivation to getting it onto your table, either in an espresso cup or a big mug, is the topic of Café con aroma de mujer, a Colombian telenovela that was a blockbuster hit in the original 1993 version and has been recently updated streaming on YouTube, Hulu and Peacock.  There were also two spinoffs by Mexican television: Cuando seas mía (2001 TVAzteca), Destilando amor (2007, El Canal de las Estrellas). https://www.infobae.com/america/colombia/2022/08/04/cafe-con-aroma-de-mujer-estas-son-las-actrices-que-han-interpretado-a-gaviota-en-las-multiples-versiones-de-la-telenovela/ 

I watched the more recent Colombian version a couple of years ago and enjoyed it immensely. The lush Colombian coffee countryside is beautifully rendered in the production. That in itself is reason enough to watch. The series was first created by Colombian Fernando Gaitan. In the revival, William Levy, a Cuban actor, is a captivating Sebastian Vallejo. Carmen Villalobos, well-known for her portrayal of Catalina in the many seasons of Sin senos no/sí hay paraíso, broke out of that heroine role to play a villain, Lucía. Initially I did not even realize it was the same actress, which is a testimony to her acting abilities. Laura Londoño brings the character of Gaviota to life.  

After watching all the episodes of the remake, I was curious about the original. I searched the internet but at the time it was not available. Recently, it has become available to stream on Vix.com, which is a service for television and movies in Spanish. Despite its lack of today’s HD technology, the original novela is a winner! The focus on the coffee triangle in Colombia and its culture was new 30 years ago, and came at a time when Colombia was immersed in problems with drug traffic, but the new topic was not what stood out to me in the original. Compared to the revival, the cinematography pales and is inferior. However, the passion of the characters, an earthiness and romanticism that would not be acceptable today, kept my attention and made me empathize with them.  

The storyline used in 1994 is dated and had to be modified in the remake for a 21^st century audience. What we used to believe and considered normal in the 1990s, would make today’s audiences cringe. The original depicts cultural references and behavior that is simply old-fashioned, discriminatory and in some cases downright offensive today.  Nevertheless, it was painfully and regretfully endearing in a nostalgic way—although my views on many things have since changed, I was a young adult when it aired, and I related to that Gaviota and the career and romantic struggles that she encountered once she moved to Bogotá and was trying to advance in the corporate side of the coffee industry. Values and dating practices in the 1990s before cell phones and internet, were the reality of my youth.  

Even so, Sebastian’s possessiveness and stalking was a bit over the top in the early 1990s. Ivan had affairs and insisted on “interviewing” his secretarial prospects in the bedroom. Unfortunately, that occurred with more frequency back in the day, and was not considered a reason to have someone fired or to file a lawsuit.  Nowadays, it would be considered sexual harassment and punishable.  If that context were utilized today, a restraining order for Sebastian and a “Me Too” lawsuit for Ivan would have ended the soap opera within its first week.  Such actions were criticized in the first version, but that type of behavior was not considered a legal offense or a crime back then, which would not be the case in the 21^st century.    

Today’s audiences, especially a USA audience, would not tolerate such chauvinistic, sexist or machista behavior so in the remake Ivan confines his dalliance to an affair with one woman and he is clearly the bad guy from the beginning. He does not have affairs with his secretaries or assistants, although coffee pickers are not off limits.  I was surprised that in the original, the character of Ivan is at first likeable, and it is over the course of the series that his negative qualities manifest. In the original he has a much longer character arc, and I was impressed with the nuance used in developing his character and revealing his foibles. On the other hand, “Ivan” in the remake is disgusting and untrustworthy from the beginning. He does not show any redeeming qualities either in his relationships with family or business associates.  He is the villain from the start.

Aside from updates in the story and more advanced technology, which resulted in better images and cinematography in the remake, I found the focus of the lead characters to be approached differently. Perhaps this is also related to the era, the context in which we encounter these characters and the expectations of the time frames. Gaviota (Margarita Rosa de Franco)  in the original, strikes me as the more powerful character in the lead couple. She starts as a coffee picker and ends up an executive in the coffee industry. This is quite a feat for someone whose mother cannot read and who barely has an education herself. The two spend most of their lives bouncing around different farms and plantations, going where the harvests are until Gaviota meets Sebastian. Sebastian (Guy Ecker) is a nice person (in spite of his snooty wealthy family) but a weaker personality, especially in the context of what was expected from men of his social class in Colombia in the 1990s. Ivan is the epitome of the Alpha male in 1990s Colombia.

The original story follows Gaviota wherever she goes, and all the characters relate to her somehow. Even Paula’s husband Miguel meets and flirts with Gaviota before marrying her, and this does not happen in the remake. In contrast, in the 2021 version, Sebastian seemed to be the center of the plot, with everyone relating to him somehow. Lucia and her father have a life and business unrelated to Gaviota, and Bernardo, Paula and Marcela (Sebastian’s siblings in the remake) have well developed storylines too, that involve Sebastian and not necessarily Gaviota.   

I am now curious about the Mexican versions of the story and plan to check those out. In the meantime, I highly recommend Café con aroma de mujer to all coffee lovers. In both Colombian versions you will appreciate learning about different types of coffee and how the crop is harvested and the machinations behind the corporate industry. Particularly in the remake, the lush green landscape is a delight to behold on the small screen.  

Women’s Perspectives on a Hard Life: “Carmen and Grace”, a New Novel by Melissa Coss Aquino

Carmen and Grace by Melissa Coss Aquino
From Goodreads:
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I just finished this book. I absolutely loved it. I’m going to a presentation to meet the author and I can’t wait. I have read thousands of books in my life and this was one I most enjoyed. She made me know these characters and sympathize with them, which is a hard feat. Her use of a believable idiom and voice for Carmen and Grace was masterful. Looking forward to more from this writer.
View all my reviews

My review on Goodreads was brief but I gave it five stars, the highest rating. I didn’t and don’t want to publish spoilers about this tour-de-force of a novel, Carmen and Grace. I want you to read it and discover it yourself! On November 18, 2023, I attended a Book Club Brunch sponsored by LITina Book Club and Taller Puertorriqueño in Philadelphia. I had just finished the book a few hours before. Once I started it, I couldn’t put it down.

This novel is not for the faint of heart. The characters are young Puerto Rican women, who due to difficult life circumstances as children, become embroiled in the drug trade in the South Bronx in the 1990s. Carmen and Grace are cousins, although due to their precarious family situations, seem more like sisters–they have a grandmother in common. There have been plenty of stories written from the male perspective about drug traffic, addiction, mafias and gangs. This is the first novel I’ve ever read that details this kind of life from a woman’s perspective. In the novel she presents both Carmen’s and Grace’s narrations. The voices of both characters are unique and defined. They mainly speak English, but there are a few occasions when they code-switch and speak Spanish. Since I am trilingual (English, Spanish & Portuguese) I did not even notice, it just seemed natural to me.

I arrived 20 minutes early to Taller Puertorriqueño, since the 47 bus sped through North Philadelphia as few people got on or off after Race Street. I was able to meet Melissa, the author, briefly while they were still setting up. The event included mimosas, coffee and latin food! It was a small but enthusiastic audience. Erica Bernal from LITina, had several questions prepared and then afterwards opened the floor to questions and comments from the audience.

At the Book Club Brunch I found out that Coss Aquino was inspired to write this book when she was only 23 years old, decades ago. She told us that she had been writing since 3rd grade and overcame a few suspicions of plagiarism. This is sad but unfortunately not surprising as teachers’ biases made them question that she was capable of such good writing. Her first piece was a poem that she wrote in third grade, and after that she continued writing throughout her youth. It took Coss Aquino thirty years to write this book. She had decided that she wanted to “live her life” and not be a starving artist, so she needed time–something that was scarce when she was teaching, raising her children and getting advanced degrees. She also mentioned that she had some incidents in her twenties in which she was criticized for wanting to tackle this tough and violent subject. An older (male) writer, was against the publication of more troubling stories about latinos, and this clash made her question her topic and hold back. Enter the dreaded writer’s block. In addition, there was, and still is, an immense pressure to “represent” the community and with Carmen and Grace, she finally broke all of those de-facto rules to write the book that she wanted to write.

Julia de Burgos Bookstore @Taller Puertorriqueño

I admit that I tend to look for “inspiring” art and literature to consume, and would normally NOT have read this book, left to my own devices. A friend told me about the brunch, and when I saw the book title and blurb it looked intriguing. I had enjoyed my last visit to Taller Puertorriqueño, and after reading a “sample” of the novel on my Kindle, I was hooked. I definitely wanted to read the rest of it and hear the author discuss it. I am so glad that I read it because through Coss Aquino’s strong writing, I began to sympathize with these characters and understand why they made some of the choices they did, even though they were not choices I would have made (at least not in my current circumstances or those that I grew up in). To hear fictional characters detail their struggles, as well as their thoughts and weaknesses, was much more effective in exposing me to another perspective, compelling me to consider the complexity, nuance and humanity of these predicaments. Hence lies the power of art and imagination!

View looking out of the Julia de Burgos Bookstore at Taller Puertorriqueño.

I related to the context of the Carmen and Grace story because of the Bronx milieu. I was sucked into the story since there were things that I recognized, that I was vaguely familiar with. I wanted to read more because somehow, having been born in the Bronx, it resonated with me and was part of my history. My mother was raised in the South Bronx in a tenement and I had heard stories my entire life about how difficult it was for them growing up, especially since my grandparents had separated. I had some relatives who were involved with some shady dealings in the 1930s and 40s, long before this story takes place, and it struck a nerve. Simmering in the back of my mind was that I could have been a Carmen or a Grace, or any of the women in the story, had my parents decided to remain in the Bronx, and not moved to Queens when I was a toddler.

Coss Aquino confesses that she was raised by her grandmother and saw her mother only intermittently. Her father’s voice filters through as the voice of reason, and his pragmatic guidance and sharp intelligence is weaved through the story. As a GED teacher, Coss Aquino met many young women who were wrapped up in the drug traffic and other problematic situations, which gave credence to the novel. There were many points discussed about the novel in the brunch, too many to list here. Two ideas that Coss Aquino expressed that stand out to me are (I paraphrase): “Every mother births a child into a dangerous world,” and that you must “choose well and live out the consequences of your choices.” According to Grace (the character) one needs to be somebody first, to value oneself, to be a good mother, and Coss Aquino expressed the idea that a single choice can change the course of your life. Read Carmen and Grace to find out what painful choices led these young girls into a life of crime and if and how they survived.

“Goya: Prints from the Arthur Ross Collection” at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia

The room was dark and the click click of the slide projector carousel punctuated the instructor’s monologue about great Spanish art. There were about 30 of us, international students, who crowded into the room to listen and watch for 2 hours twice a week in the afternoon. It was a long time ago, so my memory is not so accurate, but I think this class happened AFTER the siesta, which followed 5 hours of class in the mornings. We were the dedicated diehards. I wanted to get my money’s worth so for that reason alone I diligently attended this optional class instead of heading off to the pool or the Plaza Mayor to hang out and socialize. The instructor focused on Velasquez, El Greco, Goya, and Picasso. These are the names of Spanish painters that always come to mind when I think about Spanish art. 

At the end of the month, I visited the Prado Museum in Madrid, at a time when it was under reconstruction. I entered through an unassuming back door, and due to the renovation, the museum building itself was unimpressive, but the collection was incredible. It was the right way to end a series of lectures on Spanish Art history…seeing the works up close and in person. As I developed as a performing artist over the years, and more recently as a visual artist, I have been strongly influenced by Spanish art and music. I remember attending a screening of the film Goya en Burdeos at the Paris Theater in Manhattan one afternoon, before heading across town for an opera rehearsal. The dramatic depiction of Goya’s life, his transgressions, his eventual deafness, and his inspirations, was gift-wrapped in layers of exuberant colors and images, melody and rhythm. It was exciting and a feast for the eyes and ears that heightened my awareness just in time for me to channel that energy into my own performance.  

Currently on exhibit at University of Pennsylvania’s Arthur Ross Gallery, is the show Goya: Prints from the Arthur Ross Collection. On display are first edition etchings of the flying monsters and sketches of the tragedies of war of Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes, as well as his visual commentary on social problems of his time. The collections featured in this exhibition are Los desastres de la guerra and Los disparates o Los proverbios. In English these are translated as The Disasters of War and The Follies.

Goya’s artwork focuses on people and social issues of the time, especially war. Lynn Marsden-Atlass, Executive Director of the Arthur Ross Gallery & University Curator (and co-curator of this exhibition) describes Goya in the exhibition pamphlet as follows: “Acclaimed as the greatest Spanish artist of his time, Goya is the last of the Old Masters, and one of the first Modern artists.”  He is one of the most famous artists from Spain, in the company of the already mentioned Picasso, Velasquez, El Greco, as well as Salvador Dalí and Sorolla.  In addition to inspiring French contemporary artists such as Cézanne, Delacroix, and Manet, that Marsden-Atlass highlights, Goya’s name and subject matter have inspired art songs, such as La maja de Goya, and an opera, La maja y el ruiseñor by Enrique Granados, and even a latino food brand “Goya.” The exhibition includes audio summaries accessible on smartphones and blank cards to interact with the works. Visitors can write about what they think are the social ills today that would be included if Goya were alive and creating art.  

The Arthur Ross Gallery is a small but enchanting space in the Fisher Fine Arts Library. The building itself was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1985, nearly 100 years after it was built. It was designed by Philadelphia architect Frank Furness (1839-1912) and opened in 1891. It was the main library of the University of Pennsylvania until 1962 and ironically was considered an embarrassment during the 20th century due to its unique and garish design.

A visit is recommended to see this glorious building as well as the Goya exhibit inside. 

Goya: Prints from the Arthur Ross Collection is free and on display from Oct. 7, 2023-January 7, 2024. 

Reimagining the Sacred and the Profane: Patrick McGrath Muñiz’ “Arcanas” Exhibition at Taller Puertorriqueño in Philadelphia

On October 9, 2023 I went to Taller Puertorriqueño in North Philadelphia to see the exhibit “Arcanas: Neocolonial Retablos Inspired by Tarot”, an exhibition of works by Patrick McGrath Muñiz and curated by Daniel de Jesus. I was intrigued by the subject matter and impressed by the well-crafted images on the announcement.  Also, it was my first visit to Taller Puertorriqueño, known as El corazón cultural del barrio, and one of the staff, gave me a tour of the facilities and explained the various educational, cultural, and artistic programs that the community organization offers.  

The title of the exhibition itself is controversial yet, multicultural. Arcanas as a noun means cards in the tarot deck. The Major Arcana are the cards that have names, like the High Priestess, the Magician, The Fool, Death, etc. The word “Arcana,” derived from Latin, exists in both English and Spanish, and means something secret, mysterious, esoteric, of great importance. In English “arcana” is the plural of “arcanum” from Latin, and in English we would use “arcane.” “Retablo” has come into the English language through Spanish. A retablo in English is defined in Merriam Webster as: “a votive offering made in the form of a religious picture typically portraying Christian saints, painted on a panel, and hung in a church or chapel especially in Spain and Mexico.” The RAE (Real Academia Española) identifies it as 1. A series of figures in paintings or carvings 2. Sculptures, carvings, or paintings of religious nature that are hung on the wall behind the church altar and 3. A play or scene with puppets or figurines. Considering the religious definitions of retablo, and the Catholic Church’s warnings against superstition and the occult, these paintings inspired by tarot would not be placed behind any altars in a Catholic church.  At best they would be seen as irreverent, at worst, sacrilegious.  

However, this is art that was not intended to be hung in a church or intending to be “sacred.” It turns the concept of sacred on its head. McGrath Muñiz plays with the idea of religious Catholic art by inserting tarot figures and scenes in these retablos, which are painted in oil. He also substitutes local Caribbean people (including indigenous) for the generic Europeans usually portrayed in the tarot AND the retablos in Spanish churches. The Pope, “La Papisa” is an Afro-latina in McGrath’s Arcanas. 

There are numerous references to colonialism, imperialism, consumerism, and environmental abuse in the art works, rendered by images of bottles, smartphones, and shopping bags. In the tryptch “Our Holy Woke Lady of Dreams and Delusions” (Nuestra Santa Dama Concientizada de los sueños y las desilusiones) there is a juxtaposition of objects that would indicate the colonial era, like Spanish galleons, with modern airplanes and warheads. 

I was inspired by artist’s art journal which is included in the exhibit in a video rendition as well as enclosed in a see-through display case. An art journal is more than a sketchbook—it includes text and concepts. In the video McGrath Muñiz turns the pages one by one. The drawings show a highly developed technical expertise as well as a sensitivity, and the writings are in Latin, English and Spanish.  In this art journal McGrath Muñiz puts his thoughts onto the page in both text and image, working through the designs and ideas for this series. 

I’m excited to see what’s next for this artist, and hope that his work is featured in more mainstream venues as well. I recently purchased the tarot cards that he designed, Tarot Neocolonial de las Américas, just to own some of his art, and can’t wait to receive them. Definitely there is something provocative about his pieces and the influence of Spanish religious painters is evident, and his creativity and craft exuberant.

To learn more about Patrick McGrath Muñiz’ art visit his website:

Check out this video: Artist Talk: Oracle and Arcana

Order tarot cards designed by the artist,  on Amazon.com: Tarot Neocolonial de las Américas

From YouTube Videos to a Sony Record Deal: A Different Kind of Fairytale from Colombia

Several months ago, before the Hollywood writers’ and actor’s strike, I binged watched “Ventino: El precio de la gloria,” a captivating series with music from Colombia. On Netflix it is called “The Price of Glory” and stars Maria Cristina de Angulo (Makis), Camila Esguerra, Natalia Alfanador and Olga Lucia Vives. The series was aired in Colombia on Caracol TV from March 1-May 30, 2023, and there is a soundtrack of 10 songs. “The Price of Glory” is about a girl singing group that is put together by an unbalanced music producer, Martina Pumarejo, played by Carolina Gómez. It takes place in Bogotá, but Santa Marta on the coast is also featured as the hometown of one of the singers.

Overall the series is entertaining, with a melodramatic plot that highlights the music of the group, and the trials and tribulations of dealing with a manager with a vendetta. Music in any form or country is a difficult profession, and what resonates is how hard it can be to break into the business and the exploitation and abuses that many artists must overcome.

While I watched the series I was impressed by how well rehearsed and pleasing the voices of the lead characters were. Colombia has recently produced other series with music that I’ve enjoyed, such as The Queen of Flow, The Unbroken Voice, and All for Love. Sometimes the actors sing with their own voices, in other cases they are dubbed by “real” singers. With The Price of Glory, I was curious what their rehearsal process might be, how did they get that sound, and who was really singing…

After searching online for clues, imagine my surprise to discover that this girl group, Ventino, exists in real life in Colombia, and existed BEFORE the tv program! This explains why they sound so exquisite together–they had a history of years of music making! The group originally had five members, including Juliana Pérez, but she dropped out a few years before the TV series. The group was originally formed when the young women were still in high school. They all had performed in musical theatre and had a common acquaintance, Juan David Muñoz (Juancho). 8 years ago Juancho contacted them to create a video of Disney Princess songs. The video aired on YouTube on April 8, 2015 and it went viral in Colombia with over a million views.

It is easily as good as anything created by Broadway bound singers in the USA, despite the fact that they are singing in English and their native language is Spanish. No one had expected this success. The video was for a university project that Juancho needed to complete. After making other covers on Youtube, they were later signed with Sony Music, and began singing original music.

This rags to riches story that began on the high school stages of Colombia, then progressed to Disney Princesses on YouTube, is incredible and probably would have been impossible without modern technology. Not only was Ventino signed by Sony Music because of YouTube videos, but a 60 episode series, The Price of Glory, has been made starring the group, and featuring new music. The whole world has a chance to view and hear them via Netflix.com and YouTube. I’m looking forward to a second season of Ventino: El precio de la gloria, and more albums! Check out their Youtube Channel.

The “Philaguetza” – Celebrating Mexican indigenous cultures in Philadelphia

Currently in Mexico, there are over 60 recognized indigenous languages. Before the arrival of Spanish colonialists, there were over 300 living indigenous languages. Unfortunately, many of these languages (and subsequently their cultures) have disappeared but in Philadelphia one can find speakers of a variety of Mixteco. Mixtec languages are spoken by half a million people in Mexico, in Oaxaca, Puebla and Guerrero. In Oaxaca, the Mixteco people have a long history intertwined with that of the Zapotecas, another indigenous group, and the annual cultural festival that they celebrate every July is the Guelaguetza. 

On Saturday, September 2, 2023, Mexican immigrants and people of Mexican descent, showcased Mexican dance and history in a Philaguetza and ¡Viva México! Programming at PENN MUSEUM. There were arts and crafts projects in the Mexico & Central America gallery starting at 1:00 pm and a lecture on Mexican Independence at 2:00 pm by Dr. Luz Matus-Mendoza. 

The Philaguetza was based on the annual festival in Oaxaca, Mexico, the Guelaguetza, which celebrates indigenous cultures. The Guelaguetza is largest festival of indigenous cultures in Latin America–there are performances by different indigenous groups in their native dress, along with food, drinks, and crafts.

In the Philadelphia version this year, folkloric dance groups from Philadelphia, New Jersey and New York performed in representation of the 8 regions of Oaxaca: La Cañada, La Costa, El Istmo, La Mixteca, La Cuenca del Papaloapan, La Sierra Sur, La Sierra Norte and Valles Centrales. The folkloric groups that participated included: Yaretzi, Alma de México, Grupo Bridgeton, Nuuxakun, Chinas Oaxaqueñas de Bridgeton, and Diablos de Juxtlahuaca. 

Like the festival in Oaxaca, the Philaguetza began with “la calenda”, which is a procession that opens and announces the festival. The Chinas Oaxaqueñas de Bridgeton, paraded with baskets filled with items that they gifted to the audience, including little bottles of mezcal and wooden spoons. There were two giant paper mache puppets, called monos  (or cabezudos in some other countries).

Throughout the afternoon, different dance groups performed to represent the 8 regions and there was commentary before each one in English and Spanish. Many of the groups also distributed small gifts to the audience members afterwards, including pineapples, breads and cakes.

The event also included songs which were sung live by Alex Moreno, originally from Venezuela. They included Dios nunca muere, considered the “unofficial” hymn of Oaxaca. After the Philaguetza, the dancing continued with performances related to different regions in Mexico. 

Revisiting Chiquinha Gonzaga… Sharing Her Legacy at Middlebury Portuguese School.

I first heard of Chiquinha Gonzaga some thirty years ago from a Portuguese instructor, and I think I understood that she was a Brazilian musician of some sort.  I remember when the miniseries about her life was shown on Telemundo in Spanish in 1999 or 2000. I was living in New York City at the time, an emerging professional opera singer. I watched one or two episodes, and they didn’t really captivate me. Compared to the busyness of my life at the time, rehearsing for shows, taking voice and dance lessons, seeing operas at NYCO and the MET, and auditioning, a television program was low key. 

In 2004 I began preparing a concert that would include art songs in French, Italian, Spanish & Portuguese. It was called “The Nature of Romance” and to date it has never been presented. It was easy to gather and learn the French, Spanish and Italian repertoire, but I had no songs in Portuguese in my repertoire. I had learned the Bacchianas Brasileiras No. 5 by Villa-lobos years ago, when I was still a soprano, but that was no longer feasible in my mezzo-soprano voice. I had heard a rendition of Azulão by Jaime Avalle performed by Kathleen Battle on one of her CDs. That was about it in terms of erudite music. I couldn’t very well put fado music (from Portugal) or MPB (Música Popular Brasileira) that I listened to, onto the program.

I contacted an old friend from my grad school days, Dr. Robin Moore, at UT-Austin, for some contacts. He is an expert in Latin American Music and Ethnomusicology. He referred me to Dr. Stela Brandão, a Brazilian soprano who was part of the diplomatic corps (Itamaraty) and serving in the NYC Brazilian Consulate at the time. When I explained my concept, music in the romance languages related to nature, Stela pulled out sheet music by various Brazilian composers. We discussed women composers, and she mentioned Babi de Oliveira and Chiquinha Gonzaga.  

Several Brazilian songs became part of a concert program I presented for a competition and for future performances. In order to familiarize myself with Chiquinha’s music, to understand the context, I turned to the miniseries again, found on youtube.com. Imagine my surprise when I saw Maria Teresa Madeira (link to recent video) playing Chiquinha’s music on videos that were made to accompany the series. She was one of the pianists who played in the series–Chiquinha’s hands. Maria Teresa Madeira looked exactly the same in those videos as she had playing rags by Scott Joplin in my Beginning Ballet classes at the University of Iowa. There she was a nationally recognized pianist with the violinist Marcos Viana, famous for his soundtrack compositions. Needless to say I was very impressed and felt a strong connection to Francisca Gonzaga.  

Later, Edinha Diniz released an updated biography in 2009 and chiquinhagonzaga.com was up and running, and Gonzaga’s archive was housed at the IMS (Instituto Moreira Salles) in Rio de Janeiro. In 2013 I returned to Brazil (Years earlier I had studied at PUC-Rio as a grad student for a several months). Through a curious twist of fate, I wound up spending 2 weeks in the home of a former editor for Globo, Paulo. I wanted some professional coaching on my writing in Portuguese and I had arranged a teacher/homestay. I later found out that Paulo was contacted at the last minute by a new director of the organization. Cecilia Rangel, a theatre professional, and member of SBAT (Sociedad Brasileira de Autores Teatrais), lived next door to Paulo, and I met Cecilia for the first time at SBAT where she was working. Paulo and I visited SBAT, which was founded by Chiquinha Gonzaga and contemporaries around 100 years ago. Through Cecilia, who was a friend of Edinha Diniz, I was able to speak with Edinha on the phone during that trip. I visited places that I thought Chiquinha would have frequented, like the Teatro Municipal do Rio de Janeiro and the Confeitaria Colombo. As I wrote on this blog in 2013, 10 years ago, it was a series of coincidences that led me to people who were connected somehow to Francisca “Chiquinha” Gonzaga. 

I was honored to be invited by Dr. Luis Gonçalves, Director of the Portuguese School at Middlebury, to perform some of Chiquinha’s songs and give a presentation on her life and work on July 30, 2023. It was my first time giving such a presentation in Portuguese to people outside of Brazil who had some knowledge of her. I had previously spoke about Chiquinha at the College of Charleston and University of Wyoming, both in English. I had performed her songs at those locations, in Porto Alegre at PUC-RS, and in Philadelphia.

Fortunately, in the last 10 years, many more Brazilian musicians are playing her music. One of my favorites is the pianist, Hercules Gomes, based in São Paulo. He created the CD, No tempo da Chiquinha, and has given multiple concerts and programs on her music both in person and virtually. There was a production of Forrobodó that I saw in 2013 in Rio de Janeiro, and one much more recent on youtube in Goaiana.  Music instructors at the Portuguese School had included Chiquinha’s life and music in the curriculum.  Moreover, there is a new documentary that was just made and shown in Brazil in June 2023, called Chiquinha Gonzaga: música substantivo feminino. Francisca “Chiquinha” Gonzaga was way ahead of her time musically and her life was scandalous for the 19^th and early 20^th centuries in Brazil. Today, no one would bat an eye. She was a courageous woman and a talented composer and musician. With the help of many people along the way, we keep spreading the word and the song about her music and life. 

Jewels in a Gem: Sorolla and Luz Camino at the Hispanic Society in Washington Heights

Jewels in a Gem is an appropriate name for the Luz Camino jewelry exhibit currently at the Hispanic Society Museum in Washington Heights, in New York City. The Hispanic Society is housed in a large complex that also includes Boricua College. The majestic stone campus is a surprise as one exists the subway into a block full of small neighborhood storefronts. A statue of El Cid looms beyond the entrance gate. 

On July 6, 2023, my visit to the Hispanic Society was a complete delight. Not just because of the room dedicated to Juan de Pareja, which complemented the exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum downtown, but because of the Joaquín Sorolla portrait collection, the Visions of Spain murals and Luz Camino pieces. I had visited the Hispanic Society before the pandemic to attend concerts and to use the library, but for some reason I had never seen the Visions of Spain hall. There was a special exhibition, Sorrolla -Soto Centennials 1923-2023, on view in the main court (through July 16, 2023) which normally houses Goya’s La duquesa del Alba (currently on loan at the Royal Academy of Arts in London.) 

Joaquín Sorolla was a painter born in Valencia, Spain on February 27, 1863 and his art is considered impressionist. He died in 1923, and had a longstanding relationship with the Hispanic Society. He was educated in Rome and Paris, as well as in his native province and in Madrid.

Included in this current exhibition there are portraits of Sorolla’s wife, Clotilde. He painted Clotilde in all black in a typical mantilla and Spanish dress, and the label on this portrait says: “nos recuerda de algún modo al retrato de Goya de la Duquesa de Alba.”

Sorolla’s Señora de Sorolla en Blanco,”  from 1902, is another portrait of Clotilde, this time in white and it really showcases his mastery of chiaro-oscuro. Her white dress and arm are simply luminous, while her face and torse are darker, as if in shadow. 

“Su pose y el juego de luces y sombras nos recuerdan a Mayas en el balcón de Goya. La técnica del artista transmite tanto misterio como Encanto en este cuadro.” 

Also in this collection are a self-portrait, portraits of renowned authors Juan Ramón Jiménez and Emilia Pardo Bazán. The self-portrait was painted in 1907 and bearded Sorolla, in street clothes and hat, appears quite serious. 

A few more of Sorolla’s paintings hang in the passageway before entering the enormous hall which displays Visions of Spain. There are 4 walls of large murals which depict different cultural manifestations of Spain. Some Americans may not know this, but Spain is a diverse country of 4 co-official languages, Castillian, Catalán, Basque (euskerda), and Galician, as well as other dialects in different regions. The people who speak these languages also developed cultures that are distinct with different customs and culture. The Visions of Spain murals  can only include so much, but one can see depictions of a bread festival from the center of the country, a jota (dance) from Aragón, fishing on the coast, holy week, bull fights, women getting together in Seville, and other scenes. 

The jewelry of Luz Camino, a contemporary jeweler who hails from Madrid, is enclosed in cases in front of the murals. This exhibition is available to view until September 3, 2023. At first glance, it would seem like the display cases were insignificant and small amongst these grandiose scenes on the walls. But the tiny pieces call to one from behind the glass. The details of the small figure from the natural world, flowers, insects, and plants, are extremely intricate. Little by little, these diminutive colorful creations began to command my attention, dwarfing the murals despite their tininess. Definitely recommended for those interested in Spain and/or jewelry! 

The Hispanic Society Museum is open from Thursday to Sunday 12:00-5:00 pm and entrace is FREE!