Saturdays, July 18-August 29, at 6 pm Pacific time
CubaCaribe announces The Power of Resiliency, an eight-week online series of artist talks, classes, interviews, and collaborations during the global pandemic opening on Saturday, June 27 at 6 pm and running through August 29. On July 11 The Power of Resiliency features an artist talk with award-winning filmmaker Eli Jacobs-Fantauzzi. The festival continues on July 18 with an artist talk with Afro-Cuban Jazz pianist and composer Elio Villafranca and on July 25 with an artist talk with Afro- Haitian choreographer, dancer and teacher Adia Whitaker.
All Power of Resiliency online events in this series are donation/what you can.
COVID-19 has impacted artists and organizations worldwide, curtailing and often canceling work, rehearsals, teaching, performance, and public gatherings. As such, the choice to pivot to online programming -- Cuba Caribe's first ever virtual programming -- is inspired by a desire to stay connected to the community of Cuban diasporic artists and to continue to foster understanding and appreciation of Caribbean arts and culture for audiences.
"There is no doubt in my mind that dance and music are a way of survival for many: survival of tradition, culture, rhythm, movement, religion, creativity and identity," explains Cuba Caribe Artistic Director Ramon Ramos Alayo. "Dance and music make it possible to sustain one's self and family, a way to communally gather, be a part of something larger than ourselves and share, a way to express emotional and physical struggles and joys. Especially in this pivotal time in history, CubaCaribe recognizes this and holds these principles sacred to its mission."
"What is exciting is that we can bring dancers and musicians from different parts of the world together, breaking borders and limitations in a virtual meeting space and that we are experimenting with new ways to collaborate, both live and pre-recorded, " adds Executive Director Jamaica Itule.