Hispanic Heritage Month Inauguration 2022

Join us in kicking off Hispanic Heritage Month.
Celebremos juntos el mes Hispano 2022!
Free and open to the public.
Art Exhibit at KSL by Héctor Castellanos Lara
Food by Pearl's Kitchen and Cilantro Taqueria
Music and dance by various artists.
Alice Blumenfeld brings her expertise and her passion for flamenco to ABREPASO. Blumenfeld is a United States Presidential Scholar in the Arts, a Fulbright recipient in dance, a YoungArts Silver award winner, and an Ohio Arts Council Individual Excellence awardee for choreography (FY 20).

Hector Castellanos Lara's colors explode off the page in a fashion that evokes the natural palette of his native Guatemala. As a community lead, artist and organizer Hector works with diverse populations to cross borders – both real and imagined through interactive community art projects. He is artistic director of Cleveland’s “Dia de los Muertos” annual celebration.

Franco Krais is a 3rd-year Biomedical Engineering and Entrepreneurial Studies student from Buenos Aires, Argentina. A vocalist, instrumentalist, and producer, Franco began playing the guitar at the age of 15 when working at a Rock & Blues bar. Learning from Brazilian legends, he quickly picked up on the craft and started making his own music at around 17 when he was living in Brazil. Nowadays, he pursues music part-time at CWRU. You might see him around La Alianza events or performing at some of the local music festivals!

Caro Rhodes Ziv is a student at Shaker Heights High School and the Roberto Ocasio Latin Jazz (ROLJ) Camp at CWRU. He has been studying classical piano with Ms. Natella Askerova since the age of four. Through the ROLJ camp, Caro has had the honor of studying Latin Jazz with Bobby Sanabria (world-renowned Latin-jazz scholar, drummer/percussionist, conductor, composer, educator).

Caro often gets asked about his name—he is named after a 14th century Sephardic Rabbi, Yosef Caro, who was born in Spain and wrote an important book of Jewish law.

Franco’s Song selections:

- Te para tres (Soda Stereo) is a sad song written by Gustavo Cerati, the singer and lead guitarist of popular Argentine band Soda Stereo. In this song, Cerati outputs his deepest and most sincere feelings towards a hard time in his family’s life. He reminisces over happy times and transports the listener into a reflective state, ending the song with a melancholic but positive tone: “No hay nada mejor que casa (There is no place like home)”. To me, this is a beautiful reminder to enjoy the moments we spend with our loved ones, wherever they are. It reminds me of home and brings a sense of Latino identity that I’d like to share.

****“Té para tres” es una canción triste escrita por Gustavo Cerati, el cantante y guitarrista principal de la popular banda Argentina Soda Stereo. En esta canción, Cerati expresa sus sentimientos más profundos y sinceros hacia un momento difícil en la vida de su familia. Recuerda momentos felices y transporta al oyente a un estado reflexivo, finalizando la canción con un tono melancólico pero positivo: “No hay nada mejor que casa”. Para mí, este es un hermoso recordatorio para disfrutar los momentos que pasamos con los nuestros, donde sea que estén. Me recuerda a casa, y me produce un sentimiento de identidad Latina que me gustaría compartir.

- De Música Ligera (Soda Stereo). Another Latin anthem that echoes to this day on the corners of my neighborhood, “De Música Ligera” is a tribute to music: “She [the music] slept in the warmth of the masses / And I woke up wanting to dream of her...” The song talks about music and the effect it has on the listener. It is a lively and happy song, which united millions of people and is the dawn of an era for the world-renown Argentine Rock of the 90s. It is impossible to honor Latin history and heritage without mentioning its music and one of its most famous bands.

***Otro himno Latino que retumba hasta hoy por las esquinas de mi barrio, “De Música Ligera” es un homenaje a la música: “Ella [la musica] durmió al calor de las masas / Y yo desperté queriendo soñarla...” La canción habla de la música y del efecto que ésta tiene en quien la escucha. Es una musica animada y feliz, que unió millones de personas y marcó la fase del conocidísimo Rock Argentino de los 90. Es imposible homenajear a la historia y el patrimonio Latino sin mencionar su musica y uno de sus bandas mas famosas.

-Cha Cha Cha (Josean Log). A Mexican love song, “Cha Cha Cha” is a sweet, warm tune about life and time. The song is a tale of a man madly in love with someone, and how he’d like to appreciate every moment with this person, and how time sort of “takes away” from this because of how quickly and ruthlessly it passes by. Personally, I think it’s a great show of a lot of our cultures are alike. Latinos, in general, are warm and very expressive – and it shows in our music and writing. I invite you to listen closely to the lyrics of this performance-ending song and appreciate the carefully-thought words!

***Una canción de amor mexicana, “Cha Cha Cha” es una melodía dulce y cálida sobre la vida y el tiempo. La canción se trata sobre de un hombre locamente enamorado de alguien, y cómo le gustaría apreciar cada momento con esta persona. También se trata de cómo el tiempo "quita" esto debido a lo rápido y descuidado que pasa. Personalmente, creo que es un gran espectáculo. Muestra que muchas de nuestras culturas son parecidas... Los latinos, en general, somos cálidos y muy expresivos, y eso se nota en nuestra música y escritura. ¡Los invito a escuchar atentamente la letra de esta canción de cierre de la presentación y apreciar las palabras cuidadosamente pensadas!