Guardians of Traditions / Guardianes de Tradición

Spanish words from Mexico and Dominican Republic

Posted • No termino de aprender palabras dominicanas 🤭🤭 después de 3 años y medio aquí en Santo Domingo parece que no tienen fin ! 🇩🇴

🇩🇴 🇩🇴

Worcester!

Posted • FREE community festivities for the kids. Join us! Steel Pan, Soccer Drills, Games, Face Painting, Water Baloons and more. Sunday, July 21st. See you at the Worcester Commons.

Cultural Capsule, Reggaeton Edition!

New and current Worcester Public Library cardholders can get their hands on our new Snoopy library cards, while supplies last! This is a limited run of 2,000 cards in honor of our Dog Days of Summer Reading. Find them at any of our seven branch locations.

Cápsula Cultural, Edición Panamá y su preparación para la celebración del Cuerpo de Cristo!
from . Con el Cuarteo del Sol se da inicio a la festividad del Corpus Christi. El ritual mágico religioso da inicio con la salida de La Diabla que con su baile convoca al Gran Diablo o Diablo Mayor y así al resto de los diablos. Luego se reúnen en el gacebo de la plaza para negociar como van a dividirse la tierra.
Cuando llegan a un acuerdo firman el acta y brindan como sello del pacto quedando la tierra dividida en cuatro partes.
Cultural Capsule, Panamá Edition, with their celebration in preparation for Corpus Christy!
This is a religious mythical ritual, that starts with a female Devil, dancing and calling on a meeting with the Elder Devil and the rest of them. They gather at the plaza to negotiate how they’re going to divide the planets amongst themselves. Once an agreement has been reached, they make a toast to seal the deal where the planet is divided in 4 parts, one for each one of the devils and then the celebrations begin, with dances and costumes.

Worcester!

Cultural Capsule, Carnival Edition, Trinidad and Tobago!
Carnival in Trinidad and Tobago is celebrated before the commencement of the Lenten season. From 1783 for half a century, the French developed their Carnival , which was noted to be a season of gay and elegant festivities extending from Christmas to Ash Wednesday. These festivities consisted of dinners, balls, concerts and hunting parties.
Africans started to participate in the festivities from 1833 after the Emancipation Bill was passed. Africans brought Canboulay to its festivities. Canboulay was first played on August 1st, Emancipation Day , but subsequently took place after midnight on Dimanche Gras, the Sunday before Carnival.
In early celebration of the festival by the masses activities were held over the three days preceding Ash Wednesday. However in the face of over 60 years of criticism from the upper class about the low standard of Carnival and strong feelings expressed about the desecration of the Sabbath, in 1943 Carnival on the street was restricted to the Monday & Tuesday

Worcester!

If you’re an artist or an organization and want to become a member of the , now’s your chance! And the best part? It’s at half the cost.

The Coalition’s mission is to draw on Worcester’s rich and diverse cultural assets to foster economic revitalization, support active, creative engagement for all and promote a strong cultural identity for Greater Worcester.

Happy birthday to our friend and collaborator, Jose Llaverias, president and founder of and someone who’s always supported our efforts to bring Dominican culture to Worcester, MA.

Llaverias, te deseamos salud y un tro de cosas buenas.

This was such a fun and all around great project that and us partnered on, together with Hector Reyes House, thanks to a grant from

We all had the honor to learn all about the Cachuas, a National treasure in Dominican Republic because they represent the community of Maroons (enslaved Africans that escaped). We spent time with Pachá, who taught us how to make the masks

*The molds were sent from Dominican Republic, but customs kept them for too long and the sessions were about to start; however, saved the day and made the molds out of insulation foam! This is a perfect example of how culture isn’t static; instead, it evolves and adapts to what’s available to us*

Posted • Si algo recordamos de nuestra niñez, son aquellos juegos que nos llenaron de alegría y que nos permitieron hacer muchos amigos.

¡Desliza y conócelos!


If we remember something from our childhood, it is those games that filled us with joy and that allowed us to make many friends.

Event Alert! Teaching another Balloon Twisting Workshop at the ! Visit me at the Main Branch on Wednesday, July 31st at 5:30 pm!

Mexico Lindo y Querido!

from . Un barrio multicolor en México!! Artistas y ciudadanos en México han transformado la colonia Palmitas, en la ciudad de Pachuca, en el macromural más grande de México, un inmenso, colorido y brillante mural.
El proyecto “Pachuca se pinta” desarrollado por el colectivo de artistas Germen Crew y financiado por el gobierno local, pretende aprovechar la transformación del espacio público del barrio para facilitar la integración de sus residentes.
209 casas en las que viven más de 452 familias han sido pintadas en un esfuerzo por cambiar a Palmitas, un barrio de bajos recursos.
Además de crear el mural más grande de México, la iniciativa logró bajar sustancialmente los índices de criminalidad. Hermoso no? 🇲🇽😍👌🏽🌈 //.

A multicolored neighborhood in Mexico!! Artists and citizens in Mexico have transformed the Palmitas colony, in the city of Pachuca, into an immense and brilliant mural.
The project “Pachuca is painted” developed by the collective of artists Germen Crew and financed by the local government, aims to take advantage of the transformation of the public space of the neighborhood to facilitate the integration of its residents.
209 houses in which more than 452 families live have been painted in an effort to change to Palmitas, a low-income neighborhood.
In addition to creating the largest mural in Mexico, the initiative substantially reduced crime rates. Beautiful, no? 🇲🇽😍👌 🌈 .

Fotografía: .

This was an incredibly entertaining, informative, and educational presentation we did together with , Dominican anthropologist and on the history and evolution of Bachata music, a genre that went from stigma and stereotype to one of the anthems of the Latino immigrants in the United States. This event started to shape the trajectory of our organization…
The students of South High in Worcester learned about the many different influences of the music, its evolution, musicality and dancing changes because of immigrations and crossover.
The project was funded by

Posted • Harmonia Rosales es una artista afrocubana que sustituye personajes de las pinturas más famosas de la historia por figuras femeninas negras con el fin de desafiar las normas históricas del arte occidental que han tendido a representar figuras blancas.
Al hacer visible la presencia y la belleza de personas negras en contextos artísticos históricamente dominados por la blancura, Rosales está contribuyendo significativamente a un movimiento más inclusivo y representativo en el arte contemporáneo.
¿Qué te parece esta versión de “El Nacimiento de Venus” o “Baco enfermo”?

Posted • Harmonia Rosales is an Afro-Cuban artist who replaces characters in the most famous paintings in history with black female figures in order to challenge the historical norms of Western art that have tended to represent white figures.

By making visible the presence and beauty of black people in artistic contexts historically dominated by whiteness, Rosales is contributing significantly to a more inclusive and representative movement in contemporary art.

What do you think of this version of “The Birth of Venus” or “Sick Bacchus”?

Wannabe part of an awesome dance company? Well, now’s your chance to audition and join our friends at Querencia!

Posted • 📣 AUDITIONS!!!!!

Our auditions only come once a year, so please don’t miss them! We will be hosting them in Belmont on Sunday, July 21st.

Training Team Audition 3:00-4:00pm
Student Team Auditom 3:00-5:00pm
Company Team Audition 5:30-7:30pm
$10 Audition Fee

Please message us with any questions you may have + to sign up for auditions for the fourth season of Querencia! 🖤

ChenChen!
This savory dish, made with cracked corn Pilaf, is typical of the southwestern region of Dominican Republic - specifically San Juan De La Maguana. We share this dis with Haiti, where is called Mais Moulu.

from . Like para este caldero de solo si te apetece 😁

Get ready for an unforgettable Hot Night on July 19th, 4-9 PM! 🔥 Enjoy music, food, drinks, and demonstrations, and don't miss the 'Artists on Fire' exhibit in the Krikorian Gallery, curated by Juniper Rag. Share your favorite memories from previous years in the comments!

https://loom.ly/mW7x6A8

Worcester Arts Council Mass Cultural Council M&T Bank Juniper Rag

Posted • Today is , marking the day enslaved African Americans in Galveston, Texas, were notified of their freedom. It’s celebrated as the end of U.S. chattel slavery and our nation’s second independence day.
The Emancipation Proclamation took effect in 1863, but it only freed those in rebelling states and could not be implemented in places under Confederate control. In the westernmost Confederate state of Texas, enslaved people waited two more years for freedom.
On June 19, 1865, Union troops arrived in Galveston and announced that the more than 250,000 enslaved African Americans in the state were free by executive decree. The newly freed people in Texas called the day “Juneteenth.”
This booklet in our ’s collection was produced in December 1862 for Union soldiers to read and distribute among African Americans.
You can explore the museum’s Juneteenth presentations, stories, photographs and recipes online at nmaahc.si.edu/juneteenth.

Posted • The Hunchback Gallery is hosting our first open studio this Sunday, June 23, from Noon - 4PM. Come see our current collection, grab some issues of the zine, and see what we’ve been up to here at 75 Webster St in Worcester.

Posted • Join us for the magic! Help us stir the pot! Throw it back - back into the cauldron. Watch all your worries burn away in 2024! It’s all about setting fire to the stage January 21, 2024 from 6 to 9pm located on 138 Green St. Our friends from will be there waiting for you. They have got something cool brewing for you.

Make sure you’re there on time to get on the open mic! Snacks will be served! Merchandise has been made. Poets will come with verbal punches and lyrical hugs. Get ready for the biggest spoken word event of the year! has returned!!!

Cultural Capsule! Dominican Merengue!
Perico Ripiao!
Perico ripiao, which is usually called merengue típico in the DR, is the oldest style still commonly played. It originated in the northern valley region around the city of Santiago called the Cibao, a rural, agricultural area, so some merengueros call it the “country music” of the DR. It first appears in the historical record in the 1840s, when moralists tried to ban the music because of its suggestive lyrics and the sensual movements of merengue dancers. The music’s very name suggests controversy: “perico ripiao”, literally “ripped parrot”, is said to be the name of a brothel where the music was originally played. At first, merengue típico cibaeño (traditional Cibaoan merengue) was played on stringed instruments like the tres and cuatro, but when Germans came to the island in the late 19th century trading their instruments for to***co, the accordion quickly replaced the strings as lead instrument. Merengue típico songs are generally composed in two parts. The first section is rhythmically straightforward and is used to introduce the song’s melodic and lyrical material; here, verses are sung and the only improvisation heard occurs at the end of song lines, when the accordion or saxophone fills in. The second section is dominated by improvisation, more complex rhythms, and hard-driving mambo, or the part of the song where melody instruments (sax and accordion) unite to play catchy, syncopated riffs or jaleos which help motivate and stimulate dancers. Típico rhythms include merengue derecho, or straight-ahead merengue, which is the kind of fast-paced 2/4 time merengue most of us are used to hearing, usually used in the first section. Pambiche or merengue apambichao is similar but usually slower, and can be recognized by the double slap rhythm on the tambora.

Cultural Capsule! The History of Salsa, as found on The Smithsonian Institution
Tracing the Origins of Salsa Music
by Luis Alba
The Latin music we hear today has its origins in Cuba where the blending of African drum rhythms and Spanish guitar evolved into a variety of Latin American music: Son, Danzón, the rhythms of Carnival, Cha cha cha, Mambo, Salsa.....even Tango came out of Cuba.
As early as 1909 radio recordings came out of Cuba. In 1932 American Radio came to Cuba to record Orquesta Anacoana. This amazing all-female orquesta consisted of 10 sisters.
It wasn’t long before musicians in the USA began incorporating Latin rhythms into their own music. In 1900, W.C. Handy visited Cuba and began our legacy of Latin jazz here in the USA. Louis Armstrong, Jelly Roll Morton, Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie “Bird” Parker, Stan Getz and Cal Tjader have all followed the tradition by blending and evolving Latin jazz.
To find the roots of Cuban music we look to West Africa where the slave trade thrived. Sadly, these wonderful rhythms were brought over to the New World under dire circumstances.
The slaves used the drum rhythms in Christian worship too. Slaves were forced to adopt Christianity upon arrival in the new World, but often called their own gods by Christian names so as to avoid punishment. In Latin music most of the listeners are not even aware that the drum rhythms we dance to are actually religious in meaning, dedicated to various African gods. Cabillolos (secret societies) still exist in Cuba and keep alive over 200 different rhythms for different African gods

Posted • Klk con klk 😅
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Cultural Capsule! Día de Los Reyes Magos - January 6th, which is the 12th day of Christmas
Three Kings Day, also known as the Epiphany, is a holiday that carries as much importance as Christmas in the Dominican Republic and many Latin American countries, with children receiving gifts and adults getting time off to celebrate. It is a time spent with family feasting and exchanging gifts, wrapping up the holiday season. Dominican children wait for the arrival of the Three Kings. They do not leave cookies and milk. Instead, they leave grass for the camels and mints or candies for the Kings. They place their offerings either under their beds, outside the bedroom door or out on the outside steps of the home. These offerings are exchanged by the Kings (a.k.a. parents) for gifts for the little ones. Children find it hard to go to sleep and try to stay awake to see the Kings
According to the Gospel of Matthew, the men found the divine child by following a star across the desert for twelve days to Bethlehem. Melchior, Caspar, and Balthazar — representing Europe, Arabia, and Africa respectively — They travelled by horse, camel, and elephant (respectively) to present the newborn baby Jesus with three symbolic gifts: gold, because Jesus was royalty as “King of the Jews;” frankincense, which represented the baby’s holy nature as the Son of God; and myrrh to signify Jesus’ mortality. Each gift foreshadowed Jesus’ future crucifixion as a means to cleanse humanity of its sins. This biblical Nativity story means that January 6th is not only a sacred day in many households, but it is also celebrated in many ways throughout the world..

Posted • Grant opportunity for orgs! , , and the other US Regional Arts Organizations have launched ArtsHERE, a new grant program supporting orgs committed to equity & increasing arts access for underserved communities.

- Statements of Interest due Jan 19, 2024.
- Learn more: artshere.org