On this beautiful Monday morning I worked with Linda Nieves-Powell, founder of Latino Flavored Productions, filming scenes with Orlando Ferrand for the upcoming Plantando Banderas Project to debut in November.

Jovanny Ramos stepped up as production assistant while Orlando and I were directed by Linda. After scouting a few areas, unpacking equipment, setting up tripods, testing for sound quality, fighting off mosquitoes, packing up equipment and moving to a bug free area, we eventually succeeded in completing several shots.

Why all this hard work you ask?

Well,
Renowned dance choreographer and recipient of the 2011 Arts Westchester “Arts Alive Project Grant”, Addie Diaz of Addie-tude Productions, will debut her latest project entitled “Plantando Banderas” (Planting Flags) — a multicultural theatrical project that will celebrate the contributions and achievements of four highly successful Hispanics through music, dance, and spoken word poetry written and performed by Orland Ferrand and yours truly!

Addie Diaz’s goal is to enrich, transform, and inspire the Westchester community by honoring four empowering individuals who are; Daniel Freiberg, record producer, composer, arranger and studio musician who has worked with musical giants Marc Anthony, Alejandro Lerner, Chayanne & Christian Castro, just to name a few; Rossana Rosado, Publisher & CEO of El Diario/La Prensa and the only woman to have ever run the publication, has spent over 14 years at El Diario/La Prensa, the oldest Spanish-language newspaper in the country; Rafael Palomino, Restaurant Owner & Chef of one of several restaurants, including Sonora Restaurant in Portchester, NY is also the author of six cookbooks; and Darlene Rodriguez, the co-anchor of Today in New York on WNBC who has also served as a newsreader for Ann Curry on The Today Show .

This amazing presentation will be held on November 12th at 3pm & 8pm, and November 13th at 3pm, at the Washington Irving School (theater) located at 103 South Broadway, Tarrytown, NY. Ticket prices are: Premium Orchestra $25, Orchestra $20 and Mezzanine $15. Seniors, students and group discounts are available. For more information and ticket purchase please visit http://www.addie-tudeproductions.org/or contact Addie Diaz at addietudedance@gmail.com or 917.215.1720.

Tuesday October 11th 2011 at 6:00pm

September 18^th I had the pleasure of participating in the Brooklyn Book festival
thanks to Nora Comstock from Las Comadres Para Las Americas (lascomadres.org) and Aurora Anaya-Cerda from La Casa Azul Bookstore (lacasaazulbookstore.com).

I sat with accomplished authors as well as new voices in the literary word and was humbled and excited. Carmen Mojica Fabian (thesewatersrundeep.com), Gloria Rodriguez (dealmas.org) and Charlie Vazquez (charlievazquez.wordpress.com) read from their latest published works while posing for pictures!

While speaking with Alicia Anabel Santos, author of Finding Your Force,(findingyourforce.blogspot.com) I stated that it was not coincidental that we were on the program with literary greats. I believe that envisioning my book on a shelf with Esmeralda Santiago years ago prepared me for that moment and others yet to come. Visualization is essential to preparing us for the great moments of our lives. If we can see ourselves doing whatever it is that we wish to do, then the image becomes firm, set and has a greater possibility of becoming reality.

On September 23rd I performed for Voices Unleashed at the Milford Arts Center. Flora La Poeta Montes (senoritachef@gmail.com) prepared an array of dishes and bought New York Spoken word to Milford. This woman is making moves in the world of spoken word and is bridging it to community service by committing erself to helping those less fortunate. Look forward to more posts dedicated to her work. ———————————————————————————————————————————————————— On September 30thI was a featured poet along with Alicia Anabel Santos  at La Finca Del Sur’s Earth Mother Voices – All Women’s Open Mic Hosted by Maria Aponte-Gonzalez. As we sat on wooden benches and admired the crops growing near the Metro North and the Major Deegan expressway, we marveled at the little plots growing over concrete and realized that we, as women, are treasures growing over any perceived obstacles. The women who attended and read for the first time shared intimate, gritty and very brave stories of love, heartbreak, and motherhood. These women solidified the idea that we are bearers of fruit no matter how many weeds threaten our survival. Thank you Maria Aponte- Gonzalez for creating a safe and fertile place for women to share their words.