CODA (noun) (Italian: “tail”)
Definition of coda
1 a: a concluding musical section that is formally distinct from the main structure
b: a concluding part of a literary or dramatic work
2 : something that serves to round out, conclude, or summarize and usually has its own interest
Webster’s dictionary
Sometimes the podcast is not an interview or a conversation, but an essay. Music is in my DNA, and something about sharing my thoughts in an essay form, without a recorded conversation, instinctually struck me as a "coda."I share these thoughts as part of NFAND without the podcast.
Members of the band Balún, Angélica Negrón, José Olivares, Noraliz Ruíz, Raul Reymundi and Lawson White, head of Good Child Music, talk about their upcoming album Prisma Tropical (Tropical Prism). Balún is an electronic, dreamy, pop, daze.
All of them are truly accomplished. Prisma Tropical is produced and released by Good Child Music. Balún’s collaboration with Lawson White is a mix of musical prowess and mutual respect.
In 2015, Roberto designed and launched a new graduate program in film production at Johns Hopkins. The Film & Media Master of Arts Program focuses on the areas of business, writing, sound design and production and emphasizes experiential learning. In 2016, he also designed and launched the Saul Zaentz Innovation Fund in Film & Media at Johns Hopkins University. The Saul Zaentz Innovation Fund identifies innovative visual media artists in Baltimore and connects them with prestigious artists, veteran executives and successful entrepreneurs to produce powerful projects and bring meaningful stories to life. Currently, Roberto serves as the Director of the Film and Media Masters program and the Director of the Saul Zaentz Innovation Fund in Film & Media at Johns Hopkins. He teaches at the undergraduate and graduate level and is working on his second television pilot.
Leticia Peguero is the Executive Director of the Andrus Family Fund. As a woman of color in the philanthropic sector, Leticia is a rare leader. Her work in social justice requires her to talk race, equality, and gender all day long. Exactly what she wants to be doing.
Visit the Andrus Family Fund to learn more: http://www.affund.org/
Guest Desmar Guevara is a music artist, keyboardist, a theater music composer. As musical director and composer of Pregones Theater/Teatro Rodante Puertorriqueño for the past 10 years, Desmar has created over 20 full-length, original musical scores for the theater, among them, “The Red Rose,” “The Harlem Hellfighters on a Latin Beat,” “Neon Baby” and “An Astronaut’s Desire,” and “Hey Yo! Yo Soy!”
For additional + visit: www.desmarguevara.com and www.pregonesprtt.org
Noemí Segarra is an incredible artist and dancer. I’ve known her to be super skilled since childhood. A few years ago I wrote two pieces about her that appeared on the Huffington Post, Latino Voices’ vertical. I promised her a third piece, and though I’m a few years late, this conversation/interview makes good on that promise. Our conversation was deep...
Reflections of our conversation by Noemí Segarra:
“Translate the art of action and movement to the spoken and written word, as a self-reflection exercise for documentation, self-learning and knowledge.”
“Delve in defining myself (as a person and as part of a collective whole) rather than allowing others to define me.”
“The only thing that removes doubt and fear is practice. Making, testing, documenting and trying as many times as necessary.”
José García has a beautiful voice. I can always tell when he’s singing even if I’m not watching. I particularly admire that he’s been part of Camp Winnarainbow for the past 23 years. We met many years ago through our shared tribe of Pregones Theater and worked together on Promise of a Love Song, an original dramatic-musical created by Roadside Theater, Junebug Theater and Pregones Theater.
His present passion is a music project in homage to Pedro Dávila Ortíz,
a k a Davilita, one of the greatest voices to come out of Puerto Rico, and is a symbol of the Puerto Rican diaspora. José has known and studied Davilita’s life and works for years and with his band, The Rubi Band, Davilita’s work is refreshed and played on and with, the sounds of the times.
Starting September 23 The Rubi Band will play at Don Pedro in Williamsburg, for 8-weeks on Fridays from 7pm -9pm.
Marlène has one of the coolest jobs in the entire national and perhaps even global landscape, of arts and culture. Really. She’s a powerhouse of incredible talent as actor, artist, creative worker, cultural advocate, producer, writer, mentor, and linguist. She earned a BA in Literature from Harvard; a MA in Comparative Literature with PhD coursework from Stanford; and an MFA in Creative Writing from New York University’s Department of Spanish and Portuguese.
Marlène is also known as Fulana, for the project Fulana, a Latina video + Performance Collective. Visit their site, they’re amazing.
Visit and learn about the Hemispheric Institute of Performance and Politics. Hemisphericinstitute.org. It’s also amazing.
We're friends for over 30-years. During our conversation we talk life and dedicating a career to artistic expression and social justice.
Providence and mercy dear friends and colleagues…
I created a podcast. Notes From A Native Daughter (nfand). I’ve been wanting to do something for emerging and established artists and figures in the arts and culture sphere for a really long time. This slow brew is very much me. Laid back, serious, bohemian, international, bilingual, multi-disciplinarian, artistically inclined, progressive and with heart.
The first episode is a 5-minute piece of just me talking and explaining what nfand is all about, so check it out. The podcast is a Do-It-Yourself production so be advised I’m a bit rough around the edges, the sound is not NPR quality, but it’s not bad either. I’ll get to upgrade my system and style in time. In the meantime, I stand by the conversations. Because you know what they say: you don’t have to be great to start. But you do have to start to be great.
As of today, I’ve spoken with a hemispheric leader of arts and culture; a philanthropic leader; three actors/performers; a theater music/score composer; an improviser, dancer, artist; a playwright; the band Balún; a filmmaker; and a costume designer. So. This “first season,” which runs through mid-September is called The Willing, because all the guests said yes, as soon as I asked.
Thank you to:
Marlène Ramírez-Cancio
José García
Noemí Segarra
Desmar Guevara
Leticia Peguero
Roberto Busó-García
Balún – José Olivares, Angélica Negrón, Raul Reymundi, Noraliz Ruíz, Lawson White
Harry Nadal
Paola Lázaro
Tony Chiroldes
Ivonne Coll
Julio Monge
Zaida Adriana Goveo Balmaseda
