So I headed there by myself and was worried about being late, but it's okay because I didn't miss anything. Just a few minutes after I arrived the Program started. Altagracia Diloné, a very sweet woman, was the first to greet us and introduced to the next four speakers: Sarah Aponte, the Head Librarian; Pepe Coronado, one the the group of 12 artists called Dominican York Proyecto GRAFICA; Dr. Ramona Hernandez, the Director of DSI; and Jay Hershenson, Senior Vice Chancellor for University Relations. All very lovely and important people with BEAUTIFUL Spanish accents, except for Mr. Hershenson. He made up for it though, and touched my heart as he decorated his greeting with precious splashes of Spanglish in this not-so-bad Spanish accent. He was appealing to us with a good heart and had me smiling the whole time. "¡Viva las artistas!" is how he ended and I think could've possibly made my week.
For the rest of the time, I walked around and looked at all the prints. I must say, I felt a little out of place since everyone seemed to know eachother and I was feeling too shy to start any conversations. I had me some crackers, cheese and water, and walked around the really crowded and warm room again. Then, for the first time in my life (and I'm sure this won't be the last), I felt my toes numbing, a feeling I'd only heard Ms. Morales speak of. Not fun. So I walked into the lobby area of the building, took a seat and my shoes off, and read some Junot Diaz. SO Dominican, and I swear I wasn't even trying. It happened to be the only book I had in my bag.
After my shoe break, I was determined to make a friend. So I went back in and stalled by looking at the VERY COOL and prints again, not that I would ever mind. Some of these prints don't even look like prints. One looks like a photograph, one had lines of silver, and one was a very detailed map of NYC with Manhattan shaped as a banana. One was dark and smudges I didn't know you could create with prints, and they all just really made me wonder "How?". Incredible stuff that was definitely on point when it comes to Dominicanidad in NYC.
I approached Ms. Diloné who gave me so much information about what DSI is about and all I can say is that I will definitely be returning to use DSI as a recourse. She told how in December they're going to be starting a Music Series of Dominican classical music. (Yes, even to my surprise, we do have classical music.) She asked me about myself, told me about internship opportunities, and then introduced me to Freddy Rodriguez, a Dominican painter, who she said is the most well-known Dominican artist in either NYC or the nation.. I forgot. She told me how he's the artist who created a Memorial for the victims of Flight 587 that was heading toward the Dominican Republic in 2001. (Now, I'm recalling how my father was so close to being on that flight. Wow.) I ashamed to not know about, and he tried to save me by saying, "She's too young." I'm still embarrassed. Anyways, I also had a nice conversation with this very humble and calm man on my way to Amsterdam to take the bus. I went home and looked him up...just amazing. And he has been on display at El Museo del Barrio, which is my next stop.
Feeling so fulfilled after this experience, I pulled out my notebook and green Sharpie and started writing. I got home in the BEST mood. My mom even said, "I'm going to have to send you there every Friday." :) Like I said before, I'll definitely be returning. If you're interested in going, it's in the DSI's Library (which is open to the public! YES!) and will be on view until December 21, 2010. Check it out. It's genius and transformed my mood completely.
Sorry, I didn't take my camera with me.
Go see it yourself!
Go see it yourself!
I am so glad you made it! Next time you go to the center, let me know. There are pics of my mom and grandfather on the walls.
ReplyDelete~Ms. Morales
PS - next time, shift the weight of your feet to your toes. Works every time.