Historical Summer 2014 article. Dates, prices, services and contacts describe the source period; current availability has not been established.
The theme of the Adelante 2014 Awards held on April 25 was CONNECT, COLLABORATE, CULTIVATE. For those of you who know Cecilia, this was a theme dear to her heart and indeed constitutes the central strategy for Gitana Productions.
She was recognized for the work of Gitana Productions that champions cross-cultural engagement through the arts in St. Louis. Cecilia was in great company with a “Life-time Achievement Award” given to Jaime Torres, “Member of the Year” to Tony Maldonado, “Business Person of the Year” to Carmen Jacob and “Emerging Business of the Year,” Ke Buena Radio to name a few. Cecilia is Afro-Latina with both African American and Latino heritage so the Adelante award was an immense honor for Cecilia for many reasons, i n c l u d i n g the fact that her father was Puerto Rican and her dearest cousin Luis Torres Nadal, a well- known Puerto Rican playwright believed in artistic works that promoted meaningful change.
As Cecilia puts it, “I was blessed when I came to this earth with mixed heritage because it has given me a vision that does not see color or ethnicity as the defining factor in human relations.
On the other hand the very best qualities that come from Latin culture and African American experience have made me a passionate soldier for cross-cultural engagement and problem solving.” Kudos to Karlos Ramirez, President of the Hispanic Chamber and volunteers for an evening described by Cecilia as “totally awesome in every detail!” On June 14 Gitana will present Karamu: Fiesta of Latin and African American Music at Union Avenue Christian Church.
The best Latin and African American Jazz artists in St. Louis will be brought together near the so-called Delmar Divide and our objective is to contribute to more unity and cultural sharing.
The pre-show events that evening includes Salsa lessons and dancing, an art exhibit and 10 Mexican restaurants will compete for the “Best Salsa” in St. Louis. For those of you who are fans of Denise Thimes, (I am definitely a fan!) you will hear her sing in Spanish for the first time. Tickets for KARAMU event are available at www.gitanainc.org.
Original photograph caption
Cecilia Nadal receiving Adelante Award; other presenters not individually captioned.
Originally published in The Times of Skinker-DeBaliviere, Summer 2014.
Read this article in the original newspaper issue.
Original source: SD_Times2014_06.pdf, printed page(s) 6; PDF page(s) 6.
