Connecticut Cultural Group Reaches beyond U.S. Borders 10 April 2018

Angelucci Manigat

While political violence and bigotry are becoming more pervasive around the world, the UNESCO Center for Global friendship, Inc. (UCGF), a Connecticut-based non-profit organization, is enthusiastically strategizing on ways to build long-lasting cultural bridges in U.S. and beyond its borders.

"UCGF promotes reading and exchange of ideas as a mean to citizenry, mutual understanding and solidarity across nationalities and cultural lines," explains Angelucci Manigat, Jr., the executive director of this young Organization. "We believe that books can save lives and expand our horizons," he adds.

For this year alone, The UNESCO Center for Global Friendship, Inc. plans to provide free library materials in Haiti, Jamaica and Nicaragua. Manigat , in fact, just returned from a mission trip in Haiti, where its organization is building a public library in Gressier, a town which 40% of its buildings were destroyed in the 2010 earthquake, and a school library in an elementary school that serves 1300 students in Port-au-Prince, Haiti's capital.

Love Stories.

WITHIN

Directed by Robert Joseph Butler, WITHIN depicts Jacob —a hopeless Detroit romantic looking for love in the digital era. Jacob cannot seem to get anything right whether at work or his private life. In the end, a brief encounter with a stranger visiting Detroit may ultimately allow Jacob to discover a renewed purpose in life.

Dr. Steeve Coupeau goes one on one with Luis Salgado, Director of the Shakespearean Experience 4/18/2018

Luis Salgado

Can you talk about selection of members of your ensemble? How long did it take for performers to capture their roles?

It was an intense process for cast and creative team, all around and a huge challenge for me personally. We only had 3 weeks of preparation during R.Evolucion Latina's Beyond Workshop Series program. Many of the students did not speak English and on top of that we asked them to embrace one of the most challenging forms of the English language, Shakespeare. So two weeks of the process was basically classes and discovering how this group learned and what they brought to the table. That left me with only a week to devise and orchestrate the unifying of all the elements. The rule became clear " UNITE AND CONQUER" ... instead of isolating the work they developed during classes it was about creating layers of the material and let it live under the scope of this asylum of sane people. ARTISTS who Dare to Explore, Fail and Grow.

INTERVIEW

Dr. Steeve Coupeau goes one on one with Rimli Roy, Director of Surati for Performing Arts 4/19/2018

What inspired you to create and lead Surati Holi Hai?

Coming from a family of performing, visual and literary artists Holi was observed as a celebration with friends and family of song, dance, food, drink and merriment. I remember happy days of color playing with everyone across all sections of communities and religion. So for those who say it is a “Hindu” festival, never have I felt that the statement was so untrue. It may have originated from Hindu mythology, but Holi celebrations were and always will be an inclusive Spring festival. It celebrates the secular spirit of India and I am fortunate to be able to share that spirit globally with people across the U.S and beyond. After moving to the United States in 1999, I soon realized how much I had been missing Holi and other festivities that had become a part of our daily lives. I felt the need and urge to share that spirit with the communities here. Thus, I hosted our first Holi event in 2008 indoors. It was an instant success and since then there has been no looking back. For me it is a celebration of the many colors of life, of home in a far off land - that is now home.