Posts Tagged ‘New York City’

NPC: Tell us a little bit about your organization, R.Evolución Latina. Why was it started?

R.Evolución Latina: R.Evolución Latina is a collective of artists and activists committed to empowering the artistic community in order to inspire growth within the Latino Community through collaboration, productions, and educational support programs.

Our motto:  DARE TO GO BEYOND

R.Evolución Latina was created out of the need to let our Hispanic community know that Latinos can also be seen on a Broadway stage.  Founders Luis Salgado, Michael Balderrama and Gabriela Garcia are all Broadway dancers that felt the need to share their passion and accomplishments with the Latino community.  Being an example of how art can motivate you on a daily basis and how difficult it is to continue to grow as an artist both emotionally and financially, R.Evolución Latina  was created to help our aspiring Latino artists continue to grow by providing free workshops for them in various disciplines taught by some of the best teachers and performers in NYC.  Our children are our future and due to the lack of art programs in schools, R.Evolución Latina found itself being a vehicle to bring art to under served schools and communities with a high Latino population, to inspire their daily lives through art, daring it’s audience to “Go Beyond”, work hard to achieve their goals, collaborate and give back to their community.

NPC: Who does it serve?

R.Evolución Latina: We serve Latino and under-served communities throughout the 5 boroughs of New York as well as some areas of New Jersey.  Our reach also includes the New York artistic community and has recently expanded to include artists in Peru, Spain, and India. Our mission is carried by activists who reside throughout the United States and Puerto Rico as well as in countries such as Panama, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela, Colombia, and Germany.

NPC: How long have you been in operation?

R.Evolución Latina: R.Evolución Latina was founded in 2007.  We are currently entering our 4th year in operation.

NPC: How many people did you serve your first year? And, this year?

R.Evolución Latina: Our founding team consisted of just 10 volunteers and has grown to include over 50 active members and over 100 volunteers today. We impact around 500-750 students per year and have a rotating team of teaching artists made up of 40 performers from the Broadway, Film, and Television industries.

NPC: What is your most difficult challenge as a nonprofit?

R.Evolución Latina: Our current challenge is keeping up with the continued growth and expansion of our organization. We are continually made aware of the growing needs of our community and our goal as an active organization is to keep up with and provide for these needs. We are proud of the reach that we have achieved thus far, but at times find it difficult to fulfill the multitude of requests that we get on a monthly basis from organizations, schools, artists, and communities seeking our guidance, involvement, and service.

NPC: What was your most difficult challenge starting out?

R.Evolución Latina: Our first challenge was getting our community to embrace our mission and our motto of daring to go beyond. R.Evolución Latina is about collaboration and taking action. In our early stages we found that other organizations were reluctant to jump on board with programs and events, but after proving that we are an ACTIVE organization, we now find ourselves fielding multiple requests from organizations throughout New York and and across the country.
NPC: What advice would you give to someone who wants to start a nonprofit?

R.Evolución Latina: Know your mission and make sure this is the forefront for everything you do. The mission informs every decision, program, collaboration, event, and step that the organization takes.

It is a commitment no matter how small your nonprofit may be. It takes a lot of hard work but the reward is wonderful. Make sure you have a good support group to help you out, as well as advisers and people who can see you through the process.
NPC: How can people get involved?

R.Evolución Latina: First they can take a look at our website, www.revolucionlatina.org and familiarize themselves with who we are and what we do.  Those interested in getting involved can contact us at: info@revolucionlatina.org.

NPC: Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?

R.Evolución Latina: Dare to Go Beyond! Atrevéte a Más!

Collaborative interview with Gabriela Garcia, Co director; Alison Solomon and Denisse Ambert, Executive Management Team of R.Evolución Latina. For more information, please visit the website at www.revolucionlatina.org.

A few weekends ago Ryan and I drove to New York City to
visit Noel and Sonja Chevere who were there from California to visit
family.  So, in essence we imposed on
their family time for the weekend, and I don’t reject a moment.  

Noel, my friend I used to like, walked me through the
streets of New York City until my legs were about to fall off. I still look at
the map to trace all of our steps and it amazes me that while we were walking for
hours, we only walked a couple miles at the most a day. I experienced the New
York subway, did all the touristy things: Time Square, Ground Zero, Rockefeller
Center, just to name a few. 
 

My most memorable stop was to Grand Central Terminal,
affectionately known to me as the place where the animals emerged in the movie
Madagascar. I was in awe at this beautiful train station. I marveled at the
clock in the center, and the stairs that came up from every direction, and the
beautiful chandelier in the station; things that seemed out of place in a train
station, but yet completely fit in here with the hurry and bustle. 

Anyway, we rushed to the Grand Central Terminal because
it was the closest place to where we were, in Greenwich Village, to get Junior’s
cheesecake. Now, let’s talk a little about cheesecake, you have cheesecake, you
have Jello like stuff they call cheesecake, and then you have CHEESECAKE. I
mean baked, creamy, stick to the fork, cheesecake. Oh my! I wasn’t disappointed
with Junior’s at all. As a matter of fact, I was delighted to hear that they
ship cheesecake, as it was absolutely worth all the trouble we went through to
get it.

Next time you're in New York, please stop and have some Junior's cheesecake. And be sure to let me know what you think. Next month, I'm in search of a Philly steak n' cheese!