CUNY Dominican Studies Institute Library

José Miguel de la Rosa donates his play La loca de la estación Central to DSI

Professor Sarah Aponte would like to thank José Miguel de la Rosa for donating his play La loca de la estación Central at the 6^th Annual Hispanic/Latino Book Fair of New York.

La loca de la estación Central (Mexico City: miCielo ediciones, 2010) is a play by José Miguel de la Rosa that takes place in Grand Central Station in New York. De la Rosa sets the stage for La Loca, literally the crazy woman, to tell her back story. She speaks to the other characters with little to no interruptions. Her parts are lengthy and in them she plays the role of multiple characters, including a younger her, that play an important role in her past, which in turn affects her view of the present. This method of storytelling by the author creates a sort of play within a play, only that the crazy woman’s play suffers being interrupted by characters and the events going on in the present instead of stage directions. José Miguel de la Rosa gives us acts within acts and this intertwined text that starts off as a secondary narrative becomes the main narrative that dictates when the play ends.

The presentation of the package should also be noted. It contains La loca de la estación Central printed in a notepad as well as a packed-in hand puppet of a woman, most likely representing la Loca, which can be used to act out the dialogue in the play.  

Both items represent a new and fun way of interaction between the play and those reading and/or listening to the play.

Once again thanks to José Miguel de la Rosa for making La loca de la estación Central part of the collection at the Dominican Studies Institute.

This work is recommended for those interested in contemporary dramas, Dominican dramas and/or authors, and José Miguel de la Rosa.

Antonio Perez, Library Intern

Professor Dulce María Gray donates her new book to DSI

Prof. Sarah Aponte would like to thank West Valley College Professor Dulce María Gray for donating her recent publication.

Gray,  María Dulce. Meanderings on the Making of a Diasporic Hybrid Identity. Lanham, Maryland: University Press of America, 2013.

This book covers Gray’s reflections on changes and constructions of a hybrid ethnic and cultural identity.

She delves into her own Dominican American family experiences and analyses how Dominican American literature shapes her own understanding of ethnic identity.

The novel will definitely relate to not just the Dominican American experience, but anyone’s ethnic and cultural identity experience.

Meanderings on the Making of a Diasporic Hybrid Identity is an important resource for researchers, students and readers who are interested in ethnic identity, culture heritage, Dominican History, Dominican-American Literature, and Dominican immigration.

Jhensen Ortiz

Library Intern

Maria Farazdel donates her books to DSI

Professor Sarah Aponte would like to thank Maria Farazdel who donated her books Entre voces y espacios/ Amongst Voices and Spaces and Poetic Reflections: My Little Paradise at the 6^th annual Hispanic/Latino Book Fair of New York.

             

Entre voces y espacios (Charlston, WV: Obsidiana Press, 2012) is a poetry book with 80 different poems.All poems are presented in Spanish and English, giving the reader a look into the bilingual mind of María Farazdel. Since the poems are presented in both languages this book serves as great material for monolingual speakers or those looking to expand knowledge of one language with help from the other. In Entre voces y espacios the poet succeeds in saying plenty with few words. When it comes to Farazdel’s poetry looks sure can be deceiving since the poems are composed of short stanzas but, have plenty of content.

                  

My Little Paradise (Bloomington, IN: Xlibris Corporation, 2010)  is a collection of poetry based on the feeling of longing to return to ones homeland. Farazdel shares her feelings towards missing, obtaining, and then letting go of her “little paradise”, the Dominican Republic. She misses the island but most of all she misses the times she had.The poetic voice returns to the island but must leave again, to her new home. The book is composed of several poems printed on pages with personal photographs taken during her stays in the Dominican Republic; it creates a visual presentation of the words and feelings she expresses.

 

These two poetic collections are available for anyone interested- in/researching Dominican Republic, Dominicans, Dominican Literature, Contemporary literature, Bilingual Speakers, and/or María Farazdel.

Antonio Perez, Library Intern

iASO Records donates music albums to our Library

Chief Librarian Sarah Aponte would like to thank Benjamin de Menil and iASO Records for their kind donation of Dominican-related music volumes to our Library.

This donation includes something for everyone, especially bachata enthusiasts and interests. Bachata Breakdown: for dancers, instructors, musicians and enthusiasts is an album that includes a breakdown of bachata rhythms and sounds coupled with the rhythm a dancer needs to hold while dancing. This sort of album is perfect for those learning how to dance and for those looking to teach others about bachata.

The DVD Bachata Breakdown: ¡En Vivo! gives the same sort of introduction but this time you get to see everything in video form, with the musicians playing their instruments and introducing the sounds and rhythms they will be playing.

 

 

La Familia Soriano is a music album that introduces the world to the musical talents of Joan Soriano’s sisters Nelly and Griselda, and brother Fernando. This album offers 14 tracks, some of which are solo tracks as well as collaborations between the siblings. Something notable about this album is that some of the songs included are covers. The covers give us a look into the personalities and likenesses since the artist, be it Joan or any of his siblings, insert some of their own flare that makes their version stand on its own when compared to the original rendition. For example “Unión eterna”, “Cuanto lloré”, and “Vamos hablar inglés”.

El Duque de la Bachata is one of Joan Soriano’s solo works. The album features 12 tracks, which are a mix of bachata and merengue. Soriano delivers on every track, conveying happiness and good times in tracks like “María Elena” and sadness and uncertainty in tracks like “Su lado de cama” and “¿Que pasará mañana?” As a bonus the DVD The Duke of Bachata is included. This DVD gives us a glimpse into the life of Soriano as a struggling bachatero trying to “make it”. For more in depth information on this DVD please click here.

The compilation album Bachata Legends features artists such as Ramón Cordero, el Chivo Sin Ley, and Leonardo Paniagua. This album takes us to the early days of bachata when the musical style would best be referred to as amargue (bitterness) with tracks such as “Con el amor no se juega” by Augusto Santos and “Bendita nena” by El Chivo Sin Ley. Bachata Legends features 14 tracks somehow different from the mainstream bachata. This album is a plus for the traditional bachata enthusiasts or for those interested in hearing their favorite hits in a higher fidelity.

Running with the theme of traditional bachata, we have Puerto Plata and his albums Casita de Campo and Mujer de Cabaret, both include traditional bachata songs. The albums also include some original work that corresponds well with the classic tracks, showing that the old school bachata is ingrained deeply in the blood of Puerto Plata.

 

Once again thanks to Benjamin de Menil and iASO Records for donating and bringing out all this music for the world to hear and enjoy. Aside from the music quality, the packaging of the discs themselves should also be noted; some come in cardboard cases that feature art, booklets that contain biographies and other historical information surrounding the artist and the music. The albums as well as their packages are made with great care and appreciation for those enthusiasts and for those new comers who would love to learn more about this music genre. If you would like to know more about iASO records please visit iasorecords.com

Antonio Perez, Library Intern