6th Latino Festival of Monmouth County
Center Players, 35 South Street, Freehold
-----Original Message-----
From: immigrantrightsnynj- On Behalf Of Immigrant Rights NYNJ
Sent: Monday, September 13, 2010 2:12 PM
To: Al
Subject: [Immigrantrightsnynj] Latino Film Festival -- Freehold,October 1 - 3
6th Latino Festival of Monmouth County
Latino Festival gets Reel
For Immediate Release: September 13, 2010
Contacts:
Lazaro Cardenas, Festival Co-chairperson -- 732-500-7864
Ann Bagchi, Film Festival Co-chairperson – 201-303-6101
This year for the first time since the start of the festival in 2005 the festival will introduce a film festival. The film festival will run from Friday evening until Sunday.
The Latino Festival of Monmouth County will celebrate its sixth anniversary with a day of dancing, games and entertainment on October 2nd in downtown Freehold Borough at the Hall of Records Parking Lot starting at 12 - noon and concluding at 7 p.m. The celebration coincides with Hispanic Heritage Month.
The rain date is October 3rd.
“One of our main goals is to continue to reach further beyond Western Monmouth and to turn the festival into a regional celebration of Latino culture,” said Lazaro Cardenas, festival committee co-chair. “Every year the festival gets bigger and better not only with the variety of acts, but with our efforts at community outreach and inclusion.
Cardenas continued: “This year we are especially excited about the film festival and our new partnership with Center Players. This introduces an important cultural aspect that people have been requesting for several years.” The schedule of films is included with this release.
The confirmed performers this year are DJ Lady C. “La Comái Buena” and entertainment director, MC Nelson Rodriguez, the Alborada Spanish Dance Theater (flamenco dancing), RockNRoll Chorus, Grupo Caribe (salsa and merengue band), Zumba Party with Elcira, Mariachi Instrumental de México, Cimarrones/Run Away Slaves (Puerto Rican Folkloric group), Diverse (Zack and Eddie), Cassidy Molina from Howell High School and Tenor Luis Pacheco. Local artist and celebrity Veronica Kole, of Freehold Township, will open the festival with the National Anthem and will perform a set of her original material in the middle of the day.
As for cuisine, we have Salsa Latina Restaurant, Bahia de Acapulco, Grill and Things, and others.
There will be dozens of organizations present at the event to provide information about services to the community.
This festival is organized by the Latino Coalition of New Jersey working in collaboration with the Latino Festival Committee. It also counts on a growing base of sponsors that includes the following: The Law Offices of Daniel Weiss, The Monmouth County Arts Council, Casa Latino (Team Diversity), Smarty SmartSticks, Monmouth Medical Center, Hispanic Affairs & Resource Center of Monmouth County, Perinatal Consortium, The Monmouth County Freeholders, The Latino Action Network, Prudential & Joseph and Jacqueline Kelly from Freehold Borough.
The Latino Festival started in 2005 at the Park Avenue Elementary School in Freehold Borough with just a few volunteers. The first festival attracted about 800 people. Last year’s festival was attended by between 4,000 to 5,000.
The Latino Festival Committee includes Diana Tennant, Ana “Cuqui” Rivera, Suzanne Crandall, Ann Bagchi, Al DeGracia, Claudia DeGracia, Yeni M. Cardenas, Jackie Koleshnick, Bonnie Molina, Angel Matos, Mary Matos, Frank Argote-Freyre and Lazaro Cardenas.
Film Festival Schedule
All Films will be shown at the Center Players, 35 South Street, Freehold
Friday, October 1
7-9 pm Sleep Dealer - Science Fiction, rated PG13 (http://www.sleepdealer.com/synopsis.html)
Saturday, October 2
11 am to 1 pm The Perfect Game - Family, rated PG (http://www.theperfectgamemovie.com/) - Based on a true story, The Perfect Game tells the story of a group of boys from Monterrey, Mexico who become the first non-U.S. team to win the Little League World Series.
3-5 pm Whisky - Comedy, Not Rated (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0331370/) - Jacobo Koller is an unsuccessful and lonely middle-aged man who owns a failing sock factory in Montevideo, Uruguay. When Jacobo's mother dies, his younger, successful brother, Herman, comes to visit. To prove that his life has amounted to something, Jacobo enlists his co-worker, Marta, to pretend to be his wife. On a weekend break together in the sea-side town of Piriapolis, the trio reveal their true colors.
7-9 pm Buena Gente - Drama, rated R (http://www.buenagentemovie.com/) - Set in Washington Heights, NY, Buena Gente (Official Selection for the 2009 Queens Int’l Film Festival) tells the story of Chris Gil (Nick Talentino) who has commitment issues and compromises his relationship with his girlfriend, Desiree Madera (Yomaris Maldonado). After Desiree leaves him, Chris finds out she's put in a life-threatening situation and must save her.
*** Fabián Báez, the creator of the film Buena Gente will be attending the festival on Saturday (along with one of the film's actors) to introduce the film and participate in audience Q&A after the showing.
Sunday, October 3
2-4 pm Crude - Documentary, Not Rated (http://www.crudethemovie.com/press-room/) - Crude is the award-winning documentary that presents the story of the legal fight between 30,000 indigenous Ecuadorian rainforest dwellers and the U.S. oil giant Chevron. The plaintiffs claim that Texaco – which merged with Chevron in 2001 – spent three decades systematically contaminating one of the most biodiverse regions on Earth, poisoning the water, air and land. Crude focuses on the human cost of our addiction to oil and the increasingly difficult task of holding a major corporation accountable for its past deeds.
*** Seating is limited to 49 people, so reservations are recommended.
Amy Gottlieb, Program Director
American Friends Service Committee
Immigrant Rights Program
89 Market Street, 6th Floor
Newark, NJ 07102
973-643-1924
973-643-8924 (fax)
www.afsc.org/nymetro