BALCรณN CRIOLLO
La Casita Cultural Center Syracuse, NY
BALCรณN CRIOLLO
Artist Juan Cruz from Puerto Rico, established in Syracuse for more than 40 years, created a mural for La Casita’s Balcón Criollo in 2016.
ABOUT THE
BALCóN La Casita’s signature program, “Balcón Criollo”, is a permanent and evergrowing exhibition that honors the history and culture of Hispanic communities in Syracuse and across Central New York. A gallery-wide installation features over a hundred community-sourced photographs, collectibles, relics, family keepsakes, devotional images and other meaningful pieces that relate the real-life stories of our Latino families and communities. A model inspired by the work of Puerto Rican artist Pepón Osorio, the project evolves from the spirit of his vision, which uniquely bridges museum installation with fieldbased community engagement. The porch or balcón is a symbol of the part of our lives and our homes where we interact with our community.
CULTURAL MEMORY ARCHIVE
In 2016, La Casita began to develop a Cultural Memory Archive that includes preserves the story and memory of every piece loaned or donated to the collection by members of the various communities that it serves. This work, constantly in progress, has resulted in a significant collection of family photos and heirlooms, traditional costumes, diaries, mementos, all the things that have a special meaning for us, preserved in digital form as a tribute to our heritage. Collecting and digitization of the pieces is a year-round project, which allows for new displays at various times of the year. This project has advanced thanks to the support of Syracuse University Libraries. Plans are underway to make this archive searchable online and offer access for educational purposes to scholars and researchers through the Syracuse University Libraries system.
STORIES OF OUR BEAUTIFUL FAMILíAS FAMILIA MICHELL-REVELLES Moises Michell and María Revelles are an amazing “power couple” in our local community. Moises is a former basketball star, deeply revered by fans in his native Dominican Republic. He now dedicates his time and talents to the education and support our Syracuse youth as supervisor of Youth Leadership and Development programs at the Spanish Action League. María Revelles, a long established civic leader in Syracuse and resident of the Syracuse Westside neighborhood was born in Puerto Rico and raised in Madrid, Spain. She is an organizer for Service Employees International Union (SEIU) 1199. SEIU represents 1.5 million service workers, many of them health-care workers. Over the years, Maria Revelles has led successful service-union organizing campaigns across the United States and in Puerto Rico, starting in the early 1990’s with the Federación Central de Trabajadores a local of the UFCW (United Food and Commercial Workers) and after the year 2000 with UNITE Union and the USW, developing organizing strategies and workshops on diversity; also directing education and solidarity projects with unions in the Dominican Republic for women union leaders mostly in the Free Trade areas and manufacturing. Maria was also the first Latina to serve in the Board of the Housing Authority of the city of Syracuse.
María Revelles (center) with two of her daughters, Michelle (left) and Ariadna (right) celebrating Ariadna’s quinceañero in Syracuse, NY.
During his youth in Spain, María’s father Juan María Revelles, was denied access to college because of the family’s support for the Republic against the Nationalists. Heended up enrolled in a vocational school to become a classic matador.
The FernándezArango family, from left to right, Angel, Roberto and Ana, accompanied by their dear friend, a gifted actor and youth theater director based in Syracuse, NY, José Miguel Hernández.
FAMILIA FERNÁNDEZ-ARANGO The Fernández-Arango family –Angel, Ana and their son, Roberto–have played an active role in our community since their arrival from La Lisa, Havana, Cuba in 1997. Today Ana is one of the teachers at the Manos Dual-Language Early Childhood program, which is housed at SCSD’s Seymour Dual Language Academy, on the Westside of Syracuse. She graduated from the Westside Learning Center in 2005, and is now dedicated to teaching preschoolers in the same school where her son, Roberto, attended more than a decade ago. Ana cherishes her memories of Cuba and her beautiful family heirlooms , treasures now preserved in La Casita’s Cultural Memory Archive for generations to come. Among those pieces are some Roberto’s baby clothes worn on his 1st birthday, the last one he celebrated in Cuba. Ana keeps photos of Roberto wearing those clothes, now proudly displayed alongside her son’s senior prom photo. Roberto graduated from Henninger High School in 2013.
FAMILIA HODUKAVICH-SANÍN A native of Lejanías, a beautiful town of the Meta department, in the central region of Colombia, Zulay Sanín moved to Syracuse in 2014 with her husband, Aaron Hodukavich, to make a home, start a family, and share in the life of our community. Zulay grew up in a large family situated in a finca, over mountains of lush greenery and crystal rivers, which lodged in her a deep appreciation for nature and the joy of sharing. Growing up in such a remote rural setting also meant that Zulay and everyone in her family had to work very hard to maintain the land and live off of it. Both Zulay and Aaron are passionate about making a better world, respecting every life and opening new opportunities for every person, without exception.
Guzmán performing with her Alegre Flamenco Company at the Westcott Street Fair in Syracuse, NY in 2013, with one of her students, Anna Rupert, and her husband playing the cajón.
FAMILIA GUZMÁN Flamenco performer and dance instructor, Marisa Guzmán comes from a family of great dancers. They are the creators of the long established Guzmán Dance Studio in Fayetteville, NY. Marisa’s father and Puerto Rico native, Miguel Guzmán, was a ballroom dancer and a Spanish teacher in the Fayetteville-Manlius (FM) Schools.
Miguel Guzmรกn during a class trip where he accompanied FM High School students to Salamanca, Spain in 1968, performing with one of his students.
FAMILIA MÁRQUEZ CABARROUY Sofía Márquez Paniagua was born and raised in Puerto Rico until 2002 when she moved with her family to Syracuse, NY, at the age of 14. She was proud to share her story and to loan significant family relics to the Balcón Criollo collection. Sofía is proud of both her Puerto Rican heritage and her Cuban roots. Her father is Carlos Márquez, son of Carlos Márquez Sr. and Haydee Cabarrouy from Pinar del Río, Cuba. Sofía grew up listening to amazing stories of the days when her grandparents had to make the very hard decision of leaving their homeland at the time of the Cuban revolution, when her dad was five-years-old. Sofía longs to visit Pinar del Río someday, where she has heard that the big old Cabarrouy family home still stands, now as a public building. Sofía graduated from Christian Brothers Academy High School in 2006, and went on to complete her B.A. in Liberal Arts and M.A. from the Janklow Arts Leadership Program at Syracuse University. She is currently co-chair of the Syracuse-based 40-Below Public Arts Task Force and administers arts education programs for children in our Latino community.
LEFT: Official Cuban passports, pre-revolution. ABOVE: Haydee Cabarrouy and Carlos Mรกrquez in Pinar del Rio, Cuba (circa 1952)
Among the pieces that Luma contributed to La Casita’s collective show and digital archive, is a pair of delicate white gloves, the very ones worn by her mother, Luz Carazo, on her wedding day when she married Emilio Trilla on January 31, 1959, in San Juan, PR.
FAMILIA TRILLA
Jesús T Piñero, Luma’s uncle, was the first native Puerto Rican appointed governor under U.S. administration. Piñero served as governor until 1949, when Puerto Rico celebrated its first popular election. Luis Muñoz Marín, was the 1st elected governor.
Luz Marina Trilla, better known as Luma, arrived in Syracuse in 2016 from San Juan, Puerto Rico, after many years of caring for her aging parents. She has vigorously joined the Syracuse community through the Syracuse chapter of the National Alzheimer’s Association, where she created the first Spanish-speaking support group for caregivers. Luma is also dedicated to supporting La Casita Cultural Center as its program and volunteer coordinator.
Trilla family reunion in 2005, celebrating the matriarch’s 95th birthday, in San Juan Puerto Rico.
FAMILIA LIENQUEO
Left: Hand carved Mapuche chess pieces, and a hand carved gourd displaying a fully detailed graphic folk tale in miniature.
Originating in the southern regions of Chile, the Lienqueo family established in Central New York in the 1980s. Relatives are now spread across Utica, Binghamton and Solvay. Through the years, they have actively engaged with their communities as educators and public officials. The Lienqueo name and its bearers proudly descend from the indigenous Mapuches and from that rich heritage also originate the many unique pieces that were exhibited and archived by La Casita. Some of these have been in the Lienqueo family for generations.
La Casita Cultural Center Tere Paniagua Executive Director Monica McLean Office Manager Luma Trilla Event Production Coordinator Weisi Liu Financials Specialist Margot Clark Librarian & Archivist Marinique Mora Graphic Design Alison Rivera Office Administration Paulina Colรณn Community Service & Outreach
GALLERY HOURS Monday - Friday 12pm - 5 pm or by appointment
109 Otisco Street Syracuse, NY 13204 (315) 443-2151 lacasita@syr.edu http://lacasita.syr.edu/