March 21, 2000
Hostos Center for the Arts & Culture,
450 Grand Concourse
Bronx, NY

Violin
Melvin Wine
Violin
Doug Van Gundy
Banjo
Paul Gartner

Cuatro
Alvin Medina
Guitar
Rubén Figueroa
Güiro
Roberto Rivera

This gathering features old-time music from Appalachia and música jíbara, Puerto Rican music from die highlands as the hub for a conversation led by the note scholars Dr. Juan Flores arid Dr. Michael Kline.

The evolution of traditional music is a metaphor for the history of the two peoples and serves to illustrate tile changes that have come about with migration and modernization.


Traditional music has played a crucial role in the cultures of Puerto Rican and the Appalachian peoples. It has been and continues to be a key vehicle for articulating, preserving and disseminating our history, feelings and emotions. 'rl short, this music helps create and sustain our unique identities.

Both Appalachian and Puerto Rican cultures have made a wealth of material contributions to the arts and letters as well as to popular culture. To some degree, both our communities share analogous experiences in economic processes and have been subject to definition by the dominant culture.

We do not present a ready answer or simple solutions to the highly complex implications of our histories, rather an instance to reflect upon the roles our communities and cultures play in defining our identity, the commonalities, if any, between these distinct cultural groups and the geographic and economic factors that have influenced the cultural life of Puerto Ricans and Appalachians.
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Voices From tbe Mountains is the first New York event of Appalashop's two year multidisciplinary project, Voices From Home. By taking Appalachian Mountain stories, music and issues to communities throughout the United States, the national project will engage broad audiences in programs exploring links between lífe and culture of the Appalachian Mountains and other regions.

Voices will present Appalshop work - films, plays, radio and music programs - in collaboration with people and organizations nationally who share the commitment to cultural democracy. The goal is to create a national discourse on place and diversity.

Inl addition to New York, Voices will visit San Francisco, San Antonio, Anchorage, Cincinnati and Knoxvilie. The national tour will conclude with a celebration in 2002 at Appalshop in Whitesburg, Kentucky.

Partners include: Pregones Theater, Bronx, NY; University of California-Berkeley Art Museum, San Francisco, CA; Esperanza Peace and Justice Center, San Antonio, TX; Out North Contempora?y Art House, Anchorage, AK; Urban Appaiachian Council, Cincinnati, OH and Carpetbag Theater, Knoxville, TN.