It’s always great to see Columbia Heights’ budding artistic scene in action. Coming up March 10th and 11th is a play from Paso Nuevo, GALA Hispanic Theatre’s youth group, about financial literacy. It’s been presented at schools around the city. In addition, the group’s band has released a music CD about financial literacy — learning about money management, credit cards, and financial goals.
The play sounds like a great opportunity to take your kids for some fun and education, and the other efforts are pretty cool too. See below for snippets from their press release:
MURDER MYSTERY PREMIERES The world premiere of the Paso Nuevo Youth Performance Group murder mystery Who’s to Blame?/¿De quién es la culpa? will be presented on March 10 at 8 pm and March 11 at 3 pm. Written by Jonathan Sánchez and further developed by the teenage troupe, the intriguing presentation is also produced and performed by Paso Nuevo. As a group of friends gather at an old mansion to celebrate James’ good fortune of winning a multi-million dollar lottery, bodies begin to fall one by one as the lights go out and strange noises are heard. In this funny take on film noir and traditional murder mysteries, those gathered turn on each other as they try to catch the killer before the next victim falls to a fatal blow. The Paso Nuevo members who have helped develop, present and perform Who’s to Blame? include Carlos Amaya, Verónica Chávez, Cindy Cruz, Ruth Fuentes, Jonathan Nolasco,Israel Núñez, Richard Palma, Steven Ramírez, Christian Sánchez, Diana Sánchez, Jonathan Sánchez, Manuel Sánchez, and Rosemary Solorzano. Who’s to Blame? will be presented at the GALA Theatre, located on 3333 14th Street, NW in Washington, DC. Parking is available behind the theater in the Giant garage on Park Road, NW. Additional parking is available at the Target garage also on Park Road, between 14th and 16th Streets. The theater is also easily accessible from the Columbia Heights Metro station on the Yellow and Green lines.
Who’s to Blame? is performed in English with some Spanish, and contains strong language. Admission is free but donations will be accepted. For more information, call 202-234-7174 or visit www.galatheatre.org.
FINANCIAL LITERACY PRESENTATION TOURS DC SCHOOLS Paso Nuevo has stepped into the community to educate Washington, DC teens about financial literacy, an important issue affecting young communities of color, with a play entitled Prom Night.Written by Emily Goulding and Quique Avilés, Prom Night tells the story of four DC teens who seek but can’t afford the prom of their dreams. Using their family’s credit cards to pay for their prom costs without permission, they learn hard lessons about money management, such as avoiding credit traps, the definition of credit scores, and how to set financial goals.Between February and March 2012, Prom Night will be performed for almost 3,000 teens at Bell Multicultural High School, the Academies at Anacostia, Cardozo High School, Theodore Roosevelt High School, Capital City Public Charter School, IDEA Public Charter School, and César Chávez High School, Parkside Campus. In addition to the play, GALA created three video episodes of the Prom Night story as an easy-to-access Public Service Announcement (PSA). Directed by DC-based videographer Fernando Ortega, these three web episodes will also be made available via GALA’s YouTube channel.
ESLATIN CD RELEASED The Paso Nuevo Band recently completed its first recording project and released a captivating sample CD entitled Amor Natural. The demo contains six original tracks fully written, composed and performed by the young musicians. The songs speak about love, conflict, identity and immigration – issues that reflect on the life experiences of the band members.The musical group, now called ESLATIN Youth Band, held a live recording session at GALA Theatre in Columbia Heights on October 2011. Advanced production of the CD was made possible with the help of experienced sound engineers Brendon Vierra and Kyle Montgomery. Andrés Luque is the Project Coordinator and Producer. The demo CD is available for purchase in the lobby of the GALA Theatre during performance dates. A minimum donation of $7 is requested.ESLATIN Youth Band features Manuel Sánchez (lead male vocalist and acoustic guitar), Diana Sánchez (lead female vocalist), Luis Avilés (acoustic guitar and vocals), Jonathan Nolasco (piano and vocals), Alfonso Avelar (electric guitar), Douglas Guerra (electric bass), and Wilfredo Cruz (drums and Music Coach).
