Meeting of Wednesday, November 4, 2009 – 7 PM
Sequoya Branch Public Library
Tokay at Midvale Boulevards – Madison, WI

A G E N D A

I.    Welcome and introductions.

II.   Cuban Artists in Madison/Celebrating Friendship:  Exhibit by Orestes Larios and Gregorio Escobar being held at DiRicci Gallery at Edgewood College, November 4-24.  Join us tonight in welcoming Orestes, his wife Maria Ofelia, and Gregorio to Madison.  Opening Reception on Friday, Nov. 6 from 5 to 7 PM.  See Press Release below.

III.    Wisconsin Medical Project Update: Group to travel November 14-21.

IV.    Tiempo Libre, a Cuban salsa/timba group to perform at Wisconsin Union Theatre on Thursday, November 5; sponsored by MCSCA, this promises to be a great show–bring your ticket and get in free at Cardinal Bar following performance.  C’mon folks, get out and throw a little grey hair in the air . . .

V.   Wine Tasting/Silent Auction scheduled for November 11 at Cardinal Bar has been postponed to Wednesday, January 20, 2010.  Please mark your calendars.  Volunteers needed!

VI.    Lecture and Showing of Documentary focusing on Jewish community in Cuba:  Wednesday, November 18 at University Club on UW-Madison campus–Reception at 5 PM, Lecture and Showing at 7 PM–featuring Dr. Delvis Fernandez Levy, president of Cuban American Alliance Education Fund.

VII.   Latin Music Fest II at Majestic Theater on Wednesday, November 25.  Benefit for Madison-Camaguey Sister City Association’s ongoing cultural exchanges, featuring local bands Mambo Blue, Tony Castaneda Latin Jazz Band, Grupo Candela and the premiere of Madison’s new charanga group Charanga Agoza.

VIII.    Treasurer’s report.

IX.    MCSCA Annual Meeting: Wednesday, December 2 at Cardinal Bar (418 E. Wilson St.) from 7 to 9 PM.  Mark your calendars.

X.    Other business.

XI.    Adjournment.

NOTED CUBAN ARTISTS TO VISIT MADISON

With the recent thaw in Cuba-United States relations, it appears that Madison and Dane County will be major beneficiaries of the positive change. The  proof will be seen in the visit of two renowned Cuban artists to exhibit their work at the DeRicci Gallery of Edgewood College from November 4-24, 2009. The opening reception for the exhibition will take place on Friday, Nov. 6, from 5:00-7:00 p.m at the gallery to which the public is invited. The DeRicci Gallery is open 9:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. daily.

The exhibition is called “Cuban Artists in Madison: Celebrating Friendship/Artistas Cubanos en Madison: Celebrando Amistad,” and is sponsored by the Madison-Camaguey Sister City Association with support from Edgewood College and the Dane County Cultural Affairs Commission with additional funds from the Overture Foundation and Pleasant T. Rowland Foundation.

The two artists, Orestes Larios Zaak and Gregorio Perez Escobar, are well-known in their native Cuba. Both hail from Camaguey, the city in central Cuba with which Madison has had a “twin” relationship since 1994. One reason for their visit is to commemorate the fifteenth anniversary of the sister-city agreement.

Larios is a painter who has exhibited his work in Canada and Europe. His paintings explore the natural environment around us and call attention to its beauty and fragility. Perez is a sculptor who works with polished, fine-grained wood. His sculptures reveal a variety of human and inanimate forms that can be both mysterious and shocking.

While in Wisconsin, the two artists will visit classes and workshops in painting and sculpture at Edgewood, as well as the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design. They will present a public lecture, “Canto a la vida: A View of Cuban Art Today” at 4:00 p.m., Wednesday, November 11, in the Predolin Building on the Edgewood Campus, 1000 Edgewood College Drive.