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Jessica Ramirez

Octavitas: A Puerto Rican Celebration

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Octavitas photo provided by Dr. Ana María Tekina-eirú Maynard

The rhythmic and infectious sounds coming from the barrel-shaped drums called barriles. The melodious chants from the chorus line. The colorful dresses swaying to and fro in the air. The smiling faces on the lovely dancers. If that is not enough to get you out to the Puerto Rican Folkloric Dance and Cultural Center to celebrate Puerto Rican style, on Sunday, Jan. 20 from 2 to 5 p.m. then you will be missing out!

Octavitas is one of the final celebrations during the Puerto Rican holiday season. During this time, Puerto Rican tradition involves parrandas or asaltos, in which neighbors go door to door in the middle of the night to wake everyone with singing, dancing and the celebration continues as more and more neighbors get added to the mix.

The holiday season officially ends at the beginning of February in Puerto Rico, so the Puerto Rican Folkloric Dance and Cultural Center—founded by Dr. Ana María Tekina-eirú Maynard—has put together this celebration to bring together the Puerto Rican community along with those interested in the richness of the culture.

“What we do with the Octavitas celebration each year is provide a chance for people to come to our cultural center and experience the joy of the holiday season along with our traditions,” says Maynard, “It’s our chance to showcase our talent to the community and it also brings awareness to the way they can immerse themselves in our culture, even if they aren’t Puerto Rican.”

This year will be the first year the Tres Reyes Magos will be making an appearance at PRFDCC’s Octavitas celebration and they will bring gifts for each child.

Andrea Mellette—a senior leading dancer at PRFDCC—says, “I mostly look forward to the excitement of the children because they always have lots of fun and they are not shy so they dance and sing and play and have lots of fun.” And with the Reyes Magos bearing gifts there sure will be plenty of excitement.

Along with the honorable presence of the Reyes Magos PRFDCC will also be honoring
Reyna Martinez—President of Sociedad Cultural Hispanoamericana in Killeen, Texas—and Migdalia Aponte—President of Association of Puerto Ricans in San Antonio, Texas—for dedicating their time and effort to the Puerto Rican community in central Texas.

The Puerto Rican Folkloric Dance and Cultural Center was founded by Maynard because after establishing her career and having her first child she realized how much she missed her cultural heritage and how important it was for her children to be familiar with their roots. 15 years later and the organization is still going strong thanks to a growing Puerto Rican community and to the city of Austin’s appreciation for the arts.

“I moved here from New York and when I got here I immediately missed my Puerto Rican community and luckily I was able to find one here,” says Yolanda Maisonet a dance and costume manager for PRFDCC.

Madrile Wilson—a musician for the dance company—says, “I love being a part of this group because I love percussion, I love celebrating and I love the family I’ve formed here. It all helps me get in touch with my roots.”

PRFDCC is currently recruiting people who are interested in joining their family. If you’re interested in dancing, singing, meeting friendly people or if you seek enrichment and want to learn more about the Puerto Rican culture then you should definitely consider joining the PRFDCC community.

The Octavitas celebration will take place this Sunday, Jan. 20 from 2 to 5 p.m. at the Puerto Rican Folkloric Dance and Cultural Center located at 701 Tillery St. This celebration should be fun for people of all ages so don’t miss it.

[1/27] Preview: Bay of All Saints at Alamo Drafthouse Village

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'Bay of All Saints is presented as part of the Cine Las Americas Signature Series at the Alamo Drafthouse, co-presented by SXSW with support from Omega Broadcast

Bay of All Saints—the 2012 South By Southwest Film Festival Audience Award Winner for Best Documentary Feature — will be screening as part of the Cine Las Americas Signature Series on Sunday, Jan. 27.

This award-winning documentary focuses on the lives and stories of three single mothers as they face harsh living conditions in their palafitas—shacks on stilts—on the bay in Bahia, Brazil. Bay of All Saints provides a momentary look at the problems of urban poverty on the bay, the sacrifices made for survival, the burden of life on the bay, and what causes these women to rise up and fight for what they deserve.

Director Annie Eastman filmed Bay of All Saints over six years initially because she heard news that the government was planning an urban-renewal project. She wanted to film and document the effects it would have on the already deprived community. Instead of being a more investigative film, she sought to create a documentary that made the audience “feel for these people and this place, simply because they are worth feeling for.”

The Bay of All Saints screening will be at the Alamo Drafthouse Village at 2700 W. Anderson Lane on Sunday, Jan. 27 at 1 p.m. The screening will be followed by a Q-and-A session with director Annie Eastman.

Q&A Interview: Cristela Alonzo on Austin, life as a comedienne and what’s in store for her

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Cristela Alonzo (courtesy photo)

If you haven’t seen or heard about Cristela Alonzo and her stand-up comedy, then you should get on that really soon. Alonzo is a native Texan who has loved television and comedy from a very young age. As the first Latina to star on Conan and tape her own half-hour special on Comedy Central, she has accomplished so much in just a few years.

Alonzo has been busy writing for Comedy Central, her own short films, appearing in Legally Brown and Sons of Anarchy, touring and is currently developing her own sitcom. This funny lady—a busy one, I might add— is currently headlining at our very own Cap City Comedy Club tonight at 8 p.m. and 10:30 p.m.

Alonzo sat down with Austin Vida to talk about life as a Latina comedienne, her latest projects and what she loves about Austin.

In three words, describe yourself to those who don’t know you at all?

Cristela Alonzo: Sarcastic. Honest. Loyal.

What is your favorite thing about Austin?

Cristela: I love Austin. It’s like in my top-five cities in the country. I’m originally from the Valley, down south in San Juan, outside of McAllen. And Austin has always been the coolest town in Texas. I love hanging out here, but there’s so much to do that you can never do it all and you don’t even know where to start, you know? What I really like is going to thrift stores because I can find cooler stuff here than I can in Los Angeles and since I collect vinyl, I find a lot of great records here.

What led you to become a comedienne and a writer?

Cristela: Well, when I was younger my mother was really strict and I couldn’t really go out so I would stay home and watch a lot of TV! I always thought television was really cool, but I never thought it was actually a job. I started off doing several plays in high school. I was a big theatre nerd then. Then, I ended up going to college for theatre and moved to Dallas. In 2002, my mom passed away and I told myself if my mom came from Mexico so that I could have a better life here in the United States, I’m going to try to do what I’ve always wanted to do: stand-up. I started off doing open mic competitions in Dallas and within two years I was living in Los Angeles and writing for Comedy Central.

Where do you usually draw your material from?

Cristela: I like being personal with my comedy. A friend of mine once told me “As much as we are different, we’re all alike.”  Any problems we have, other people probably have them too. When other people realize they’re not the only ones with those problems it makes them relate, and ultimately that’s what makes them laugh. I think that all Latinos I know are funny! I always tell people ‘if you think I’m funny I never want you to meet my family because they’re hilarious!’ My family can get together and laugh and laugh for hours and everyone is funny!

In your opinion what is the best part about being a comedienne?

Cristela: Coming from the Rio Grande Valley, I had a few teachers that really supported what I wanted to do. The norm was to go to school, get a job, have kids and for me that’s not what I wanted to do. The best part of stand-up is I get to show that I’m a Latina and show everyone—the entire community—that we can do it. Every time I get the opportunity to do something great I always think about positive ways to show the Latino community what we can attain. For example, I recently got a call to tape my own half-hour special on Comedy Central next month, and I want to say that I’m the first Latina to accomplish that! I never thought I’d get a chance to do that—I’m from a border town down south—but it’s possible and really cool. I love doing things that people never thought would happen!

You’ve been quite busy the past couple of years with Comedy Central, writing short films, Sons of Anarchy and touring. What new projects should we be on the lookout for?

Cristela: Last fall I received a deal with 20th Century Fox who will be developing a sitcom about my life. I’ve been touring so much that I’ve had to wait until now to work on it. I want the show to be about growing up with my family, kind of like a Latino Roseanne. I want to show the life of a Latino family that isn’t full of stereotypes in order to show that we’re like everybody else. It will be about a blue-collar family that’s trying to get by and even though they work hard and can’t always make ends meet, they are happy. I want to show that close-knit family that is sometimes missing from television. The George Lopez show was such a good show and I think it’s time for another one. We’re pitching it to different networks so if everything goes smoothly, it should be on TV later on this year.

Which project or experience are you most proud of?

Cristela: I’m most proud of doing Conan a couple of months ago just because it’s a late night talk show with someone I really, really adore. I love Conan! Again, I think I was the first Latina on that show and there’s only a handful of Latinos that have been on the show. It was an amazing experience and a lot of fun. It was all me for five minutes and it was nice to have the laughter and be in the moment. Every time I do something like this I think “I’m from San Juan, Texas, I can’t believe I’m doing this!”

What do you have yet to accomplish?

Cristela: Honestly, I don’t really think like that. I’m very grateful for everything I have and everything I get. As long as I can keep paying my bills doing what I really want to do, I’m happy with it. I think that’s the way you should approach it. It’s good to give yourself a goal, but if you give yourself too big of a goal then you get disappointed when you feel you’re not going to get it. I think about it like this, if I’m happy where things are right now, I feel I’ve succeeded.

Who would you really want to work with either again or for the first time?

Cristela: Right off the bat I can tell you that one of my heroes is Roseanne Barr. I love her so much! I really don’t think I can be in the same room with her because I’ll probably freak out! A couple of years ago I met Betty White—and I love the Golden Girls—and I totally freaked out! I was like ‘Ohh it’s Betty White!!’ It was ridiculous!

What piece of advice would you give to Latinas who are trying to make it as comediennes?

Cristela: It’s going to be hard. If you really love it, it’s going to be worth it. Most importantly, don’t let anybody else tell you that you can’t do it because what they’re telling you is that they can’t do it. They’re trying to make you as insecure as they are. They’re the ones with the problem so you go for it!