BALCÓN CRIOLLO 2015 - “BÉISBOL” IN THE HEART

BALCÓN CRIOLLO

2015 SEPT. 15 – DEC. 11 SYRACUSE, NY

LA CASITA CULTURAL CENTER A program of the College of Arts and Sciences Syracuse University

109 OTISCO ST. SYRACUSE, NY 13204 T. 315.443.2151 E. lacasita@syr.edu

BÉISBOL AT THE HEART OF OUR LATINO COMMUNITIES The annual gallery-wide installation of the Balcón Criollo at La Casita presents a collection of memorabilia and photography portraying the every-day lives of our Hispanic families as well as the culture and traditions of these growing communities in Central New York.

Inspired by the renowned work of Puerto Rican contemporary artist, Pepón Osorio, the Balcón Criollo comes to life through a great community outreach effort led by Syracuse University students. Luz Encarnación (’16), spearheaded the collecting of items and installation of the show, while Herve Comeau (G’16) took to the task of creating an archive to preserve the stories behind each item for La Casita’s Cultural Memory Archive. This collection documents the achievements of great players, coaches, youth programs, college and amateur leagues, as well as semi-professional and professional teams.

The Balcón Criollo is also an oral history project and this year it focuses on the significant role and history of baseball in Latino-American culture. By sharing with us their passion for the game and their proudest moments on the field, these local heroes are providing valuable insight about our Latino communities.

This project is also part of a new, multiyear partnership between La Casita and the Smithsonian Institute’s National Museum of American History. The initiative will consist of Latino-related exhibits, collections, programming, education and research projects. Many of the exhibit items on display at La Casita will be preserved by the Smithsonian as national treasures and enjoyed by future generations.

MEET SOME OF OUR COMMUNITY HEROES

JORGE MARTÍNEZ Born in Dominican Republic, living in Syracuse since 1984, he sees the need to keep youth safe through sports. He has coached baseball for over 30 years was recognized in his native DR where a park is named after him.

EDUARDO HUERTAS Born in Yabucoa, Puerto Rico, living in Syracuse since 1976, “Papo” connects with his community through softball. He was 3rd base for the Westside club and later organized the first Softball team in the neighborhood.

JOSH RODRÍGUEZ Played SS in all-star teams in Syracuse at age 10 and by age 11 was playing with the Jr Chiefs. Graduated High School from CNS and then went to SUNY IT where he was Rookie of the Year and made the All-Star team.

NADIA DÍAZ Known as Miss Syracuse Baseball, this 13-year-old Syracuse native gained national attention when she struck out 18 batters in 6-innings at age 12.

This Little League star wants to be the first female in Mayor League Baseball.

BALCÓN CRIOLLO 2015 MARILÚ LÓPEZ FRETTS Guest artist and curator of the photography collection for the Balcón Criollo, Marilú López Fretts has focused her attention on documenting the experiences of our local baseball community during its 2015 spring/summer season.

A native of Canóvanas, Puerto Rico, she currently resides in Syracuse, NY. Her work appears in a variety of media outlets and organizations, including the Associated Press (AP), Gannett News, CNY Latino, Indian Country Today, Native Peoples magazine, the Smithsonian’s New Museum of the American Indian, the Syracuse Post-Standard, Utica Daily News, and the Utica Observer Dispatch. Her work with Oneida Indian Nation has led her to document events of the Native Nations across the U.S. She has also worked extensively in the advertising industry (Saatchi & Saatchi and BBDO, among others), and has exhibited her work in various group exhibitions in San Juan. Marilú has a B.A. in Public Communications from the University of Puerto Rico, and in 2011 completed her M.A. in Photography at Syracuse University's S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications.

Marilú is a member of La Casita's Advisory Board making a significant contribution to this fall program, which attracts over 1000 visitors from all over Central New York each year, actively engaging Latino communities on and off the Syracuse University campus. She is a close collaborator in many of La Casita’s educational programs where she designs and facilitates photography workshops that have produced contemporary photography collections exhibited at La Casita and various galleries around the City of Syracuse and on the Syracuse University campus.

LUZ ENCARNACIÓN Student of Liberal Arts at Syracuse University (’16) Community Outreach and Dance Troupe Coordinator at La Casita For the third consecutive year, Luz dedicates her time and talents to bringing the community together and collecting meaningful items for the collective presented in the Balcón Criollo. She is also in charge of the installation of the exhibit and this year, she worked as photography apprentice with Marilú López Fretts through the months they spent doing community outreach and photo documentation for the show. She contributed several images that were selected and edited by López Fretts for the exhibition. Luz is a community advocate and mentor to youths, especially the members of La Casita’s Dance Troupe.

HERVE COMEAU MFA candidate, Creative Writing at Syracuse University (G ’16) Herve is a Haitian-American fiction writer and poet. He received his B.A. from Florida State University in 2008 and his Juris Doctorate from Cornell Law School in 2013. His work seeks to confront issues of hybrid identity and the nature of exile Herve designed and created the digital archive that documents the exhibit artifacts and photography displayed in the Balcón Criollo 2015. He also worked at La Casita through the summer of 2015 facilitating a dual language reading workshop for preschoolers from the Westside-based Manos Program.

La Casita is a vibrant arts and learning center supported by the College of Art and Sciences at Syracuse University to advance an educational and cultural agenda of civic engagement through research, cultural heritage preservation, media and the arts, bridging Hispanic communities of Syracuse University and Central New York.

GALLERY HOURS Monday – Friday / 12:00pm – 6:00pm, or by appointment.

Guided tours available by appointment, in English and Spanish.

For more information please contact us.

Tel. 315.443.2151 / Email: lacasita@syr.edu

SUPPORT FOR THIS PROGRAM ALSO COMES FROM:

La Casita is managed by the Office of Cultural Engagement for the Hispanic Community (OCE) at The College of Arts and Sciences, Syracuse University. OCE is a gateway to cultural interactions and partnerships with Hispanic communities across the campus, the City of Syracuse and the Central New York region. Its mission is to enhance the student experience through collegial and professional alliances, human capital building and cross-cultural immersion.

The Warehouse Bldg., Suite 005 350 W Fayette St., Syracuse NY 13204 T. 315-443-6410 W. culturalengagement.syr.edu