Buenos Aires, Argentina - July 6 was bright and fun day at the Peace Embassy in Buenos Aires during an artistic festival and solidarity fair organized by UPF-Argentina to raise funds to carry out their initiatives and activities. There were several artistic performances, exhibitions, and sale of handicrafts and international food.
People and groups that joined this solidarity evening, such as the Paraguayan folkloric group Guyra Itaipú, which is directed by Malena Arzamendia; the Argentine ballet troupe Huellas del folklore (Folklore’s footprints), directed by Marcos Daverio; Alas de Tango (Tango wings) and Corazón Folklórico (Folklore Heart). These latter two groups, directed by José Robles and Tomas Saitta respectively, are formed by teenagers and young people from a cultural center in San Miguel (Province of Buenos Aires).
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Some singers delighted the guests with their music, such as the Italian-Argentine singer Lila Ramini, who sang Atahualpa Yupanqui’s songs; the soprano and choral director Marialina Lady, the Peruvian singer Socorrito Carrión (contemporary Andean music) and the Khana Group (Andean music and Argentinean folk music) led by Fredy Rodríguez López,one of the most applauded numbers of the day together with Marialina Lady.
People who recited poems included Alicia Köhler, Ana Lombardo, Cecilia Amarante, Juan Carlos Maidana, Bernardo Del Guercio, Alba Rosa Contardo, and Corina Alegre, who received an honorable mention in the second annual International Poetry Contest of UPF-Argentina in 2010, under the motto “Culture: Values and Integration for Peace” linked to the UN International Year for the Rapprochement of Cultures. There was also a comedy section, in charge of Rubén Montero.
In the food category, there were various dishes to sample ranging from empanadas to sushi, and also a desert table featuring with delicious cakes and chocolates prepared by Olga Beltramino.In some tables around the edges of the room there were artworks in glass and wire, fabric, and origami; there items reflecting Arab culture, shoes, mandalas, incense, various ornaments, etc. In the ecologic area there were highlighted the Japanese methods of sustainable farming including nendo dango (seed beads), eco pots, bamboo plants, and kokedamas (floating gardens) from the Foundation Chacras de Buenos Aires, which is directed by Andrea Vega.
UPF-Argentina greatly appreciates everyone who joined this warm day of solidarity, which was dedicated in honor to the plastic artist Norma Suárez Palomo, who recently died, and to Stella Maris Querol, who participated in similar gatherings and died in December 2011; both of them were Ambassadors for Peace.
Photos: courtesy of Juan José Elgul
Translation: Ricardo Gómez
Reported by Lic. Miguel Werner, Secretary General, UPF-Argentina