Lydia Perez Biography
Lydia Perez – Born in San Juan, Capital of Puerto Rico, she grew up in the town of “La Central” or “Hoyo Mula de Canóvanas”. She graduated from the Inter-American University, Magna Cum Laude, in June of 1989, with a Bachelor's in Business Administration. Four months later, she and her husband decided to move to Attleboro, Massachusetts. A year later, her husband bought a house in Warwick, Rhode Island.
She has been living in Rhode Island for 21 years. Lydia lives with Wendell Rivera-Davila, her husband (retired from the Armed Forces), and her two daughters Yidell and Dorothy Rivera, all of them members of Lydia's nationally acclaimed group, Yoruba2. Lydia is a highly accomplished and dynamic performer. She presents traditional music, workshops and productions from Puerto Rico and the Caribbean.
In 1994, she and her husband founded Puertorriqueños Unidos, Inc., a non profit organization. In 2004, Puertorriqueños Unidos, Inc. changed it's name to the Puerto Rican Institute for Arts and Advocacy, or PRIAA, and became an outstanding organization with high expectations from the Puerto Rican, Latino, and Rhode Island societies.
As part of her Puerto Rican culture and identity, she began learning Afro-Puerto Rican Music and Dance (*Bomba) and other rhythms from the Caribbean when she was a little girl. Her mastery and dedication in those rhythms gave her the idea of bringing that knowledge to the Puerto Rican and Latino community. She started with Plena music four year
before she introduced the Bomba music.
In 1998, she invited Mr. Carlos Cruz Cruz, a "proclaimer of black verse" and Bomba artisan from Santa Isabel, Puerto Rico, to her first Bomba and Plena activity as a non-profit organization in Rhode Island. He brought with him a Bomba drum and left it to Lydia, the first of many, as a gift, with the condition that she continue to promote Bomba music and rhythms. Lydia's collection has since grown from one Bomba drum and a trio of "Panderetas de Plena" to eight drums and six sets of Panderetas.
Her hard work and brilliant commitment to spread the music of Bomba and Plena everywhere earned her the name of Master and Ambassador for the “Bomba” Arts in Rhode Island. She has been working with the Puerto Rican community and with the Arts Curriculum in local elementary, middle and high schools with Caribbean history. She has a vast experience in working as an arts educator, developing artistic areas in children such as dramatizations, dance, vocals, instrumentation, and storytelling. She is also an artisan in regards in making traditional masks. With her multiple discipline in the arts, she assembled smaller “Bomba” groups with children and youths throughout the state. One of her most important initiatives is to invite the parents to see their children performance with her group.
As an Artistic Director for the Art Section in American News, a New England newspaper, she documented her work and shared the outcome of success with the community, as well as with the Historical Society of Rhode Island.
She has worked with numerous non profit organizations, after school programs, galleries, museums, Department of Tourism, both in the State of Rhode Island and in Puerto Rico, and with the Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueño. She has taught at the Springfield School Department in the Explorations in Puerto Rican Culture from 2007 to 2009, during which her Caribbean Island Programs were a success. Lydia and Yoruba2 brings a variety of Puerto Rican and Caribbean culture to school, universities, and communities bringing to the public the authentic folklore of her beautiful island.
Lydia has received 25 individual awards, including the highest honor of Fellowship Award from the Rhode Island Foundation in 2002, and Fellowship Awards from the Rhode Island State Council of the Arts in 1998 and 2010. She has also won the 1999 and 2000 “American Tradition” Tourism Award, and travels internationally to spread her culture and keep it alive.
Ms. Lynne McCormack, director of Art, Culture & Tourism in Providence, said: “Lydia contributes to promote the advancement of cultural opportunity and economic prosperity for the City of Providence and its residents”. Lydia brings to Rhode Islanders energy, harmony, happiness, diversity and respect.
"Lydia is an extremely talented artist and ambassador for the AfroCaribbean culture. Her knowledge and ability to entertain while teaching is legendary” October 20, 2011
Pablo Rodriguez, MD, President and CEO, Women's Care
“Lydia is a highly motivated, energetic, enthusiastic, innovative and dedicated artist/arts administrator. She has done a tremendous job of education, community outreach and promotion of Puerto Rican Culture in the region.” October 20, 2011; Steven Pennell,Coordinator Urban Arts and Culture, Univ. of Rhode Island.
Groups brought to Rhode Island through PRIAA,
-The National Puerto Rican children group “La Rondalla de Puerto Rico”
-The National group of “Los Pleneros de la 21”
Sponsored by: City of Providence
Giovanni Lugo y “Guarayson” Quarter
Sponsored by FirstKids
Groups brought to Rhode Island through PRIAA, in collaboration with the Puerto Rican Blackstone Valley Committee, Director Olga Silva include:
-The International group of Jibaro, MAPEYE
-The International Master William Cepeda and AfroBoricua
-The International composer and Virtuoso player of “Cuatro Puertorriqueño” Jose Gonzalez
-Yujiké Group with Musica Folkorica de Puerto Rico
-Jorge Arce Grupo Humano
-Van Lester and Orchestra
Sponsored by Rhode Island State Council on the Arts and New England for the Arts
In 1999, PRIAA in partnership with the Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueño and with the collaboration of The Rhode Island Foundation brought to Rhode Island the exhibition of “Past & Presents, SANTOS OF PUERTO RICO”.
Past & Present: Santos of Puerto Rico, a scultural exhibition that showcases a unique form of Puerto Rican art and culture-with traditions dating back to the sixteenth century, after the Spanish colonization of Puerto Rico. Thank to the efforts of the Puerto Rican Institute for Arts of Rhode Island and the Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña of San Juan, Puerto Rico, more than 100 objects has been exhibited for the public throughout the state. Santos was presented at: Rhode Island Foundation, Providence Public Library in Providence, Warwick Art Museum, RI, and The Rhode Island Historical Society Museum of Work and Culture, Woonsocket, RI.
PRIAA has brought to Rhode Island artisans such as: Jesus and Margarita Torres (Fish Scale Jewelry); Master Jose Lazzu (Coconut Jewelry); Jesus Cepeda, Carlos Cruz Cruz and Juan Fuentes, Master of Bomba and Plenas Instruments; Norberto Martell Morales, Reinaldo Figueroa, Mabel Oquendo and Ángel Sánchez, makers of Vejigantes figurines and masks; and Tony and Adruey Ayala from “La Gubia Dorada” keep the tradition of Saint carving from Puerto Rico.
The contribution of Lydia Perez with FirstWorkKids' International Festival has brought to the City of Providence a great diversity and respect for the Puerto Rico culture. The National Puerto Rican children group “La Rondalla de Puerto Rico”, the “Guarayson” Quarter, and the International groups “Los Pleneros de la 21” and “Mapeye” are examples of high quality Puerto Rican music which has seen exposure in Downtown Providence.
The Puerto Rican Institute for the Arts and Advocacy Inc., has received from the Rhode Island Foundation the 2007 Award of Economic and Community Development Award as a fiscal agent for Latino Public Radio (LPR) to help further establish an important communication tool for the Latino communities in Rhode Island. She is in the advisory board of LPR.
She was commissioner for 8 years in the Warwick Affirmative Action Commission and 4 years with the RI Governor’s Hispanic Affairs commission.
Bomba Music with Yoruba 2
She has had performed in such prestigious venues as:
-Veteran Memorial Auditorium, (VMA), Providence
-Water Place Park, Downtown Providence
-International festival in Downtown, Providence
-Sound Seccion, Black Rep. , Downtown, Providence
-Brown University, Providence
-RISD (Farago Museum), Providence
-Providence Art Club
-Warwick Museum
-Providence Children Museum
-URI Feinstein Campus, Providence,
-URI Johnston campus
-Providence College
-First Night at the Convention Center, Downtown Providence
-Foxwoods Casino and Hotel, Massachusetts
-Tampa and Georgia Performing Arts
-
Lydia with other group at:
-The Puerto Rican Culture Center, Orlando, Florida- Emmannuelli Bomba Jam
-Connecticut with Victor M. Sterling
-Springfield with Heshima Moja and Ofrecimiento group
-New Jersey with Alex and Alma Moyo group
-Cuba as a presentation of Baile Folklorico Iglesia de Lukumi de los Orisha
- Puerto Rico, Fiesta de Loiza
*Bomba is an African style of music and dance that flourished along the coastal region and sugar cane fields of Puerto Rico, where a lead singer chants short vocal calls to which the group sings fixed responses. Meanwhile, the female or the male dancer enacts a flirtatious dance that includes extended improvisational dialogue between the lead drummer and the solo dancer.
**Vejigante: Mythical figures from town festivals in Loiza and Ponce, Puerto Rico.
More information:
http://matchbook.org/ArtistProfile1.aspx?ProfileId=611
http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=49299876&trk=tab_pro
NUESTRA MISI0N:
(Spanish Version)
“El Instituto Puertorriqueño de Arte y Abogacía, (PRIAA), es una organización sin fines de lucro, fundada en 1994, que trabaja arduamente para abogar por la comunidad Puertorriqueña y Latinos en general. Abogamos por "Alcanzar nuestras comunidades con enseñanza que les lleve a asimilar y sentirse orgullosos de su identidad cultural, su lengua y a la vez que adquieran el compromiso de mantenerla, desarrollarla y transmitirla generacionalmente. Nuestra abogacía se canaliza a través de las artes y expresiones para conservar el acervo del Pueblo Puertorriqueño. Abogamos por el respeto que merecemos como ciudadanos americanos que aportamos en lo social, lo político, económico y cultural para el bien de toda una nación. Vislumbramos que nuestra cultura llegue a todos las nacionalidades latinas, como parte integral de la cultura y en particular como cultura Caribeña, haciendo de nuestra cultura un gran bloque de comunicación entre nuestros pueblos y que nos haga sentirnos identificados y orgullosos de nuestros valores culturales, morales; de nuestra raza, nuestro idioma y nuestra idiosincrasia; como punto de unión y de hermandad.
She has been living in Rhode Island for 21 years. Lydia lives with Wendell Rivera-Davila, her husband (retired from the Armed Forces), and her two daughters Yidell and Dorothy Rivera, all of them members of Lydia's nationally acclaimed group, Yoruba2. Lydia is a highly accomplished and dynamic performer. She presents traditional music, workshops and productions from Puerto Rico and the Caribbean.
In 1994, she and her husband founded Puertorriqueños Unidos, Inc., a non profit organization. In 2004, Puertorriqueños Unidos, Inc. changed it's name to the Puerto Rican Institute for Arts and Advocacy, or PRIAA, and became an outstanding organization with high expectations from the Puerto Rican, Latino, and Rhode Island societies.
As part of her Puerto Rican culture and identity, she began learning Afro-Puerto Rican Music and Dance (*Bomba) and other rhythms from the Caribbean when she was a little girl. Her mastery and dedication in those rhythms gave her the idea of bringing that knowledge to the Puerto Rican and Latino community. She started with Plena music four year
before she introduced the Bomba music.
In 1998, she invited Mr. Carlos Cruz Cruz, a "proclaimer of black verse" and Bomba artisan from Santa Isabel, Puerto Rico, to her first Bomba and Plena activity as a non-profit organization in Rhode Island. He brought with him a Bomba drum and left it to Lydia, the first of many, as a gift, with the condition that she continue to promote Bomba music and rhythms. Lydia's collection has since grown from one Bomba drum and a trio of "Panderetas de Plena" to eight drums and six sets of Panderetas.
Her hard work and brilliant commitment to spread the music of Bomba and Plena everywhere earned her the name of Master and Ambassador for the “Bomba” Arts in Rhode Island. She has been working with the Puerto Rican community and with the Arts Curriculum in local elementary, middle and high schools with Caribbean history. She has a vast experience in working as an arts educator, developing artistic areas in children such as dramatizations, dance, vocals, instrumentation, and storytelling. She is also an artisan in regards in making traditional masks. With her multiple discipline in the arts, she assembled smaller “Bomba” groups with children and youths throughout the state. One of her most important initiatives is to invite the parents to see their children performance with her group.
As an Artistic Director for the Art Section in American News, a New England newspaper, she documented her work and shared the outcome of success with the community, as well as with the Historical Society of Rhode Island.
She has worked with numerous non profit organizations, after school programs, galleries, museums, Department of Tourism, both in the State of Rhode Island and in Puerto Rico, and with the Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueño. She has taught at the Springfield School Department in the Explorations in Puerto Rican Culture from 2007 to 2009, during which her Caribbean Island Programs were a success. Lydia and Yoruba2 brings a variety of Puerto Rican and Caribbean culture to school, universities, and communities bringing to the public the authentic folklore of her beautiful island.
Lydia has received 25 individual awards, including the highest honor of Fellowship Award from the Rhode Island Foundation in 2002, and Fellowship Awards from the Rhode Island State Council of the Arts in 1998 and 2010. She has also won the 1999 and 2000 “American Tradition” Tourism Award, and travels internationally to spread her culture and keep it alive.
Ms. Lynne McCormack, director of Art, Culture & Tourism in Providence, said: “Lydia contributes to promote the advancement of cultural opportunity and economic prosperity for the City of Providence and its residents”. Lydia brings to Rhode Islanders energy, harmony, happiness, diversity and respect.
"Lydia is an extremely talented artist and ambassador for the AfroCaribbean culture. Her knowledge and ability to entertain while teaching is legendary” October 20, 2011
Pablo Rodriguez, MD, President and CEO, Women's Care
“Lydia is a highly motivated, energetic, enthusiastic, innovative and dedicated artist/arts administrator. She has done a tremendous job of education, community outreach and promotion of Puerto Rican Culture in the region.” October 20, 2011; Steven Pennell,Coordinator Urban Arts and Culture, Univ. of Rhode Island.
Groups brought to Rhode Island through PRIAA,
-The National Puerto Rican children group “La Rondalla de Puerto Rico”
-The National group of “Los Pleneros de la 21”
Sponsored by: City of Providence
Giovanni Lugo y “Guarayson” Quarter
Sponsored by FirstKids
Groups brought to Rhode Island through PRIAA, in collaboration with the Puerto Rican Blackstone Valley Committee, Director Olga Silva include:
-The International group of Jibaro, MAPEYE
-The International Master William Cepeda and AfroBoricua
-The International composer and Virtuoso player of “Cuatro Puertorriqueño” Jose Gonzalez
-Yujiké Group with Musica Folkorica de Puerto Rico
-Jorge Arce Grupo Humano
-Van Lester and Orchestra
Sponsored by Rhode Island State Council on the Arts and New England for the Arts
In 1999, PRIAA in partnership with the Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueño and with the collaboration of The Rhode Island Foundation brought to Rhode Island the exhibition of “Past & Presents, SANTOS OF PUERTO RICO”.
Past & Present: Santos of Puerto Rico, a scultural exhibition that showcases a unique form of Puerto Rican art and culture-with traditions dating back to the sixteenth century, after the Spanish colonization of Puerto Rico. Thank to the efforts of the Puerto Rican Institute for Arts of Rhode Island and the Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña of San Juan, Puerto Rico, more than 100 objects has been exhibited for the public throughout the state. Santos was presented at: Rhode Island Foundation, Providence Public Library in Providence, Warwick Art Museum, RI, and The Rhode Island Historical Society Museum of Work and Culture, Woonsocket, RI.
PRIAA has brought to Rhode Island artisans such as: Jesus and Margarita Torres (Fish Scale Jewelry); Master Jose Lazzu (Coconut Jewelry); Jesus Cepeda, Carlos Cruz Cruz and Juan Fuentes, Master of Bomba and Plenas Instruments; Norberto Martell Morales, Reinaldo Figueroa, Mabel Oquendo and Ángel Sánchez, makers of Vejigantes figurines and masks; and Tony and Adruey Ayala from “La Gubia Dorada” keep the tradition of Saint carving from Puerto Rico.
The contribution of Lydia Perez with FirstWorkKids' International Festival has brought to the City of Providence a great diversity and respect for the Puerto Rico culture. The National Puerto Rican children group “La Rondalla de Puerto Rico”, the “Guarayson” Quarter, and the International groups “Los Pleneros de la 21” and “Mapeye” are examples of high quality Puerto Rican music which has seen exposure in Downtown Providence.
The Puerto Rican Institute for the Arts and Advocacy Inc., has received from the Rhode Island Foundation the 2007 Award of Economic and Community Development Award as a fiscal agent for Latino Public Radio (LPR) to help further establish an important communication tool for the Latino communities in Rhode Island. She is in the advisory board of LPR.
She was commissioner for 8 years in the Warwick Affirmative Action Commission and 4 years with the RI Governor’s Hispanic Affairs commission.
Bomba Music with Yoruba 2
She has had performed in such prestigious venues as:
-Veteran Memorial Auditorium, (VMA), Providence
-Water Place Park, Downtown Providence
-International festival in Downtown, Providence
-Sound Seccion, Black Rep. , Downtown, Providence
-Brown University, Providence
-RISD (Farago Museum), Providence
-Providence Art Club
-Warwick Museum
-Providence Children Museum
-URI Feinstein Campus, Providence,
-URI Johnston campus
-Providence College
-First Night at the Convention Center, Downtown Providence
-Foxwoods Casino and Hotel, Massachusetts
-Tampa and Georgia Performing Arts
-
Lydia with other group at:
-The Puerto Rican Culture Center, Orlando, Florida- Emmannuelli Bomba Jam
-Connecticut with Victor M. Sterling
-Springfield with Heshima Moja and Ofrecimiento group
-New Jersey with Alex and Alma Moyo group
-Cuba as a presentation of Baile Folklorico Iglesia de Lukumi de los Orisha
- Puerto Rico, Fiesta de Loiza
*Bomba is an African style of music and dance that flourished along the coastal region and sugar cane fields of Puerto Rico, where a lead singer chants short vocal calls to which the group sings fixed responses. Meanwhile, the female or the male dancer enacts a flirtatious dance that includes extended improvisational dialogue between the lead drummer and the solo dancer.
**Vejigante: Mythical figures from town festivals in Loiza and Ponce, Puerto Rico.
More information:
http://matchbook.org/ArtistProfile1.aspx?ProfileId=611
http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=49299876&trk=tab_pro
NUESTRA MISI0N:
(Spanish Version)
“El Instituto Puertorriqueño de Arte y Abogacía, (PRIAA), es una organización sin fines de lucro, fundada en 1994, que trabaja arduamente para abogar por la comunidad Puertorriqueña y Latinos en general. Abogamos por "Alcanzar nuestras comunidades con enseñanza que les lleve a asimilar y sentirse orgullosos de su identidad cultural, su lengua y a la vez que adquieran el compromiso de mantenerla, desarrollarla y transmitirla generacionalmente. Nuestra abogacía se canaliza a través de las artes y expresiones para conservar el acervo del Pueblo Puertorriqueño. Abogamos por el respeto que merecemos como ciudadanos americanos que aportamos en lo social, lo político, económico y cultural para el bien de toda una nación. Vislumbramos que nuestra cultura llegue a todos las nacionalidades latinas, como parte integral de la cultura y en particular como cultura Caribeña, haciendo de nuestra cultura un gran bloque de comunicación entre nuestros pueblos y que nos haga sentirnos identificados y orgullosos de nuestros valores culturales, morales; de nuestra raza, nuestro idioma y nuestra idiosincrasia; como punto de unión y de hermandad.
