[Perform-talk] NYC Latino Band's New CD Honors Late Blind Poet & NFB Leader Mary Anne Parks: Proceeds Support Performing Arts Scholarship

[Donna Hill]

Hi Friends,
Mary Anne Parks was secretary of both the NFB of Georgia and the 
Performing Arts Division. She died in an auto accident almost two years 
ago and PAD has a scholarship in her memory. Derek Suarez, a member of 
Los Ciegos Del Barrio was a PAD board member a few years back. Please 
help us pass this around.
Thanks,
Donna
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

CONTACT

Donna Hill, Head of Media Relations

(570) 833-2708

dwhill at epix.net <mailto:dwhill at epix.net>

Dennis Holston, President

Performing Arts Division of the National Federation of the Blind

(917) 903-5650

dholston at nyc.rr.com 

www.padnfb.org <http://www.padnfb.org/>

 

*Latino Band's New Release Honors Late Blind Poet & Activist*

*Proceeds Support Performing Arts Scholarship*

*Los Ciegos Del Barrio Tribute to Mary Anne Parks*

 

New York, NY (June 29, 2009): "¿Por Que? ¡Porque...!" the latest CD from 
NYC Latino band Los Ciegos Del Barrio was released Tuesday, June 23. It 
pays tribute to the late blind poet/educator/activist Mary Anne Parks. 
Through August 31, 25% of proceeds from the sales will help support a 
scholarship set up in her honor. Visit:

http://losciegosdelbarrio.com/

Click on "Buy" and the DigStation link.

 

"We would like to thank the members of Los Ciegos Del Barrio for this 
generous and thoughtful gift," said Dennis Holston (31, Manhattan), 
president of the non-profit Performing Arts Division of the National 
Federation of the Blind (PAD, NFB), "This is a fitting tribute to Mary 
Anne, and I know she would be excited about this new collection."

 

Though they never met, Mary Anne's work as Performing Arts Division 
secretary touched their lives. Los Ciegos Del Barrio is featured on 
PAD's "Sound in Sight" CD, a multi-genre compilation of 18 original 
tracks and covers all donated by blind recording artists. The CD, 
available at:

www.padnfb.org <http://www.padnfb.org/>

Or, from CDBaby at:

www.cdbaby.com/cd/padotnfotb <http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/padotnfotb>

celebrates the talents of blind Americans and raises funds which support 
PAD's work. Mary Anne was instrumental in bringing the project to fruition.

 

"Although I never had the pleasure of meeting Mary Anne personally," 
says Los Ciegos Del Barrio group leader Alvin Suarez, "we know she had a 
significant hand in including us in "Sound in Sight." I never got a 
chance to thank her personally. We recognize how dear Mary Anne was to 
so many people and we understand how incredibly energetic and sweet she 
was and it was certainly devastating to us when we learned about her 
passing."

 

According to Holston, a talent recruiter for the Manhattan-based 
Visionary Media Company who is in his second term as PAD's president, 
copies of the new Los Ciegos del Barrio CD will be sold at the NFB's 
upcoming national convention in Detroit (July 2-8); proceeds from these 
sales will also support  the Mary Anne Parks Performing Arts Scholarship.

 

Parks was killed at age 31 when a car broadsided the Hands on Atlanta 
van in which she was riding. A master's candidate who held several 
leadership positions in the National Federation of the Blind, Mary Anne 
was on her way to do volunteer teaching at the time of her death.

 

"Los Ciegos Del Barrio" is a multi genre Latin music group. They play 
Merengue, Bachata, Salsa, Cumbia, Reggaeton, and Rock music in both 
English and Spanish. "Los Ciegos Del Barrio" literally translates to 
"The Blind Boys from the Hood". The name was originally meant to be a 
joke, but they ended up keeping it as an ice breaker. Most of the band 
members, who have been playing together since 1997 and recording since 
2000, are legally blind.

 

Members include: Alvin Suarez - Band director, lead guitar, drum kit, 
percussion and vocals. Derek Christopher Suarez - Bass, Congas, 
percussion and vocals. Jaime Diaz - Rhythm guitar, bass and vocals. 
Machete - Keyboards, harmonica, accordion, percussion and vocals. Jimmy 
Fontanez - Tambora, bongos and percussion. Angel Dueno - Guira and 
timbales. He's the only member who's actually not visually impaired. 
Angel and Jimmy both live in upstate New York.

 

For further information about Los Ciegos del Barrio, call: (718) 
886-8686, or visit the group's MySpace page at:

http://www.myspace.com/losciegosdelbarrio

 

###

About the National Federation of the Blind: With more than 50,000 
members, the National Federation of the Blind is the largest and most 
influential membership organization of blind people in the United 
States.   The NFB improves blind people's lives through advocacy, 
education, research, technology, and programs encouraging independence 
and self-confidence. 

It is the leading force in the blindness field today and the voice of 
the nation's blind.  In January 2004 the NFB opened the National 
Federation of the

Blind Jernigan Institute, the first research and training center in the 
United States for the blind led by the blind.

 

 





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