FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                        Contact: Maria De Leon
December 20, 2009                                                                                     210-432-3982
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In this inaugural year, NALAC received 134 proposals with a total request amount of $2,334,459.  The proposals represent innovative exchanges between participants in all nine target countries.  The proposals received included innovative collaborations in the following areas: immigrant women's issues, literature, social justice, training in traditional medicinal herbs, economic empowerment, social justice theater, storytelling, environmental stewardship, craft/culture exchange, interactive multimedia website projects, cultural documentation, cultural research and dissemination, examination of the migrant experience through culinary practices, and performance art exchanges.

This new grant program seeks to identify and support exemplary cultural exchange projects that support grassroots artistic and cultural practices and strengthen social networks across national boundaries in transnational communities.  One and two year grants are available for projects that link two or more of the following countries: Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, and United States.  Projects demonstrating an ongoing connection between communities in two or more target countries are eligible for consideration to receive a TCR grant.

The NALAC Transnational Cultural Remittances Grant Initiative is made possible with funding from the Ford Foundation.  The TCR initiative, which was developed as an extension of the Ford Foundation’s Transnational Economic Justice Initiative (TEJI), builds on NALAC’s longstanding leadership role in addressing issues of social justice, cultural transmission and economic empowerment through the arts.  The TCR initiative will support the creation and dissemination of new artistic works which directly explore, engage and articulate the complex issues facing transnational communities in the U.S., Mexico and Central America.

“The Transnational Cultural Remittances grants will have a tremendous impact on communities and families in Mexico, Central America and the United States.  In addition to the economic impact in those parts of the hemisphere and the bonds that develop between communities, these grants, “remittances” build on those connections and support the free flow of ideas and culture.” said Abel Lopez, NALAC Board Chair.

“The first grants through the Transnational Cultural Remittances program will support projects that will engage diverse communities in Guatemala, Mexico and the U.S. and advance the conversations and work of communities linked by issues of migration.  We acknowledge the vision and leadership of the Ford Foundation to address the multiple issues in transnational communities," said Maria De Leon, NALAC Executive Director.

The Ford Foundation/NALAC Partnership started in 2005 with major support for NALAC’s Fund for the Arts program, which provides financial resources to strengthen Latino arts organizations and to support exemplary emerging and established Latino artists in the creation of their work.

The Ford Foundation is an independent, nonprofit grant-making organization.  For more than half a century it has worked with courageous people on the frontlines of social change worldwide, guided by its mission to strengthen democratic values, reduce poverty and injustice, promote international cooperation, and advance human achievement.  With headquarters in New York, the foundation has offices in Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia.

The National Association of Latino Arts and Culture (NALAC) is dedicated to the preservation, development and promotion of the cultural and artistic expressions of the diverse Latino populations of the United States.   The objective is to recognize and support the varied standards of excellence grounded in the aesthetics and traditions of our root cultures.

Through this effort, NALAC is committed to continuing struggle for the elimination of racism, sexism, ageism and discrimination against gay, lesbian and physically challenged populations.

For a detailed description of the 2009 NALAC TCR awarded projects, please visit TCR Narratives

For more information, please email This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or visit www.nalac.org .

NALAC Funds Joint Projects in the U.S., Mexico and Central America

Project name: CAPE - Habla Exchange Project
Chicago Arts Partnerships in Education from Illinois and Habla: The Center for Language and Culture from Yucatan, Mexico
TCR Award: $10,000
For more information see http://www.capeweb.org/about.html

Project name: "Home Intervention Mural" (HIM) Project in La Colonia Federal, Tijuana, Mexico and Highland Park, California
Consejo Fronterizo de Arte y Cultura (COFAC)/Border Council of Arts and Culture from California (Tijuana) and Avenue 50 Studio, Inc. from California
TCR Award: $10,000
For more information see http://cofac101.org/

Planning Grant, name: Teatro Jornaleros Sin Fronteras: Cruzando Fronteras
Cornerstone Theater Company from California
TCR Award: $9,000
For more information see http://www.cornerstonetheater.org/

Project name: Grupo Maya K’iche/Grupo Mujeres Maya
DESGUA/Desarollo Economico por una Sustentable Guatemala, Grupo Maya K’iche from NY and Grupo Mujeres Maya from Guatemala
TCR Award: $12,000
For more information research DESGUA on Google or your favorite search engine.

Project name: Connecting Threads of Justice
Fuerza Unida from Texas and Jolom Mayaetik from Chiapas, Mexico
TCR Award: $15,000
For more information see http://www.lafuerzaunida.org/

Project name: Transbordador: Pocha-Perrera
La Pocha Nostra from California and La Perrera from Oaxaca, Mexico
TCR Award: $10,000
For more information see http://www.pochanostra.com/home/

Planning Grant, name: Translingual Poetics and Prose
Macondo Foundation Inc. from Texas and Elena Poniatowska from D.F. Mexico
TCR Award: $2,500
For more information see
http://www.macondofoundation.org/programs_workshop_first_yr_app.html

Project name: El Viaje
Michelle Angela Ortiz from Pennsylvania and La Semilla Proyecto de Creatividad Infantil S.C. from Morelos, Mexico
TCR Award: $3,500
For more information see http://www.michelleangela.com/

Project name: Acuerdo de Música Libre/ Free Music Agreement: a Festival of Improvised Music
Nameless Sound from Texas and Escuela Nacional de Música, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico from D.F., Mexico
TCR Award: $15,000
For more information see http://www.namelesssound.org/

Project name: Oaxaca: A Changing Society
Anthony Turok from Oaxaca, Mexico and the Institute for Latino Studies, University of Notre Dame from Indiana
TCR Award: $10,000
To see Turok’s photography, research Antonio Turok on Google or your favorite search engine.

Project name: Walls of Hope: Guatemala
Walls of Hope from California and Equipo de Capacitación y Ayuda Psicosocial (ECAP) from Guatemala
TCR Award: $10,000
For more information see http://www.wallsofhope.org/
 
 
For a detailed description of the 2009 NALAC TCR awarded projects, please visit http://www.nalac.org/images/pdfs/2009nalactcrawards.pdf

For more information, please email This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or visit www.nalac.org.