Havana at night brightens the Cuban skyline. Cuba is this year’s Country of Focus at Penn State New Kensington.(bing.com/images)
Fall events include dinner, music and dance
UPPER BURRELL, Pa. -- Penn State New Kensington brings the cultural experience of the Republic of Cuba to the campus community during the fall semester with food, discussion, and entertainment. Cuba is this year’s “Country of Focus,” the yearlong campus celebration of international cultures. All events are free to the public.
“Dinner and Dialogue” is scheduled for 5:30 p.m., Monday, Sept. 21, in Café 780. The program features presentations by Kate Mani, assistant director for embedded programs at Penn State University Park, and Craig Hammond, associate professor of history at the New Kensington campus. The discussions will dwell on the United States and Penn State’s relationships with Cuba and a historical overview of the nation. The casual dinner includes Cuban cuisine.
Mani advises for programs in Italy, Greece, and Croatia. In 2013, she accompanied Penn State faculty and students to Tanzania as an embedded member of the Mang'ula: Parks and People education abroad program. More recently, she has been involved in developing Penn State's international engagements in Cuba.
Musical entertainment is set for noon on Monday, Nov. 7, in the Forum Theatre. Noel Quintana’s Cuban Band is a salsa and Latin jazz group that plays in Pittsburgh and Cleveland. Noel Quintana, aka, Mr. Congo, is a Puerto Rican percussionist, band leader, researcher, educator and avid collector of Latin music. Growing up surrounded by Afro-Caribbean music, Quintana studied Afro-Cuban music and fell in love with the sound. His group is known as one of the region’s premier salsa bands.
The celebration of Cuba continues with a dance performance by Yemaya Pittsburgh at noon, Wednesday, Dec. 2, in the Forum Theatre. Yemaya Pittsburgh promotes cultural awareness and community integration through art and education to address the diversity needs in Pittsburgh, to stimulate interracial group relations, and to promote awareness of Afro traditions in Latin America. Peace, love, community, and acceptance are the underlining values of Yemaya,
For more about the events, call 724-334-6063.
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Havana beach. (bing.com/images)
Country of Focus program
For the past eight years, the campus has embarked on the promotion of greater awareness and understanding of world issues, international trends and global policy debates. Each year, the campus adopts a country or region of the world to inspire teaching and scholarship. Students, faculty and staff will explore and reflect on various aspects of Cuba’s history, culture and economic, social and political reality.
Beginning with China in 2007, the campus’ international presentations have included Ecuador, India, Spain, Kenya and Tanzania, Ireland and the United Kingdom, Canada, and Turkey.
Located in the Caribbean, Cuba is 93 miles south of the United States. The country is surrounded by the Bahamas, Turks and Caicos Islands, Mexico, Cayman Islands, Jamaica and Haiti. Havana is the capital and largest city with a population of 2.2 million.