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Connecticut Cultural Heritage Arts Program collection, 2015.196.306.2, Connecticut Historical S…
Central Connecticut State University’s International Day, 2005
Connecticut Cultural Heritage Arts Program collection, 2015.196.306.2, Connecticut Historical Society, Copyright Undetermined

Central Connecticut State University’s International Day, 2005

Date2005 April 17
Mediumborn digital images
ClassificationsGraphics
Credit LineConnecticut Cultural Heritage Arts Program collections
DescriptionPhotographs from Central Connecticut State University’s International Day in April 2005.

(.2) Youth orquesta from Guakia.

(.3-.5) A Peruvian dance performance by Danzas Peruanas.

(.6-.7) A Polish dance performance by the Orlęta Polish Folk Dance Group.

(.8-.16) A performance by the Peruvian dance group Negrura Peruana.
Object number2015.196.306.2-.16
CopyrightIn Copyright
NotesSubject Note: International Day at Central Connecticut State University (CCSU) was held annually in April from the early 2000s until around 2018. Organized by CCSU’s Center for Internaional Education, the day-long event featured performers from a wide variety of ethnic and community groups in the greater New Haven area. Called "Passport To The World," the event also included many community groups who set up tables with information and sometimes food from their cultures. CCHAP attended many of these events over the years to meet the artists' communities and document their performances and art displays, and also suggested artists and communities who could participate.


Biographical Note: Guakía, Hartford's first arts organization devoted solely to Puerto Rican cultural expressions and heritage, offered a wide variety of classes, presentations, and performances by local and visiting artists and musicians. Started by artist Marcelina Sierra and trumpeter and band leader Ray Gonzalez, Guakía (the Taino word for “we”) was active from 1983 to the mid-2000s and greatly impacted hundreds of Latino/a students and their families.


Biographical Note: Danzas Peruanas was founded in 2002 by a group of Peruvians in the Greater Hartford area who loved to dance, as a way to preserve and present Peru’s rich multicultural heritage of ethnic and folkloric music to audiences in Connecticut. The group started out by performing mostly for Peruvian community events, later broadening its repertoire and performing for many organizations and activities throughout the state, such as the Bushnell Park Cultural Awareness Day, the Taste of Latin America festival in West Haven, the Latino Expo in Hartford, and the Central Connecticut State University International Day. In 2003, Danzas Peruanas was selected to participate in the Southern New England Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program under which they worked with master Peruvian dance teacher Gloria Martenson from Boston to learn new dances. The group also collected authentic costumes for the new dances, and collaborated with other musical groups, such as Amark and Negrura Peruana, to enhance its performances.

Quote from Founder, Cattya Cubas: "I am proud to be Peruvian as well as very proud to share my culture and folklore with the great community in the Hartford area. Starting this group was a great rewarding experience because it has allowed us the opportunity to share our traditions, lifestyle, and culture through art. One of the objectives of the group has been to encourage young Peruvians to continue Peruvian cultural traditions for future generations here in America. I had danced before in Trujillo, Perú since I was 8 years old, in different events such as Peruvian dance studios and elementary school through university. I believe that traditional dances and folk music has always been part of my life and I am looking forward to meeting new people as our group performs more widely in Connecticut."


Biographical Note: Negrura Peruana performs the music and dance of Peru’s African and criollo population. African rhythms forbidden on drums could be played surreptitiously on packing boxes, giving rise to the signature instrument in the music of black Peru, the cajón. Negrura Peruana uses a number of percussion instruments, including the cajón, the quijada de burro - the jaw of a mule, the campana - a cowbell, the cajita – a little box played by flipping its lid, conga drums, and bongos. Songs often take a call and response form, with texts featuring storytelling, satire, and social commentary. The musicians accompany dancers performing dances such as the festejo, a dance of celebration and sometimes competition between men; the landó, with a slower tempo possibly derived from a matrimonial dance with Angolan roots; the zamacueca as a more Spanish-influenced version of landó; and the alcatraz, which tells a humorous story with two dancers trying to light a piece of cloth on their back ends – or avoid being lit. Growing up in Lima, members of the group heard and played these styles all their lives, with music as a central part of community celebrations, gatherings, and informal competitions. Although they are not professionally trained musicians, their performances show a deep love for the music and a spontaneous but highly skilled mastery of the complex rhythms, accents, and phrasings especially when accompanying the dancers. Members of Negrura Peruana immigrated from Lima to the Hartford area of Connecticut in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Since then the group has opened for Afro-Peruvian music icon Eva Ayllón (nominated for a Grammy in 2002), performing also at events such as Hartford’s Latino Expo and Samba Fest at the Riverfront. They played at the Ritmos Di Mi Tierra Peru celebration at Our Lady of Fatima Church in Hartford, and for several years as part of the World of Sounds Outdoor Concert Series of the Hartford Public Library. The Connecticut Cultural Heritage Arts Program presented Negrura Peruana at the American Folklife Center and Kennedy Center Homegrown Concert Series in Washington, DC in 2005, and those concerts can be seen online. Based in the Greater Hartford area, Negrura Peruana is a popular band for festivals, special activities, and house parties throughout the large Peruvian community in Connecticut. They performed at CCHAP’s Outdoor Concert in July 2017.


Biographical Note: Orlęta was a Polish traditional dance group founded in Ansonia in 1974 by Helena Knapczyk, a beloved cultural leader in the Polish community. The group was active until at least 2019, perhaps affected by the pandemic in 2020. Orlęta performed widely around Connecticut at Polish clubs and festivals including Dozunki (harvest) celebrations in New Britain, Bridgeport/Ansonia, and Bristol, and at Polish Day at Lake Compounce. They practiced at the White Eagle Polish Society in Bridgeport with their 2018-2020 instructor/choreographer Sylvia Warot.


Additional audio, video, and photographic materials exist in the archive relating to these artists.


Cataloging Note: This project was made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services MA-245929-OMS-20.
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