The Center at West Park presents

SALSA MASALA

Javier Ramos (Drum Set, Bongos, Cajon, Latin Percussion)
Rini (Carnatic Violin)
Jay Rodriguez (Tenor Saxophone, Bansuri Flute)
Maitreya Padukone (Tabla Drums)
Alberto Miranda (Bass)
Neil Padukone (Guitar, Sitar, Vocals, Oud)

PRODUCTION TEAM

Madelyn Paquette (Production manager)
Sasha Hawkins (Sound Engineer)
Kailey Hays-Lenihan (Lighting Designer)

ABOUT SALSA MASALA &
BLOCK PARTY UNPLUGGED

Walk down Roosevelt Avenue in Jackson Heights, Queens, and you hear Bhangra, Bhajans, and Bollywood on one side, Cumbia, Salsa, and Bachata on the other. What would happen if everyone brought their instruments out and we had one big block party?

Salsa Masala is the music that comes out of that neighborhood jam, paying homage to the music of Latin America, the Indian subcontinent, and African American music of The U.S., and how we all feel similar rhythms and emotions through different languages; it’s a celebration of the kind of interactions that make New York City---and America— beautiful. Salsa Masala received the inaugural Queens Council on the Arts Artist Commissioning Program award in 2017-18 to present A Jackson Heights Block Party in the streets of Queens, and the first Open Call award at The Shed, Manhattan’s newest arts venue. They have played at Rockwood Music Hall, The Bitter End, Rubin Museum, MOMA’s PopRally, among other venues, and their debut album, “Five Borough Block Party,” released in 2019.

In Spanish and Hindi, salsa and masala both mean “that special mix” from which magic emerges. This year, though, emergence takes on a new meaning. Years of a pandemic, economic disruptions, and racial justice reckonings have made us all introspect, and this performance turns down the volume to give space for what we’ve been processing. Through the integration of thoughtful, pensive ragas with softer bolero and gaita rhythms, jazz, salsa romantica, ghazals, devotional music from across faith traditions, flamenco, qawwali, soul R&B, bossa, bhajans, art songs, and more, Block Party Unplugged emphasizes acoustic music in a reflective space, allowing us to reconnect, reflect on where we’ve been, and consider where we’re headed next.

PRODUCTION AND MAJOR SUPPORT Credits

Block Party Unplugged is presented through a residency at The Center at West Park and is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

LAND ACKNOWLEDGMENT

The Center at West Park is a not-for-profit community performing arts center based in the historic West Park Presbyterian Church, a New York City landmark on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.

We recognize that this land where we are privileged to be is the unceded territory and ancestral home of the Munsee Lenape. Today, members of the Lenape and many other indigenous sovereign nations continue to live, work, and create in New York City.

For over 30 years in the mid-19th century, this land was home to Seneca Village, the first free Black community in New York City. In 1857, the city used eminent domain to forcibly remove the residents and demolish their homes, schools, and churches to make room for the construction of Central Park.

Since its construction in 1889, this building has been home to countless artists and activists:

In 1978, West Park led the way in openly welcoming LGBTQ+ members as part of the More Light Movement.

From 1980 to 1985, West Park was home to The Shakespeare Center and the renowned Riverside Shakespeare Company.

From 1987 to 1991, God’s Love We Deliver worked out of West Park’s kitchen to serve up to 250 meals per day to people living with AIDS during the height of the crisis.

The West Park Presbyterian Church building was named a New York City Landmark in 2010. In 2016, The Center at West Park was founded by a coalition of community members to preserve and revitalize West Park as a community resource and home for arts and culture.

We are deeply inspired by the legacy of those who have called this land and this building home before us. We hope to honor them in all our work today and in the future.

ABOUT THE CENTER AT WEST PARK

The Center at West Park is a community performing arts center based in the historic West Park Presbyterian Church, a New York City landmark. We present engaging and boundary-pushing early-career and established artists through our artist residency programs, provide affordable rental space for artists to develop their work, and steward the restoration of our historic home’s landmark exterior. The Center is a secular, 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization.

This program is made possible by the generous support of audience members like you. To make a donation to support future residencies, go to centeratwestpark.org/donate.

Staff

Natasha Katerinopoulos, Managing Director
Zachary Tomlinson, Artistic Director
Dane Jerabek, Marketing & Box Office Manager
Richard Pimentel, Fascilities Manager
David Shocket, Consulting Technical Director
Gary Eisenkraft, CPA, Accountant
Mercedes Marrero-Alvarado, Porter
Dion Thompson, Porter

EVOLUTION FESTIVAL PRODUCTION TEAM

Madelyn Paquette, Line Producer
Olaiya Olayemi, Artistic Doula
Amanda Kettell, Stage Manager
Bleu Zephra, Stage Manager
Joe Bilello, Technical Director
Sasha Hawkins, Sound Engineer for Salsa Masala
Kailey Hays-Lenihan, Lighting Designer for Salsa Masala

OBJECT MOVEMENT CURATORS

Maiko Kikuchi
Rowan Magee
Marcella Murray
Justin Perkins

FALL 2022 GUEST CURATORS

Christina Franklin
Melanie Greene
Trevor Weston

Board of directors

Marian M. Warden, President
Marsha Flowers, Vice President
Theodore S. Berger, Treasurer
Beryl Abrams, Secretary
Jennifer Rogers Carlock
Don Frantz
Derrick McQueen
Mitchell Schamroth
Susan E. Sullivan