Conversations in the Arts- The Arts and Latinx Heritage

Gil Bernardino, a native of Spain, is the founder and Executive Director of Circulo de la Hispanidad a nonprofit community-based organization in Nassau County.  Founded in 1980, the agency serves children and families through a range of supportive programming.  Mr. Bernardino is also the Co-Founder of Evergreen Charter School, a free public school serving children k-8 grade in Hempstead, NY.  Mr. Bernardino believes that through education there is progress.

Natalia Chamorro, a poet-writer, lives in New York and is a Ph.D. candidate at the Department of Hispanic Languages and Literature at Stony Brook University. Her academic research focuses on Latin American contemporary Art and Activism. Natalia is also a Regional Economic Development Council/New York State Council on the Arts Fellow for Herstory Writers Workshop. Her creative work has been published in different collections and magazines in New York and Lima, such as the Anthology of the 2017 Americas Poet Festival of New York, Latin Lover Magazine, Los Bárbaros, Pró-Logo, and Insula Barataria. Natalia is a Spanish faculty at Hofstra University, where she teaches different levels of Spanish language.

Maria Loreta Celitan, founder of Sol Y Sombra dance company, holds degrees in Art and Art History, an M.A. in Comparative Religions and an advanced Certificate in  Gerontology as well as certifications in advanced Hatha and Cardiac Yoga, Creative Movement for Children, and Dance Therapy from the Turtle Bay Music School in Manhattan.  In addition to her extensive study in Classical Ballet, Modern Dance, Near Eastern and Bharatanatyam, the field of Spanish dance led her to study in Spain. As a company member she danced with the likes of Estrella Morna’s Ballet de Madrid and The American Spanish Dance Theatre, appearing at the U.N., Lincoln Center’s Out-of-Doors, and Washington D.C.’s Armory Arts Center.  Maria was on the faculty of SUNY, Stony Brook University Center for Dance, Movement, and Somatic Learning. She is an arts-in-education exponent and dedicates her time to participate on panels and serve as a member of boards for various organizations.