Three Ticún events in New York this month

This month we want to invite our New York friends to 3 very different events: multi-media presentation ‘Jewish Spirits in Afro-Brazilian Religions’ on September 7th , ‘Captured by the Spirit’ – music, cinematic and poetic exploration of trance on September 13th and Pan-American Cultural Symposium on September 28th.

September 7th: Jewish Spirits in Afro-Brazilian Religions at Forest Hills Library, Queens, NY

Dedicated to Brazilian Independence Day, this multi-media presentation will look at interaction of Jewish and Brazilian cultures through the lenses of Umbanda, Afro-Brazilian spirit possession religion. While Americans and Europeans drew inspiration from alternative spirituality of India and Tibet, Brazilians found a native mystical blend of Umbanda. Spirits of Jewish rebels, sages and prostitutes have its particular place in Umbanda mythology: Jewish rebels refuse the oppression of dominant religions, rabbis invoke mystical forces of Kabbalah, and Polish-Jewish prostitutes offer advice on love affairs in Yiddish. Each of these characters can be traced to a specific wave of Jewish immigration to Brazil: from Portuguese Crypto Jews of 16th and 17th centuries and Moroccan Jewish Amazon rubber boom workers of late 19th century, to Eastern European immigrants of the 20th century.

The presentation will include excerpts from video footage of Umbanda spirit possession ceremonies and Brazilian films with Jewish themes.

September 13th
Captured by the Spirit: Reflections on Trance Experience
Steve Dalachinsky, poetry | Aaron Novik, clarinet | Vincent Moon, films | Asmaa Guedira, words | Konstantine Lunarine, photography

Collective exploration and reflection on the Experience of Trance

Suggested admission $10

Collective exploration and reflection on the Experience of Trance

Wikipedia defines Trance as “a half-conscious state characterized by an absence of response to external stimuli, typically as induced by hypnosis or entered by a medium.”

But Trance is much more than this. One can navigate Trance through many paths. Music, Poetry, Dance, Sex, Hypnosis, Spirituality, and many more. And Brazil is THE country where all are expressed in the most intense and diverse ways.

We will start with performance by New York jazz poet Steve Dalachinsky with Aaron Novik, avant-klez clarinetist from San Francisco. The set will feature automatic writing and medium poetry of Fernando Pessoa, contemporary Brazilian surrealist poets (Nelson Ascher, Leonora de Barros, Paulo Leminsky) and Steve Dalachinsky own poetry set to improvised clarinet music.

In the second part of the evening we will screen world premiere of two short films of Vincent Moon, part of HÍBRIDOS, his trans-cinema project exploring new forms of spirituality in Brazil:

• ANO NOVO LUMIAR • 23 min
• FLOR DA MONTANHA • 24 min

Asmaa Guedira, Moroccan – French gender advocate and freedom evangelist, will perform poetic self reflections on her spirit possession experience in Brazilian Umbandaime temple featured in the films.

Come with your curious mind and open heart. We are looking forward to exploring this experience with you!

STEVE DALACHINSKY (poetry)
Poet Steve Dalachinsky occupies a unique place in the jazz firmament. Actually, he occupies several places: he writes poetry inspired by jazz, he performs and records with jazz musicians and he has supplied liner notes for numerous artists including multi-intrumentalist Anthony Braxton, drummer Rashied Ali and pianist Matthew Shipp.
http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=40644

AARON NOVIK (music)
American composer, clarinetist and bandleader based in San Francisco. Novik’s album Secrets of Secrets was released on John Zorn’s Tzadik Records as part of the Radical Jewish Culture Series and was hailed by The Jewish Week as “richly textured and eclectic avant-klez” for its use of the 13th century sacred Kabbalah texts of Rabbi Eleazar of Worms. http://www.aaronnovik.com/

VINCENT MOON (films)
Being part of a “new generation of film-makers” for the Cinemathèque Française, and born in the digital and internet age, Vincent was the main director of the ‘Take Away Shows’ of La Blogothèque. The online project of music films on indie-rock band and other famous musicians, like R.E.M, Tom Jones or Arcade Fire, revolutionized the concept of music video and the way to film music in the entire world. In Brazil, he worked with artists like Gaby Amarantos, Tom Zé, Elza Soares or Ney Matogrosso. Since 2009, Moon dedicates himself to his nomadic label, Collection Petites Planètes.
http://www.hibridos.cc

ASMAA GUEDIRA (words)
Asmaa is a gender advocate and freedom evangelist. Moroccan by birth, European by adoption, nomad by philosophy and lifestyle exploring the links between gender, digital feminism, the new economy and creative communities through her Hyper-Gender project, especially in countries like hers where women and sexuality are oppressed. http://www.asmaaguedira.com/
http://www.hypergender.org

KONSTANTIN LUNARINE (photography)
French photographer Konstantin Lunarine has been featured in Harper’s Bazaar and received praise for a solo show at The SoHo Building in New York City. Currently lives in Paris, where nightlife and classicism are the dominant notes in his art. [Lunarine.com]

ALEX MINKIN (intro)
Alex is an independent scholar and social activist, founder of Ticún Brasil (www.ticunbrasil.com), an innovative social justice NGO that implements educational, social and art projects in Rio de Janeiro, as well as organizes Brazilian cultural events in New York since 2008. He has lectured at Brazilian Endowment for the Arts, Mid Manhattan and Queens Libraries as well as published articles on Brazilian culture in Jewish Currents and Sounds and Colours.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/689776094548967/

September 28th
Tícun Brasil at Pan-American Cultural Symposium at Brazilian Endowment for the Arts (240 E 52nd St.), Manhattan

18h Dr. Domício Coutinho, opening remarks
18h10min Myths and Representations in Umbanda, Yoruba and Conga Traditions, Alex Minkin, Ticún Brasil, Prof Yanna Elsa Brugal, Havana University, Cuba. Mediator Prof. João N. Neto, Columbia University

18h50min History / Capoeira – Presentation by Prof. Luciano A. Tosta, University of Kansas.

19h20min Cordel Literature, Presentation Prof. Mark Curran, Arizona State University
20h Debate with Professors Mark Curran, Arizona University;
Yanna Elsa Brugal, Havana University, Cuba; Luciano Tosta, University of Kansas; Professor Daniel Dawson,
Columbia University; Alex Minkin, Ticún Brasil;
Mediators: Liza Papi and João N. Neto

20h20min Q & A open to the public
20h30min Cocktails

Free Admission

Simpósio Cultural Pan-Americano de Literatura, cinema, música e tradições culturais, de 28 de setembro 2017, Nova York.
Pan American Cultural Symposium on Literature, Film, Music and Cultural Traditions, September 28, 2017, New York.
Mesa Redonda sobre a Cultura Popular Brasileira e os Mitos da América Latina
Local: Biblioteca Brasileira, the Brazilian Endowment for the Arts
18h30min – Professor Domicio Coutinho, boas vindas aos convidados.
18h40min – Debate com os professores Mark Curran, Ph.D. Arizona University; Yanna
Elsa Brugal, Ph.D., Havana University, Cuba; Luciano Tosta,Ph.D. University of Kansas;Daniel Dawson, Ph.D. Columbia University; Alex Minkin, fundador da Ticún Brasil; Marcos Antonio Alexandre, Ph.D. New York University.
19h40min – Q & A aberto ao público.
20h – Fechamento com coquetel.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1923740494567864/

até lá!