Hélice: Propulsora de Proyectos and Nunca Camino Sola are organizing Abrazo Antillano, a fundraising gathering of music, Antillean food, art and dialogue to benefit the Centro de la Mujer Dominicana (CMD), to be held Saturday, November 21, from 3:00 PM to 7:00 PM at the headquarters of the Fundación por la Arquitectura in San Juan, which joins as a collaborator. The program includes live music by Chamir Bonano, a bachata class with Amalis Cintrón of SalsayTernura, an art exhibition by Williams Bass Morales and a discussion on architecture and spaces of social impact with Nelmaris Camacho García.
Amarilys Oyola-Pérez, the event’s organizer, said the aim is to turn solidarity into a concrete practice of justice and support for immigrant women and their families. Bonano said culture and community gathering can make immigrant women’s experiences visible and back organizations accompanying their struggles. Samayra Romero, executive director of the Fundación por la Arquitectura, said architecture and the spaces people inhabit have a social dimension and can foster community ties and a more inclusive society.
Romelinda Grullón, director of the Centro de la Mujer Dominicana, said support for the immigrant community is imperative and urgent because women in particular contend with government policies that accentuate discrimination, persecution, selective isolation, family separation and even hunger. Funds raised will sustain the center’s accompaniment, rights defense and safe-space work for immigrant women and their families. The suggested donation is $30 per person.