Choreographer of Honduran Garifuna Heritage, Mr. Mariano Martinez, highlighted in Hey Neighbor NYC Public Art Show

The Art Show has it’s Grand Opening on SATURDAY, September 30th 2023 in Flushing Meadows Corona Park in Queens

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Copyright 2023 by Teofilo Colon Jr for Being Garifuna. All Rights Reserved.

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New York City – New York City has a population of approximately 8 Million People.

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With a city filled with as many people as New York City, it can be surprising to observe the isolation and loneliness of many of it’s residents and how little we actually KNOW about them.

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With a new Public Art Project, Two Women, Photographer, Artist, Mother and Social Justice Warrior, Kisha Bari and Artist and Organizer, Jasmin Chang, aim to improve on that social condition by helping strangers connect and get to know a little more about each other.

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The Hey Neighbor NYC Project is a Community Engagement and Public Art Project.

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In this Initiative, Community Organizations throughout New York City were asked if there were any people that they could nominate to be a part of this Project.

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In the Summer of 2022, Being Garifuna was asked if there was any person that could be nominated for this Public Art Project.

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This project consisted of a Meeting, being paired up with another Nominee, an Interview, a Portrait Photo Shoot with a fellow Nominee where the fellow Nominee shoots the Photo Portrait of you and you as a fellow Nominee do the same for the other Nominee, and finally a Public Show featuring the Portrait Photographs.

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36 People from a variety of backgrounds were nominated to participate in this Public Art Initiative.

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They consisted of a number of different ethnicities and nationalities and were noted for the impact that they make in their respective neighborhoods and communities.

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The Nominees, or Connectors as they are named here are listed in the photo above. However, if you are unable to see the photo, here is your list of 2023 Hey Neighbor NYC Connectors.

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Connectors

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Amany Abouelkhir, Saad Ahmed, Noreen Ashan, Laith Alnatour, Carlon Baker, Yaya Barry, Noel Campbell, Victoria Carrique, Mafalda Cento, Hawa Cham, Anayi Charles-Pierre, Lynne Connor, Victoria Hofmo, Shirley Jones, Duane Joseph, Sherri Joseph, Barbara Kulpa, Victoria Leal, Christine Lee, Ellen Levitt, Alena Lipa, Mariano Martinez, Pilar Maschi, Derick Obeng-Darko, Sandra Perez-Tapia, Masarrat Rashid Apsara, Jared Rosales, Sharon Shimunova, Niani Taylor, Patrick ‘Tubz’ Tubridy, Saul Vidals, Shoshana Vogel, Lisa Wade, Gen Yama, Derek Yamato, Annie Zhou.

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Upon being asked in the Summer of 2022, my first question was how many people could I nominate?

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Sadly, I was told I could only nominate one person (that’s it?).

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After measuring people’s interest in participating in this project and potential availability depending on their schedule, I was able to nominate someone who has considerably good standing in New York City.

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This Nominee’s impact in not only the New York City Garifuna community, but the Caribbean, Latin American, Black American communities overall in the Tri-State Metro area is noteworthy and beyond measure.

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As you can read in the headline in this post, Being Garifuna’s Nominee for The 2023 Hey Neighbor NYC Public Art Project is Choreographer and Dancer of Honduran Garifuna Heritage, Mr. Mariano Martinez.

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From Brooklyn, Mr. Mariano Martinez is a Dancer, Choreographer and Entrepreneur of Garifuna Heritage. His family is from Santa Fe, Honduras.

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Mr. Martinez is the founder of J Dove Productions, an Event Choreography Company.

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He is noted for his Event Choreography of Quinceñearas (Sweet 15 Celebrations among Latin Americans and Garinagu), Sweet Sixteen Celebrations.

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I explained to the organizers of The Hey Neighbor NYC Initiative, that Quinceñearas and Sweet Sixteen Celebrations are important cultural coming-of-age ceremonies within the community.

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Mr. Martinez’s role in molding these Teenagers as they prepare for these cultural ceremonies while marching toward Adulthood is crucial and forever impactful.

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The Grand Opening of The 2023 Hey Neighbor NYC Public Art Exhibition is on SATURDAY, September 30th 2023 at Flushing Meadows Corona Park in Queens from 12pm to 3pm.

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To go to Flushing Meadows Corona Park in Queens by Train, take the 7 Train to the 111th Street Subway Station in Queens. It’s the Subway Station before the NY Mets Baseball Stadium Subway Station.

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