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The New York Public Library
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188 Madison Avenue
New York, NY 10016
phone: 212.592.7700
fax: 212.592.7729
The New York Public Library Showcases New Bronx Library Center with an Opening Weekend of Free Performances and Events for All Ages
Salsa, Modern Dance, Theater, Storytelling, Jazz, Stiltwalkers, and More to Introduce the Library's Largest Bronx Branch, Saturday and Sunday, January 21 and 22
The New York Public Library launches its new Bronx Library Center with an Opening Weekend Celebration of performances and events introducing the public to the striking five-story library and the services it offers. On both days, the Library Center's reading rooms, stages, and public spaces on all floors will be filled with salsa, jazz, doo-wop, theater, dance, storytelling, and more. Nationally known artists such as the modern dance company Arthur Aviles Typical Theater, Latin jazz percussionist Ray Mantilla and his quintet, the contemporary salsa band Ibrahim González Orchestra, and The Valentinos doo-wop group will perform.
Events for all ages include an audience-participation drumming session, dance performances, story telling, and an ice-sculpting demonstration. Public tours will showcase the Library Center from top to bottom, including its panoramic views, and there will be an opportunity to register for Library cards. The festivities will be held Saturday, January 21 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday, January 22 from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Regular library services will also be available. The Bronx Library Center is located at 310 East Kingsbridge Road. For more information about the Bronx Library Center, visit The New York Public Library's website at www.nypl.org/branch/local/bx/fdc.cfm.
The New York Public Library's Bronx Library Center Opening Weekend Celebration is as follows: (schedule subject to change)
Saturday, January 21
10 a.m. - 3 p.m.
The Valentinos greet Library patrons with doo-wop music. Formed in 1956 on Freeman Street, three members of this quartet are Bronx residents, and two (Gilbert Valentin and Sonia Rivera) are original members. (First Floor)
10 a.m. - 2 p.m. Master percussionist Angel Rodriguez performs. Rodriguez has played with Tito Puente Totico y sus Rumberos and many others; he currently teaches and mentors teenage drummers in high schools around the city. In the Hunt's Point section of the South Bronx, he keeps the Bronx's music history alive by offering Mambo to Hip-Hop tours. (Fourth Floor)
11 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Louie and Subanda! perform bilingual and spontaneous, rhythmic, and harmonically-hip interactive music for the entire family. (Concourse Level - Auditorium)
12 p.m. - 2 p.m.
Ice Sculpture Designs performs live demonstrations on the outdoor terrace. (Third Floor - Reading Terrace)
1 p.m. - 1:45 p.m.
WorkShop Theater presents The Simple Stories, an adaptation of Langston Hughes' Simple Stories. The play takes place just after the end of World War II, when the war for civil rights in America was reemerging, and follows Jesse B. Semple (nicknamed Simple) as he and his fictional chronicle, Boyd, drink and chat mostly at their favorite Harlem hangout, The Wishing Well. (Concourse Level - Auditorium)
1 p.m. - 2 p.m. Melodic folksinger Maria Sangiolo performs "Fairy Houses - Fairy Moon" for families. Sangiolo received a 2004 Parents Choice award for her CD Fairy Moon: Songs of the Ring, which was recommended for the 3 to 10 year-old age group. (Second Floor - Children's Reading Room)
2 p.m., 3 p.m., and 4 p.m. New York City's Suitcase Players perform 15-minute versions of Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland, using minimal props, costumes, and a suitcase or two. (Third Floor)
2: 30 p.m. - 3 p.m.
Sandra & Myles Pinkney, author and illustrator team of the award-winning children's book Shades of Black (Scholastic) and the new Read and Rise, read and answer questions. (Second Floor - Children's Reading Room)
2:30 p.m. - 3:15 p.m. The Bronx-based Arthur Aviles Typical Theater performs contemporary modern dance, including an all-new work. (Concourse Level - Auditorium)
2 p.m. - 5 p.m.
Trio Sentimiento Latino plays romantic Spanish ballads, led by Bronx resident Raul Rivera. (Fourth Floor)
3:30 p.m. - 4:15 p.m.
Julie Pasqual tells loud and rowdy tales for kids. Pasqual graduated from New York City's High School for the Performing Arts, is a member of the Big Apple Circus Clown Care Unit, and is the voice for several children's and young adult audio books at the Andrew Heiskell Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped in New York City. (Second Floor - Children's Reading Room)
4 p.m. - 5 p.m. The Ibrahim Gonzàlez Orchestra, a 10-piece contemporary salsa band led by Norwood-based musician, photographer, and radio producer Ibrahim Gonzàlez, performs. (Concourse Level - Auditorium)
In addition to the scheduled performers, special roaming entertainers including Willie "The Balloon Factory" Guzman, stiltwalker Julie Pasqual, and Scholastic's Maya & Miguel(TM) and Clifford the Big Red Dog® will be on hand to engage library visitors.
Sunday, January 22
1 p.m. - 5 p.m.
The Valentinos, a doo-wop group from the Bronx, greets Library patrons. (For more information, see Saturday listings.) (First Floor)
1 p.m. - 4 p.m.
Mariachi Real de Mexico plays traditional Mexican music. (Fourth Floor)
1:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.
Drum Café New York leads a hands-on drumming session with the audience. Audience members will receive a drum to participate in this program! (Concourse Level - Auditorium)
1:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. Latin American singer-storyteller Felix Pitre presents "Animal Tales" and "Stories & Songs of Latin America." Pitre was born in Puerto Rico, raised in New York City, and has an extensive performance and teaching resume, including shows at Washington's Kennedy Center, the Brooklyn Academy of Music, and New York City's Gracie Mansion, as well as commissioned work for the Smithsonian Institution. (Second Floor - Children's Reading Room)
1:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. The Ebony Hillbillies, New York City's all-African-American old-time string band, performs. (Third Floor)
3 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.
¡Retumba!, a multi-ethnic all-female music and dance ensemble, interweaves traditional rhythms and beautiful ancient melodies with its very own unique interpretation, based on the music and dance of Africa, Europe, and its expressions in the Americas and the Caribbean - Puerto Rico, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Brazil. (Concourse Level - Auditorium)
4 p.m. - 5 p.m. The Ray Mantilla Quintet, led by percussionist Ray Mantilla, brings Latin Jazz to the Bronx Library Center. Mantilla helped create the rhythm hybrid that came to be called salsa, but he's also well-known in the traditional jazz world: he's played in Max Roach's M'boom and in Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, and he has partnered with legendary artists Dizzy Gillespie, Sonny Stitt, Charles Mingus, and Herbie Mann. (Concourse Level - Auditorium)
In addition to the scheduled performers, special roaming entertainers including Willie "The Balloon Factory" Guzman, stiltwalker Julie Pasqual, and Scholastic's Maya & Miguel(TM) and Clifford the Big Red Dog® will be on hand to engage library visitors.
About The Bronx Library Center
The Bronx Library Center is a state-of-the-art center for learning and knowledge for the entire Bronx community. Designed by Dattner Architects, this $50 million, 78,000-square-foot, five-story, open-floor glass building is an environmentally responsible structure offering an abundance of natural light and striking views of the Bronx. Major features of the library include: a Latino and Puerto Rican Cultural Center, a children's area, a teen center, a Center for Reading and Writing for adult literacy, 127 Internet-accessible computers for public use, a technology training center, a 150-seat auditorium, and conference rooms for community use. The Bronx Library Center replaces the Fordham Library Center as the Bronx's largest branch, tripling its capacity and bringing a broad array of new services to Bronx residents.
This building was generously funded by: The State of New York: George E. Pataki, Governor; Charles A. Gargano, Chairman, Empire State Development Corporation; the New York State Assembly and Assemblyman José Rivera; and The City of New York: Michael R. Bloomberg, Mayor; Christine C. Quinn, City Council Speaker; Adolfo Carrión, Jr., Bronx Borough President; the Bronx City Council Delegation and City Council Majority Leader Joel Rivera.
A major grant from Roger and Susan Hertog provided lead private support for the Bronx Library Center. Support for cultural programming was provided by a generous grant from Bank of America, with additional funding from the New York Community Trust.
