Reborn Arts Center Aims for Encore
By Bob Young/ Jazz/World
Friday, October 1, 2004

Alex Alvear wants to hear young hands banging out a clave rhythm on congas and young MCs mixing hip-hop beats. He wants graffiti artists to get busy in the visual arts space and dancers to move to whatever they want to move to right next door.

``I don't want to see these rooms empty with nothing going on,'' said Alvear, performing arts director of the Center for Latino Arts in Boston's South End.

If the show he has scheduled for Thursday at Berklee Performance Center in Boston is the success he expects it to be, Alvear and the Center may well be on the way to making that vision come true. Headlining the fund-raiser for the Center's arts programs is Cuban-born saxophonist and clarinetist Paquito D'Rivera, one of Latin jazz and classical music's true heavies.

``Paquito's a very generous artist,'' said Alvear, a bass player who has toured with D'Rivera and appeared on his recent Grammy-nominated CD, ``Paquito D'Rivera Presents Las Hermanas Marquez.''

In fact, D'Rivera's ties with the Center itself go back even further. In 1988, he was one of the first big-name musicians to appear in the Center's Cafe Teatro series.

For a neighborhood arts center to land a player with Dizzy Gillespie and the National Symphony Orchestra on his resume and 30 jazz and classical albums to his credit is no small accomplishment.

``Paquito's definitely supporting what we're trying to do here,''Alvear said.

Launched as the Jorge Hernandez Cultural Center in 1986, the complex at 85 W. Newton St. was renovated and reopened last November.

``But because programs were stopped for a couple of years, we needed to re-establish a track record,'' Alvear pointed out.``Basically it's like starting over.''

On the music side, the Center is hoping to resurrect its hugely popular Latin percussion program and start several new ones: a bomba and plena ensemble, music technology collaborations with local colleges so kids can work on their own productions, and hip-hop, rap and funk programs.

``We want to promote our culture and capitalize on the fact that we can be a very good resource,'' Alvear said.

``There's teamwork and cultural pride (for the participants), but you're alsoinstilling a sense of responsibility and discipline. We're not going to be after-school day care. There are expectations. As much as we're going to give, we're going to require the participants to demonstrate their seriousness and dedication.''

Tickets to see Paquito D'Rivera are $15-$38. Showtime is 8 p.m. For more information, go to www.iba-etc.org/jhcconline/programs.html or call 617-927-1730.

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