VLACC

Tertulia Talks: Brazil for Beginners – Part 1 ONLINE
2020-04-26 18:30 - 20:30, 2020-04-25 18:30 - 20:30, 2020-04-24 18:30 - 20:30, 2020-04-23 18:30 - 20:30, 2020-04-22 18:30 - 20:30, 2020-04-21 18:30 - 20:30, 2020-04-20 18:30 - 20:30, 2020-04-19 18:30 - 20:30 UTC and 10 more dates | B.C.
ONLINE!!
A tertulia (Spanish: [teɾˈtulja], Portuguese: tertúlia [tɨɾˈtuliɐ]) is a social gathering with literary or artistic overtones, especially in Latin America. Tertulia also means an informal meeting of people to talk about current affairs, arts, etc. VLACC is starting a series of talks and lectures called Tertulia. We will get started with this exciting 4-part series ONLINE, Brazil for Beginners, facilitated by Brazilian professor Dr. Deborah Barros Leal. Filling a gap in opportunities to learn about Brazil in Canada, this course will present basic elements about the country. You can choose to participate in each separate tertulia or all four.

The four modules are

April 9 – Colonial History: Brazil’s colonial and imperial past sheds fundamental light on our understanding of the country today. We will focus on issues that shaped that period and consider the legacies still felt in the country: sugar, slavery, independence, and coffee.
April 16 – Contemporary History and Politics: Brazil’s road to democracy has been a tumultuous one. A focus on the 20th and 21st centuries will lead us to talk about the impact of the Great Depression, Brazil in the Second World War, and dictatorship. This will provide the context to help us better understand the presidencies of Fernando Henrique Cardoso, Luis Inácio (“Lula”) da Silva, and Dilma Rousseff, as well as problems of corruption in the country’s politics.
April 23 – Geography and Environment: How has Brazil’s geography impacted the country’s social and economic structure? How have social and economic interests affected the country’s geography? This lecture will offer a closer look at population distribution, agriculture, the Amazon, deforestation, and mineral resources.
April 30 – Population and Culture: What makes Brazil “Brazil”? What exactly is a Brazilian? This lecture will consider miscegenation and the making of a highly diverse population, as well as components of the national identity, looking at religion, soccer, Carnaval, music, food, and cultural peculiarities.
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Dr. Deborah Barros Leal Farias is a Brazilian-born Lecturer at UNSW Sydney’s School of Social Sciences, where she teaches Politics and International Relations. She has a multidisciplinary background: Ph.D. in Political Science from UBC (Canada), as well as an MA in International Relations, and bachelor degrees in Economy and in Law from Brazilian institutions. Since 2000, she has worked as a policy analyst and lectured at various universities (in Brazil, Canada, and now in Australia). Her current main areas of interest involve global governance and the international political economy of rising powers, particularly Brazil.
Get your tickets for the April 9 Part 1 at https://brazil-for-beginners-part1.eventbrite.ca
Registrations for the following dates will open soon.

Instructions to join the online meeting will be emailed to you when you register.

Volando Por Latinoamérica - In Spanish (on Facebook)
2020-04-24 11:30, 2020-04-21 11:30, 2020-04-17 11:30, 2020-04-14 11:30, 2020-04-10 11:30, 2020-04-07 11:30
As a response to the need to “stay home” due to the COVID-19 outbreak, we are going to broadcast, through Facebook Live and videos, a playful series of Latin American storytelling, rhymes, riddles, music and, curiosities for kids 2 to 8-year-old. These events are in Spanish.
We invite you to connect to our Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/vlacc/, and participate every Tuesday and Friday at 11:30 AM, starting April 7, through May 29.

Name and short bio of instructors:
Ana Lorena Pérez was born in Ecuador and moved to Canada in 2014. She has a Psychology and Family Therapy academic background. During her university years, she was a children entertainer independent worker but then, her professional experience was concentrated in the educational youth counselling field. Since she came to Canada, she has been leading some parent and children programs in Spanish language. This last context has given her a new sense of child care through play and puppets storytelling.
María Helena Morales is from Bogotá, Colombia. It has been a passion of her to work with children and make them enjoy the wonders of life. Her educational background is in Early Childhood Education, Psychology and Educational Psychology. Her work experience has been mainly teaching the little ones and working with family programs. One of her primary goals is to ensure that the Latin American roots are kept alive for the children of our community and promote our Latin American culture with other communities.

Reading Group Latin American Short Stories **ONLINE**
2020-04-14 00:00
Due to the Coronavirus outbreak, this event will be held on Zoom (online meeting). Please see below for instructions on how to join.
Latin American Short Stories in Translation Reading Group
Explore the world of Latin American creative writing, culture and ideas!
This event is free, but registration is required. Please click here to get your FREE event on Eventbrite
VLACC is pleased to present, in partnership with UBC’s Latin American Studies program, a reading group open to anyone interested in short stories written by Latin American authors.
At each meeting, a member of UBC’s Latin American Studies program will present and facilitate discussion of one to three selected short stories. From meeting to meeting, authors from different Latin American countries will be discussed, featuring both classic and contemporary texts.
English translations of all the stories will be made available in advance. Discussions will also be led in English.
No background in Latin American literature or culture required!
Date: Tuesday, April 14, 2020
18:30pm to 20:30pm
A Zoom link will be sent to registered participants, with instructions to joint the meeting.
Time: 6:30pm to 8:00pm
Facilitator: Tamara Mitchell
Stories: Daniel Alarcón (Peru) “lima, peru, july 28, 1979” and
Claudia Hernández (San Salvador) “The Trouble with Having a Rhinoceros”
Registration Disclaimer
We have made this event free to reduce financial barriers for participation. However, free events routinely have a high number of no-shows so we will be overbooking this event in an effort to provide this opportunity to as many people as possible. Please plan to login early, at 6:15 PM to guarantee your assigned seat. VLACC volunteers will be online to help you with any technical difficulties.

FAQ
Will I get a copy of the short story? And are they in English or another language?
A few days after you sign up for this event you will receive a pdf of the short story (or stories) to read prior to the meeting. All stories will be in English (translations from Portuguese or Spanish) and the discussion will also be in English.
What’s Zoom and how can I join the meeting?
Zoom is an online platform for virtual meetings. Click on the link above at the time of the meeting, add your name and the password provided, and you will be connected. Here’s a video tutorial with some basic information. VLACC’s team will be online 15 minutes before the meeting starts to help with any technical difficulties.
How can I contact the organizer with any questions?
Please direct any questions to info@vlacc.ca
Do I have to show my ticket?
No need. We will have your name on our list of participants.
In partnership with UBC Latin American studies
UBC LAS

Singalong! – ONLINE
2020-04-08 00:00
Let’s sing together songs of Latin America. Singalong! is a virtual party/singalong. Latin American songs will be grouped by themes such as friendship, solidarity, social justice, love etc. They might also be grouped by musical genre (bolero, tango, samba etc), as well as by country or even by a prominent composer or singer. The songs will be sent in advance so that everybody is ready to sing when we connect through Zoom. Songs will be in Portuguese and/or Spanish.
Facilitator: Conductor Sergio Pires is an educator and music researcher who holds a Doctorate of Musical Arts’ degree in Choral Conducting from Boston University and a Master’s and a Bachelor’s degree in music from Brazilian institutions. Everybody is welcome! Join this fun community activity, sing, and make friends!

April 8
A link to the songs’ file and Zoom meeting will be sent to participants before each singalong.
Please get your FREE ticket as Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/singalong-tickets-101651229564

VLACC and COVID-19
2020-04-08 00:00
A Message from VLACC
Our board decided to exercise caution and take the difficult decision to postpone all its programs for the foreseeable future. That includes, but is not limited to, choir rehearsals and performances, the Ecuadorian film series, and the Reading Group. This is a postponement, not a cancellation.
The bottom line: we want to make sure everyone is and feels safe.
We all have a responsibility to keep our communities and ourselves safe and healthy. While the risk in B.C. remains relatively low, VLACC will continue to monitor information from health authorities and make adjustments to these decisions as needed.
We would like to remind you all to take precautions and do your very best to reduce the risk of spreading illness. There are three basic ways to ensure a lower risk of contagion:

Wash your hands frequently and for 20 seconds.
Cough and sneeze into the crease of your elbow.
Avoid touching your face.

For reliable information please refer to the World Health Organization (WHO) website. https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019
Please remember that the Latin American communities are generally warm people, used to greeting each other with hugs and kisses. At this point we need to recognize that is more than okay – it’s necessary – to keep social distance for the safety of all.
Our staff and board will avoid in-person meetings and work from home. We will continue with meetings by phone or video whenever possible.
The VLACC staff and board wish you and your family health and peace through this stressful situation.
With love,
The VLACC team

Canto Vivo - Registrations are now open for our choir - Winter Term
2020-03-11 19:00 - 21:00, 2020-03-04 19:00 - 21:00
Come sing with the Vancouver Latin American Cultural Centre Choir! Our choir meets once a week to learn and practice songs that reflect the great diversity of musical genres from all over Latin America. Songs are sung in Spanish and Portuguese. Conductor Sergio Pires is an educator and music researcher who holds a Doctorate of Musical Arts’ degree in Choral Conducting from Boston University and a Master’s and a Bachelor’s degree in music from Brazilian institutions. Everybody is welcome! Join this fun community activity, sing, and make friends!
January 8 to March 11
Total: 12 rehearsals
$60 for the term (+$10 VLACC annual membership)
Rehearsals on Wednesdays from 7:00 – 9:00 pm (songs will be sung in Spanish and Portuguese)
Britannia Community Centre – 55+ Centre
1661 Napier St
Vancouver, B.C.
for more information and to register: info@vlacc.ca
with the support of Britannia Community Service Centre

March Reading Group - Clarice Lispector
2020-03-10 00:00
Latin American Short Stories in Translation Reading Group
Explore the world of Latin American creative writing, culture and ideas!
This event is free, but registration is required. Please click here to get your FREE ticket at Eventbrite.
VLACC is pleased to present, in partnership with UBC’s Latin American Studies program, a reading group open to anyone interested in short stories written by Latin American authors.
At each meeting, a member of UBC’s Latin American Studies program will present and facilitate discussion of one to three selected short stories. From meeting to meeting, authors from different Latin American countries will be discussed, featuring both classic and contemporary texts.
English translations of all the stories will be made available in advance. Discussions will also be led in English.
No background in Latin American literature or culture required!
Next Meeting:
Date: Tuesday, March 10, 2020
Place: Vancouver Public Library Britannia Branch
1661 Napier, St, Vancouver
Time: 6:30pm to 8:30pm
Facilitator: Alessandra Santos
Stories: “A Chicken”, “The Crime of the Mathematics Teacher”, and “The Buffalo” all by Clarice Lispector (Brazil).
FAQs
Will I get a copy of the short story? And are they in English or another language?
Once you sign up for this event you will receive a pdf of the short story (or stories) to read prior to the meeting. All stories will be in English (translations from Portuguese or Spanish) and the discussion will also be in English.
What are my parking/transit options?
There’s free parking at Britannia’s parking lot, off Cotton Drive (entrance through Venables St.) and plenty metered parking on Commercial Drive. The bus stops one block east at Commercial Drive and Napier.
How can I contact the organizer with any questions?
Please direct any questions to info@vlacc.ca
Do I have to bring my printed ticket to the event?
No need. We will have your name on our list of participants.
What are the accessibility conditions?
The meeting room at the Vancouver Public Library branch at the Britannia Community Centre is wheelchair accessible:
Entrance; street level, easy ramp, button-enabled automatic doors
Mobility-device accessible washrooms – grab handles
Mobility-device accessible worktables
Small meeting room with limited turnaround space
