On the U.S. southern border where political tensions fuel the discussion on immigration, world-renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma took his music to one South Texas city to celebrate the cultural connections between the two nations.
Then, Rita Moreno has held a strong presence on stage and on screen in her career that spans over several decades, and she has no intention of slowing down.
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Ma’s Bach Project, a two-year-long program featuring the three-century-old music of J.S. Bach, is taking the famed cellist to 36 locations around the world to explore connections between cultures. Ma has already taken the music and the message to cities including Denver, Colo.; Leipzig, Germany; Montreal, Canada; and Mexico City.
The virtuoso plays a concert of all six Bach suites for solo cello followed by a Day of Action in a neighboring community. He performed in San Antonio on April 12 and traveled two-and-a-half hours southwest to the border the following day to meet with community leaders and young people and to celebrate a united culture divided only by a river.
While in Laredo, Ma performed just a few yards from the Rio Grande, which separates the city from its Mexican neighbor, Nuevo Laredo. After his performance, Texas Public Radio’s Norma Martinez spoke with Ma about his project and what inspired him to bring it to ‘Los Dos Laredos.’
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Moreno is one of around a dozen people to have ever claimed an EGOT – an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and a Tony. Those are just a few tokens of a career that has spanned seven decades. From her start on Broadway at age 13 to the iconic role of Anita in Robert Wise’s 1961 film adaptation of West Side Story, the Puerto Rican actress has remained a steadfast presence on stage and on screen. Moreno joined us by phone from New York City, where she had just met the new cast of Steven Spielberg’s remake of West Side Story.
Moreno will be the keynote speaker at San Antonio College’s 2nd annual SAC Fiesta Brunch on April 24, benefitting the SAC President’s Fund to support student scholarships.
Norma Martinez can be reached at norma@tpr.org and on Twitter @NormDog1 and Lauren Terrazas can be reached at lauren@tpr.org and on Twitter @terrazas_lauren.
