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All are welcome at The Mahaiwe
Paquito DâRivera performs at the Mahaiwe in Great Barrington on April 5.
Natalia Bernal is the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Centerâs education and community engagement manager and is, in her own words, âthe one who makes sure that Mahaiwe events are accessible to all.â
The Mahaiweâs community engagement program is rooted in the belief that the performing arts should be for everyone. âWe are committed to establishing and growing partnerships with neighboring community and arts organizations to develop pathways for overcoming social and practical barriers,â Bernal explained. âImmigrants, people of color, communities with low income, those who have traditionally been underserved in the performing arts, should feel welcomed at the Mahaiwe.â
Partnerships with organizations like Volunteers in Medicine Berkshires (VIM), the W.E.B. Du Bois Legacy Committee, and Community Access to the Arts (CATA) have helped bridge that gap. But for the Latinx community, thereâs an even more targeted effort: the Spanish-language Community Advisory Network (SCAN).
âSix years ago, we started an advisory group of Spanish speakers in the community,â Bernal said. âThey tell us what the community wants to see, how theyâd like their culture represented. Today, SCAN has 12 members. We meet four times a year and are in constant communication. Itâs because of them that weâve hosted free Spanish-language film screenings and live performances.â
For Bernal, this work is personal. âWhen I first moved to the U.S. in 2003, it was because I got a Latin American scholarship to study at Berklee College of Music. That first year, I went home to Uruguay for Christmas and saw Paquito DâRivera perform at a jazz festival. I was determined to meet him, and I did. Later that year, Paquito came to Berklee and invited me on stage.â
Now, two decades and 16 Grammys later, Paquito DâRivera is coming to the Mahaiwe on April 5, and thereâs a chance history might repeat itself. âHe saw a post we made about his concert and commented, âAy, chica, que maravilla, are you gonna sing a song with us?â I almost died,â Bernal laughed. âI donât know if it will happen, but it would be a dream.â
About the possibility of a guest appearance by Bernal, DâRivera said, âNatalia is a very dear, valuable colleague, and jazz is about improvisation, so the surprise factor is always part of the fun here.â
DâRiveraâs concert is just one example of how the Mahaiwe is making world-class performances accessible. âMy whole day has been about offering âpay what you canâ tickets for this show,â Bernal says. âWe also issued a 50% discount to our partners. We work with ESL teachers, public libraries, literacy agencies, anyone who can help us get the word out.â
That kind of grassroots effort has been transformative. âLast year, we screened âFlorencia en el Amazonas,â the first opera written in Spanish ever performed at the Met,â Bernal said. âI sat in the Mahaiwe in tears. As someone who loves opera, it was the first time I heard one written in my own language. It was so powerful.â
Natalia Bernal, Mahaiweâs education and community engagement managerPhoto by Martin Cohen
For Bernal, it all comes back to representation, on stage and in the audience. âMy son is eight. I bring him to everything I can. Spanish shouldnât just be something that happens at the dinner table. It should be in the world, in all these shapes and forms.â
And thatâs what SCAN is helping build: a future where Latinx voices arenât just included, they are central. âOur SCAN advisors are volunteers, cultural ambassadors,â Bernal said. âThey help us distribute surveys, talk to the audience, and strengthen the community. Nobody should feel alone. Everybody should feel like they belong here.â
Education and outreach are central to DâRiveraâs work as well. He said, âIt is an important part of our mission to plant and nurture the seed of quality music in our communities.â He continued to say, âUsing our visibility and influence in favor of justice is always a very effective vehicle in denouncing violations of human rights around the world.â
This shared mission of education and social justice extends beyond the Mahaiwe. âWe are one of the few arts organizations in a monthly meeting with BASIC (Berkshire Alliance for Immigrant Services). We have direct ties to the Berkshire Immigrant Center, VIM, and others so that we are well-informed and ready to serve,â said Bernal.
That commitment to community, culture, and access is why Bernalâs dream panelâWomen in the Music Businessâwould feature Paquitoâs wife and longtime manager, Brenda Feliciano. âSheâs a tower of power. Sheâs been managing his career for at least 45 years. If I could organize an event one day, she would be the cherry on the cake.â
Until then, Bernal will keep doing what she does best: making sure the Mahaiwe is a place where everyone, regardless of language, income, or background, feels at home. And maybe, just maybe, sheâll find herself back on stage with Paquito DâRivera, just like that first time, all those years ago.
For more info and tickets to Paquito DâRivera, visit mahaiwe.org
There is magic in a home filled with the things we love, and Mary Randolph Carter, affectionately known as âCarter,â has spent a lifetime embracing that magic. Her latest book, âLive with the Things You Love ⌠and Youâll Live Happily Ever After,â is about storytelling, joy, and honoring lifeâs poetry through the objects we keep.
âThis is my tenth book,â Carter said. âAt the root of each is my love of collecting, the thrill of the hunt, and living surrounded by things that conjure up family, friends, and memories.â
The creative director at Ralph Lauren for almost four decades, Carter began writing this book during the pandemic, a time of rediscovering comfort. âI found more time to appreciate those special things that give our homes warmth and connection.â Working with Ralph Lauren, she learned that the best spaces tell a personal story. âHis desk was filled with toy cars, miniature shoes, superheroes, English dandies, cowboys on horseback. The walls? A gallery of his childrenâs paintings, iconic photos of Frank Sinatra and Gary Cooper. Everything told a story.â
Carter acknowledges how homes can become overwhelmed with stuff but sees a difference between clutter and collection. âTo live happily, create environments that inspire and comfort rather than encumber you! Look around and ask, âWhat is truly meaningful? What makes you smile? What recalls the people and places you cherish?ââ Then, she added, âweed out the rest with discipline and courage!â
Provided
Each home in Carterâs book reflects its inhabitantâs spirit. âThe first time I walked into Bethann Hardisonâs apartment, I knew right away how authentic it was to who she is.â Hardisonâs walls are lined with artwork from friends Keith Haring, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and Haitian paintings, testaments to a life well lived. âThough her mantra is, âthe lighter the load, the freer the journey,â she also admits some things âdelight your environmentâ and canât be parted with. Amen to that!â
Having survived two childhood fires, Carter deeply understands what truly matters. âItâs not the things, but the people and memories they evoke.â She loves her collections, but they donât possess her. âThey make me happy, but they do not define me.â
She delights in how people showcase treasures. Paula Grief, for instance, lives in a ten-foot-wide house and had to part with many books. âShe tucks the ones she canât live without through the rungs of her staircase. I love that ingenuity!â
When asked about her most cherished possession, Carter tells a story of loss and serendipity. A childhood portrait of her in a blue velvet dress was lost in a fire. âYears later, the artistâs daughter found another version. Now, it hangs in our apartment, surrounded by flea market art and one of my favorite saints, Our Lady of Guadalupe.â
Adding to the cozy feeling of this book, Carterâs son, Carter Berg, took the photographs, and her sister, Cary, contributed the illustrations. âCary once stayed in our apartment and painted a dozen objects from our cluttered kitchen. I hung them immediately. When I started this book, I knew she had to capture my favorite objects.â
Four of the featured homes are local to the Northwest Corner, including Carterâs in Millerton, Joan Osofskyâs in Lakeville, Robin Bellâs in Salisbury, and Paula Griefâs in Hudson. They all gathered at the White Hart/Oblong Speaker Series on March 27.
After perusing the richly colored pages of this book, you may feel tempted to shop. âYou donât need money to create a meaningful home,â Carter insisted. âSome of my favorite paintings cost no more than $10 or $25. Value is personal. Itâs not about provenance but the story an object tells you or the one you make up.â
Carterâs advice? âFall in love with the wackiest thing. Surround yourself with what matters, and youâll live happily ever after.â
Clued in
The first play in four years returned to the Webutuck Auditorium Friday, March 28. The production of Clue was put on entirely by students from the Webutuck Middle School and starred an ensemble cast of, from left to right, Jacob Dean as Mr. Green, Caroline Eschbach as Mrs. White, Brooke Bozydaj as Yvette, Liam Diaz as Wadsworth, Nolan Howard as Colonel Mustard, Mariah Bradley as Miss Scarlett and Lois Musgrave as Mrs. Peacock who is pictured on the floor of the stage.