Hispanic Heritage Month Visitors: Fermín Ceballos + Merengue4Four

This month Greenies across all divisions have engaged in speaking panels, activities, cultural conversations, and dancing to celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month. To help kick off the festivities, Newman welcomed musicians Fermín Ceballos + Merengue4Four for a celebration of Latin music, dancing, and culture.

 

A native of the Dominican Republic, Fermin Ceballos is a singer-songwriter, guitarist, accordionist, producer, and writer. Upon moving to New Orleans in 2012, Ceballos quickly became part of the city's rich musical scene. With a goal of becoming further engrained in the New Orleans community, Ceballos placed a priority on learning English and began taking ESL classes through The New Neighbor Project, led by Executive Director Amy Dudgeon, and taught by faculty such as Newman World Language Department Chair, Señora Katie Gray.

As part of a panel interview, Ceballos, Dudgeon, and Gray spoke with students about the importance of staying curious, learning about other cultures and languages, and finding common bonds between people both inside and outside of their community.

Organizations like The New Neighbor Project help to facilitate this type of learning and personal growth. "We started The New Neighbor Project after talking to refugees and immigrants around the city who wanted to interact and more deeply engage with their neighbors. They wanted to get to know them, learn about and share their unique cultures, and truly understand where people come from," Dudgeon said.

"People in the ESL classes are from countries all over the world," Gray explained when speaking about her own ESL teaching experience. "Everyone has a past, everyone has a country they come from, everyone has challenges, a hope for the future, and a goal they’re moving towards. Our goal is to learn English, together, and our connection is humanity."

In reflection on his own ESL learning journey, Ceballos shared, "I realized that if I wanted to be more successful in life, I needed to be able to open more doors; language was a way to do that. When you learn other languages, other cultures, you can reach more opportunities." Ceballos believes so strongly in this philosophy that he's now learned both English and Portuguese and is continuing to learn more languages.

 

After the thought-provoking panel discussion, students were treated to a special live performance by Fermín Ceballos + Merengue4Four, which engulfed the Henson Auditorium with music, singing, and dancing!

 

Students and families that are interested in catching more live music by Fermín Ceballos, along with other Dominican artists, are encouraged to attend the 4th annual Dominican NOLA Fest on Saturday, October 17 at the New Orleans Jazz Museum. This family-friendly, free-admission cultural event celebrates Dominican music, dance, art, and traditional cuisine.