Son Jarocho: Conjunto Jardin, and guitarrista Ciro Hurtado, The Decade of Lost Children

Hi.  Here’s the promo cart for the Ash Grove’s next production.  The leaflet and web units are too large for email to handle quickly,

but give a far more complete and proper presentation of the event.  I urge you to check it out on the AGMusic website, if only for the aesthetics: www.ashgrovemusic.com .  Of course I hope to see many of you at the event. 

Ed

 

 

What:  Ash Grove Summer Series continues on the 3^rd Sunday of each month, with Conjunto Jardin & Ciro Hurtado

When: Sunday, August 21, 2 p.m.

Where: Tropico Nopal Gallery back-patio, 1665 Beverly Blvd., at Union (E. of Alvarado, W. of Down Town LA)

 

MUSIC IN:  Conjunto Jardin]

The Ash Grove celebrates the exciting son jarocho of Veracruz, Mexico on Sunday, August 21^st, with Conjunto Jardin, one of its finest performers. Led by the sibling vocals and hard-charging jarana and requinto of Libby and Cindy Harding, and the sparkling keyboard harp simulations of Gary Johnson, the group brings out the music’s African roots and Caribbean connections. Also on the bill is Peruvian guitarist Ciro Hurtado, described in the LA Times as "a guitarrista extraordinaire, evoking flamenco flourishes and jazzy runs with consummate ease."

 

[MUSIC IN: Ciro Hurtado, below]  This exciting musical tour de force is all coming together on Sunday afternoon, August 21st, at 2 p.m., at Tropico de Nopal Gallery in Los Angeles, 1665 Beverly Boulevard, east of Alvarado. 

 

Tickets and information available at www.Ashgrovemusic.com   or call 310-391-5794

 

Information is also on the KPFK website, at www.kpfk.org

 

KPFK is a proud media sponsor.

 

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From: Ellie Bluestein [mailto:ellieb28@sbcglobal.net]
Sent: Saturday, August 06, 2011 10:47 PM

Should our country be judged by how we treat our children?

  . from The New York Times...

---

August 5, 2011

The Decade of Lost Children

By CHARLES M. BLOW

One of the greatest casualties of the great recession may well be a decade of lost children.

According to “The State of America’s Children 2011,” a report issued last month by the Children’s Defense Fund, the impact of the recession on children’s well-being has been catastrophic.

Here is just a handful of the findings:

• The number of children living in poverty has increased by four million since 2000, and the number of children who fell into poverty between 2008 and 2009 was the largest single-year increase ever recorded.

• The number of homeless children in public schools increased 41 percent between the 2006-7 and 2008-9 school years.

• In 2009, an average of 15.6 million children received food stamps monthly, a 65 percent increase over 10 years.

• A majority of children in all racial groups and 79 percent or more of black and Hispanic children in public schools cannot read or do math at grade level in the fourth, eighth or 12th grades.

• The annual cost of center-based child care for a 4-year-old is more than the annual in-state tuition at a public four-year college in 33 states and the District of Columbia.

Grim data, indeed. And there is no sign that things will get better anytime soon.

As a report issued last week by the nonpartisan Center on Budget and Policy Priorities points out: “Of the 47 states with newly enacted budgets, 38 or more states are making deep, identifiable cuts in K-12 education, higher education, health care, or other key areas in their budgets for fiscal year 2012. Even as states face rising numbers of children enrolled in public schools, students enrolled in universities, and seniors eligible for services, the vast majority of states (37 of 44 states for which data are available) plan to spend less on services in 2012 than they spent in 2008 — in some cases, much less. These cuts will slow the nation’s economic recovery and undermine efforts to create jobs over the next year.”

We risk the creation of an engorged generational underclass born of a culture that has less income equality and fewer prospects for mobility than the previous generation.

It’s hard to see how we emerge from this downturn and its tumult a stronger nation if we allow vast swatches of our children to be lost. My fear is that we may not.

Ellie Bluestein

ellieb28@sbcglobal.net