Carolina Lizarraga remembers her mother's flamenco dance school in Venezuela. She says since she was a youngster, she understood the "power of art as a tool for education."
Lizarraga is the artistic director of the show América Viva Alliance 100 Voices and the co-chair of the second edition of the Panamerican Benefit Gala Show set for Saturday, Oct. 15 inside the Knight Concert Hall at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts.
The evening begins at 6:30 p.m. with an 8 p.m. gala show and at 10:30 p.m., a sponsors' afterparty.
The America Viva show is a musical that showcases multicultural America and includes 100 choristers from the Miami Children's Chorus directed by Liana Salinas.
Antonella Romero is executive director of The Nobis Foundation and gala co-chair of the artistic and humanitarian event -- a night where art and philanthropy work together uniting foundations, sponsors, artists, philanthropists, leaders, and the general public to celebrate the diversity and cultural richness of the continent.
Romero says, "the Gala is a way to manifest critical values that we believe in. It represents how, through teamwork and shared goals, we can achieve more than we would if we stood alone. It means the power of solidarity and how we can change lives through art and creativity. The America Viva Alliance, which is hosting the gala, is an alliance of 30 non-profits from different countries. I think just the fact that we have all teamed up and are working together is a win in itself. It also represents a fantastic opportunity for the private sector to join efforts in light of a great cause, helping to provide educational opportunities to thousands of children in the Americas."
Paquito D'Rivera, 14-time Grammy and Latin Grammy winner, will perform at the event and is also one of the evening's honorees.
Created in 2019, AVA connects nonprofit organizations of different origins, taking inspiration from the multiculturalism of the Americas to jointly create and produce top-level events, 100 percent for the benefit of the most disadvantaged children on the continent.
The America Viva show is a musical that showcases multicultural America. Led by the legendary Paquito D'Rivera together with 100 choristers from the Miami Children's Chorus directed by Liana Salinas, they will join the original cast of the show made up of the Latin Grammy nominee América Viva Band, and the versatile dancers of the New Land Dance Company.
Ana Teresa Rodriguez, co-chair and president of New Land Theatricals says that it is an honor to collaborate on the Gala.
The show mixes fantasy and history in a colorful journey of rhythms that tells the story of the “mestizaje” of the Americas, and how a “mestizo soul” was born on the continent out of the mixture of Spanish, African and Indigenous cultures."For us in New Land Theatricals, mestizaje means inclusion, and inclusion means solidarity," says Rodriguez.
(Watch the video below)
América Viva! was conceived by Carolina Lizarraga in collaboration with musical director César Orozco, dance director Daniela Tugues, content director Gloria Carnevali, drama director Vicente Albarracín, technical director Rafael Naranjo, and executive producer Roque García.
Inspired by the alliance motto "Art and Philanthropy working together" the Honorees this year are two outstanding personalities in the artistic and philanthropic areas, such as Paquito D'Rivera, 14-time Grammy and Latin Grammy winner and "National Medal of Arts" recipient, and Isabel Noboa, businesswoman and philanthropist, Founder and CEO of Nobis Holding de Inversiones and Fundación Nobis, Merco ranking for ‘Best Reputation’ Leader in Ecuador since 2013.
Tickets are now on sale through the Arsht Center website www.arshtcenter.org, the box office and through www.americavivaalliance.org. Prices: $250, $85, $65. Each foundation has a promo code and ticket proceeds will benefit a charity of the buyer's choice.
