The 20th Anniversary Celebration of The Chilean-American Foundation

by Mabel Correa

With a splendid concert and art auction, The Chilean-American Foundation celebrated on June 20th its extraordinary twenty years of life and uninterrupted work benefitting Chilean youngsters. "That twenty years is nothing...", in the words of the famous tango, does not apply in this case; during two decades, against all odds, institutional adjustments, economic recession and the return to Chile of many of our most faithful volunteers, our mission has continued forward unscathed.  We celebrated that, year after year, during twenty years, relying exclusively on the tireless work of volunteers, we were able to send annually to Chilean organizations that care for children in need, an average of 20 thousand dollars to finance their projects.

   As our current president Anamaría Viveros-Long stated that evening, "We have managed to directly assist some 6 thousand children so they wouldn´t drop out of school, become juvenile delinquents, drug-addicts, or relinquish their rights to live a decent and constructive life because of family and neighborhood disintegration".

   We set out to raise at least 5 thousand dollars on this anniversary festivity. We exceeded that amount and donations are still coming in. The remarkable auction of donated works of art, so enthusiastically undertaken by our past-president María Teresa Soto-Aguilar and her husband Stephen Carroll, was a resounding success. The paintings which did not sell at the auction can still be seen and bought through this same website.

    The concert itself, held at the spacious auditorium of the Methodist Temple in Arlington, Virginia, truly moved those present. The multifaceted musicians Carlos Boltes and Scott Hill of Dúo Alturas again regaled us with their spectacular command of charangos, viola and guitar, playing a variety of Andean and Latin American pieces. Later on they jauntily accompanied the performances of Peruvian baritone José Sacin and Coral Cantigas, the sole Latin chorus in the Washington DC area.

    We want to give special thanks to the Embassy of Chile for providing the Chilean sandwiches, pastries and drinks and to the newly arrived Ambassador of Chile in the US, Arturo Fermandois, and the Chilean Representative to the OAS, Darío Paya, for their presence that night. We extend our heartfelt thanks to our hostess Reverend Cathy Abbott, for so graciously lending us her church´s facilities and its ample parking garage.

   And for the main organizers of this artistic evening, Lawrence (director of CAF´s Fundraising Committee) and Yasna Lamonica, and their son Cristóbal –who with a friend managed garage parking like a pro- a resounding Well Done!

Our Goodwill Ambassadors’ Activities

On April 11, 2010 our Goodwill Ambassadors, the Alturas Duo, organized a Concert of Chilean Music to benefit the Chilean Earthquake Relief Initiative of our Foundation in Hartford, Connecticut.  In collaboration with Immanuel Congregational Church and the Latino and Puerto Rican Affairs Commission they put together a wonderful program of music and poetry.  The performers—Alturas Duo, Crescendo Chorus, and Duo Les Inegales—interpreted works of Javier Farias, Victor Jara, Domingo Santa Cruz , Juan Orrego Salas, Arcangelo Corelli and Christine Gevert, including a recitation of Pablo Neruda’s poem “Oceana”.  The Master of Ceremonies, Carlos A. Barbier, President of the Centro Neruda and of The Latino Initiative, entertained the audience with his Chilean jokes and last minute updates about the situation in Chile.  And, Anamaria Viveros-Long, our president, travelled to Connecticut to give a brief presentation about the work of the Foundation and to thank the organizers, performers and the audience for their generosity.

The concert was a great success.  The music in the beautiful Church sanctuary illuminated by the last rays of sun of that Sunday evening was superb.  The audience expressed their enjoyment with a standing ovation. We look forward to hearing the same kind of fine music making in the Washington, DC area, on June 20, for our celebration of our 20th anniversary.  At the end of the day, this concert raised over $3,000 to help the Chilean children.  Thank you Connecticut, the organizers, the artists and all of those who showed their solidarity so generously.