Latino Festing

It was fun for the whole family during a two-day festival put on by Mapale Artes y Letras, a Spanish and English publication that promotes art, literature and culture. Over the two-day event, which took place last Sunday and Monday, Latin American musical groups El Ensamble Vocal Latinoamerica, with Cuban-born director Antonia Llaca Buznego, and The Gingerbread Choir (a choir for children ages seven to nine) performed in the auditorium at Library and Archives Canada. There were also poetry readings, film screenings and workshops for children. In the reception area, an exhibit of art work by children was a popular attraction. Mapale Artes y Letras publisher Silvia Alfaro's charming five-year-old son Andrew managed to sell two of his whimsical paintings for $50 each. Ms. Alfaro, who is also a photographer, had several of her photos from around the world for sale. To round out the cultural experience, a caterer was preparing and selling Mexican fare, including empanadas, stuffed peppers, rice and beans, dorados and tamales. Meanwhile, Patricia Pinciaroli, who hopes to open an Argentinian gallery and pastry shop some day, was selling cookies and cake. Some 200 people showed up Sunday and another 145 came through the doors Monday. Proceeds from the sale of her art and the entrance fee will go toward publishing the magazine, something Ms. Alfaro said is an expensive endeavour. Those who were there selling their wares were able to keep their revenue.
(ver original note and photographs)

Publicaciones

Con norte en el SUR

Dos revistas hechas por colombianos, una de diseño y una cultural, circulan en Canadá.

No es fácil hacer carrera en el extranjero, y menos aun con la publicación de revistas especializadas. Por eso resulta sorprendente que dos colombianos residentes en Canadá hayan logrado sacar al mercado dos publicaciones, una dedicada al diseño y, otra, a las manifestaciones artísticas. Una se llama Visual y su creador es el diseñador bogotano Jairo Arango, quien en 1999 se fue a vivir a Toronto tras haber hecho carrera como creativo en McCann-Erickson y en City TV, en Bogotá. La publicación, en inglés, tiene como objetivo mostrar las tendencias del diseño en América Latina -de interiores, de muebles, publicidad, arquitectura, artes plásticas, etc.- porque según Arango, "en la actualidad no se pueden separar las diferentes disciplinas del diseño, puesto que se inspiran unas a otras".Visual, que llega a su segundo número, cuenta con un grupo de redactores y de fotógrafos y ha logrado captar la atención de algunos eventuales patrocinadores. La segunda edición tiene dos portadas diferentes y la idea es que se convierta en material de colección para diseñadores y amantes del diseño. Con una vocación similar, la revista en español Mapalé Artes y Letras, se ha convertido en alternativa de información cultural para el público hispanoparlante en Canadá. Con sede en Ottawa, su primer número lleva además de música, danza, poesía y gastronomía, un amplio reportaje sobre los 230 años del español como idioma consolidado en el país de los Grandes Lagos. En síntesis, su intención es promover el arte, la literatura y la cultura latinoamericanas. Es el único medio en su estilo en español, en un país en donde la mayoría de las revistas son de farándula, variedades, política y economía, y sólo muy pocas sobre arte. "Espero que la diáspora latinoamericana vea en Mapalé un punto de encuentro cultural que, por lo menos en Canadá, hasta el momento no existe", explica Silvia Alfaro, arquitecta colombiana y directora de la publicación. Las dos publicaciones, Visual y Mapalé Artes y Letras, con dos colombianos a la cabeza, están mostrándole al norte que en el sur hay talento, mucho talento, para exportar.

________________________

Spanish-speaking arts community
finds home in magazine

OTTAWA  —  Feb. 1 , 2006 — Even though, outside, the Ottawa wind was blowing minus 20 degrees or colder, inside the Library and Archives Canada building, a celebration was warming Ottawa’s Spanish-speaking arts community.

A crowd of local artists, writers and musicians gathered Dec. 7, 2005 in the big grey building on Wellington St., to celebrate the first anniversary of Mapalé Artes y Letras, Canada’s first bilingual Latin American arts-and-culture magazine. At one table, a young British novelist, a Canadian photographer and a French artist sat together talking, switching effortlessly between English and Spanish. Though the magazine is published half in Spanish and half in English, it is not just Latin American or Canadian, it has an international appeal, says its publisher, Silvia Alfaro.

The magazine’s name, Mapalé, is the name of a frantic, passionate Latin dance style, which evokes the frenzied activities of the magazine itself.

We want a balance, it’s about how Latin Americans are doing in Canada and elsewhere. The magazine has an international character and also a local.”

A community

The magazine started as Alfaro’s creation and has become a community. In the three issues published since its inception, Mapalé, has featured art and writing from Argentina, Bolivia, Mexico, China, Canada, Venezuela, England, Cuba and Spain.

Alfaro is a former architect who moved to Canada from Colombia in 1996.

“I had been learning about how the (Latin American) community feels alone here,” she says. “We are very isolated. Myself, I didn’t know many Latin Americans here; I was in my own world here with Canadians.”

She says she wanted to do something to bring the artistic and cultural aspects of Latin America to the Spanish-speaking community in Canada.

“There is no artistic or intellectual community here for us,” she says. “Many artists and writers feel alone. They miss all this when they left their country. I thought I was alone, but I was wrong."

Proud of culture

“Most of the information we have here in Canada about Latin America is about the problems, war or bad things. We want people to find out what is happening with the artists. What is going on with culture, music, arts and cinema. We want our kids to be proud of the culture they come from.”

Though she had no background in magazine publishing, Alfaro quickly found contributors from across Canada to fill the pages of Mapalé with art, literature, history and poetry. She says the Latin American arts community was waiting to be connected.

“I didn’t know about so many groups, hundreds of groups across Canada who are trying to get together to do things, organize exhibitions and concerts. There are so many little groups, it’s not enough of a community. We are separated.

Though the magazine has only been in existence for a year, Alfaro says, it has drawn contributors from Vancouver to Halifax.

(see complete article)

Ottawa Citizen . Enero 11 de 2005

New magazine has Latin twist

Jenni Lee Campbell . The Ottawa Citizen . Tuesday, January 11, 2005

Why would anyone in their right mind get into the small- magazine business? Never-ending workdays, a barrage of self-imposed deadlines, plus it's expensive and the odds of success aren't encouraging: of the 100-plus magazines launched in Canada each year, about 70 per cent fold within three years.

It's a fair question, although Silvia Alfaro, Ottawa publisher of the newly launched Spanish magazine Mapale, Artes y Letras, might not agree.

That may be doubly true when it's published in a language spoken by a relatively small percentage of Canadians. In Canada's 2001 census, slightly fewer than a quarter-million residents, or 0.8 per cent, listed Spanish as their mother tongue.

The case is similar in the Ottawa-Gatineau region, with roughly 8,000 of a million residents in 1996 claiming Spanish as their first language.

But Alfaro is confident there is a market for a Spanish-language magazine in Canada. She has an extensively researched business plan, and believes the potential is huge.

"I think that a lot of Canadians are interested in Latin American issues and culture," she says, citing the fact that Mexico, Cuba and Spain are among the top 10 countries visited by Canadians. She also thinks the magazine will be a great tool for Spanish students to practice their skills while reading something current and Canadian.

Mapale's first issue, released last month, is a slick package at 88 colour pages with a stiff, perfect-bound spine. The pages are glossy and the impressive cover is reminiscent of a high-end architecture or design publication.

The theme of the first issue is "Leaving their Mark," and it explores how 20th-century Latin artists have influenced literature, cinema and fine arts around the world. There is poetry from several Latin poets, a section dedicated to film and book reviews and even a recipe for spicy chicken potato soup.

The word "mapale" comes from a fishing dance that was brought to Colombia by African slaves. The dance is hundreds of years old, and Alfaro thinks it represented the spirit of the magazine. "It's about people who go from one place to another and become part of the country they join."

Mapale's weaknesses -- obvious advertising tie-ins, minor layout issues and some grainy photography -- should be easy to overcome. The biggest question for any new magazine is whether readers -- and advertisers -- will support the venture. Currently distributed only in Ottawa with a circulation of 3,000, Alfaro has applied to the Canadian Magazine Publishers Association and hopes to distribute nationally if her application is approved.

Alfaro agrees. She was expecting a lot of backing from the Latin community, and was disappointed when little came. Advertising revenue has been hard to come by, and the first issue was largely financed out of her own pocket. "They all wanted to see the product first."

Now that she has something to show, support has been growing. Colombian Ambassador Jorge Visbal Mertelo attended the magazine's launch, as did members of other Latin American embassies.

And it's not just dignitaries taking note. Twenty-year-old musician and student Sergio Guerra wants to see more unity in the Latin community and is glad something positive like Mapale being put forward. "I think Latin artists need a platform. It's never really been done before," he said.

Their Ottawa staff is small, and the magazine is desktop-published out of Alfaro's home office. She does the design herself, building on skills she honed as an architect, and the magazine's website, www.artemapale.com, is available in French, English, and Spanish. Contributors from across Latin America make up the rest of Alfaro's team, with consultations taking place by phone or e-mail.

All this -- on top of having a four-year old son and still learning a language -- might seem like a lot to manage, but Alfaro is positive. She received an e-mail from a reader several weeks ago that read, "In my many years in Canada, this is the first time I've felt proud to be Latino"That's the way she hopes to make people feel, and from the look of things she's on the right track.

Eco Latino (Ottawa-Gatineau) Enero  2005

Actualidad (resumen)

Mapalé Artes y Letras es una nueva revista en español que nació en Ottawa. En  su género es única en Canadá ya que se especializa en el arte y la cultura latinoamericana dentro de un contexto global. Tuvo su lanzamiento oficial en diciembre del 2004. Mapalé Artes y Letras se publica  tres veces al año y su primer número tiene artículos, reportajes, fotografías e ilustraciones realizadas por  periodistas y artistas canadienses, latinoamericanos y asiáticos. 

Hablamos con su directora Silvia Alfaro quien ha trabajado arduamente para sacar adelante este proyecto destinado a todos y cada uno de nosotros, a todos los que vivimos en Canadá y que deseamos leer mas en nuestro idioma, saber mas de nuestros artistas donde quiera que esten, porque Mapalé habla de artistas de latinoamerica viviendo en cualquier lugar del mundo.

Eco Latino. Por qué nació Mapalé?

Silvia Alfaro. Mapalé nació por muchas razones, nació por un deseo muy fuerte de tener a nuestro alcance, aquí en Canadá, en Ottawa, una revista de excelente calidad y gran contenido sobre las artes. Ya que para estar informados de lo que esta pasando en el mundo de las artes -escrito en español- es necesario recurrir al internet y a amigos y familiares para encargarles diversas revistas. Además en general las revistas de arte están especializadas en temas: exclusivamente pintura, o cine, o fotografia, etc. Pero encontrar una revista que toque todos estos temas y en español es casi imposible. Mapalé Artes y Letras no es una revista de la noticia del dia,  es una revista atemporal, para que los lectores puedan leer y guardarla para futuras referencias.

De esta manera, Mapalé Artes y Letras le da una nueva alternativa a todas aquellas personas interesadas en el arte, en la cultura y en el idioma español, de tener a su alcance una revista excelente en contenido y con una calidad visual comparable a revistas de arte de Canadá,  por un precio muy económico.