With a smile the Toronto Latino community says NO! to gender violence

On November 25, people around the world commemorated the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. Violence against women is a complex cultural issue that can be examined from different angles. To be changed it needs the compromise of all social sectors to end it. This year the Latino community proposed to remember this day in a different way; with the proposal to examine violence against women in the form of songs, music and art from a variety of languages, cultures and artists.The event’s purpose was to examine art and culture and interpret what the lyrics in songs were really saying or what art was really expressing. The exercise unveiled what those apparently sweet songs or art pieces really mean to say, and how these words or art were the expression of violent men with aggressive intentions toward women. And in the process, discovering a hidden violent message in artistic expression, included looking for empathy for the aggressor and blaming the victims. Gender violence is not only physical, and it can take many other forms to devalue women, to instil fear, to limit their autonomy, to isolate them in the family and in the social wider context –as per example inequity at work. These different forms of violence have negative consequences on women’s physical and mental health, and have a negative impact on their children, who are witness of the violence against their mothers These are not issues usually examined in a fun and interactive manner, but this was the proposal of Latin@s en Toronto, (with the support of the Counsil of Spanish Heritage, Colectivo 65 and Ashtor). Using the tools given by music, sense of humour and poetry, the audience and organizers lost the fear of looking for new meanings in words and songs. The meeting was at 1265 St. Clair Ave. West (Evoke Gallery). The participants only needed to bring a good sense of humour and be willing to smile.

Recording youth potential

By David Ros PEACH, who have been transforming the lives of marginalized youth in the Jane-Finch community through their innovative approach to education have added a new program which teaches youth how to professionally create, record, mix and master their own music. The organization, which stands for Promoting Education And Community Health, will run a recording studio program which connects youth from priority neighbourhoods with professional musicians and studio engineers. “We're teaching them the basics and if this is something that they want to pursue, they will already have the foundations,” said Zino, a recording artist and the program's instructor. “The facilitators that we're going to be bringing into the space aren't just engineers, we're bringing in managers, we're bringing in promoters, we're bringing in A&Rs, we're brining in people from every aspect of the industry down to the producers and the artists.” PEACH has held a drop-in recording studio program on Thursday nights where youth can have their songs recorded on a first come first serve basis for nearly a decade, but Zino said the new program is a step up from what the organization had been doing before by providing a fully accredited educational program.  During the course of the 16 week program, youth will not only be taught how to record, mix and master music using professional grade equipment, they will also be taught a musical theory as well. The program is available to youth free of charge, and 10 participants will be selected based upon an application process. “Some of the [selection] criteria will be basically, general interest and potential in studio engineering and just basic artistry, there is a particular feel that people normally have when they're really interested in something.” Zino said. “We're looking for commitment as well.” According to Zino, the program's participants will be decided based on interviews of the applicants. He also said that there is a possibility of running an additional program for another 10 participants following the initial run. PEACH was formed in 1993 as an offshoot of the Black Creek Anti-Drug focus group, is a charitable organization dedicated to helping marginalized youth to achieve their full potential. In addition to their youth-centred social and educational programs, PEACH also has provides support programs for families as well. These include the wraparound program which connects youth and their families with community outreach workers and the mom's group which provides support for mothers to become active participants in their children's education. If you would like to more information about PEACH, or the studio management program, you can contact them at info@peachyouth.org.