Musicians Present "Resiliencia"

October 9, 2018

Taina Asili and Gaetano Vaccaro, most familiar to local audiences as members of la Banda Rebelde, bring “Resiliencia,” their new documentary about hurricane ravaged Puerto Rico, to Hudson Valley Community College on Thursday, Oct. 18. The film showing, scheduled for noon to 1:30 p.m. in the Bulmer Telecommunications Center Auditorium, will include live performance and audience discussion, and is open free to the public.

In “Resiliencia” (2018, 35 min), filmed and edited by Vaccaro with Asili’s original score, four women artists and activists share their stories of resiliencia (resilience) during and after hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017. Asili and Vaccaro traveled across Puerto Rico documenting how the official response to the storms was as devastating for the island’s people as the storms themselves, yet the film also captures the indomitable human spirit of those determined to see their communities re-built.

Asili, a New York-born Puerto Rican social justice musician, leads la Banda Rebelde. In January 2017, she performed for nearly a million people at The Women’s March in Washington, DC. Vaccaro is a Sicilian guitarist, songwriter and filmmaker.

“Resiliencia” is presented by the college’s Cultural Affairs Program. Please call (518) 629-8071 for information.