Paved with Promise: A Virtual Conversation about the Impact of the 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act
Featured artists Nina Pan, Nadïne LaFond and Pepe Santana
Moderators: folklorists Iveta Pirgova, PhD and Marion Jacobson, PhD
Via Zoom on May 15, Thursday, 6pm EST
Join us for a conversation on how the 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act (aka Hart Celler) changed the cultural face of the United States. With this conversation, the folklife centers in New Jersey are launching a partnership project that reminds us that “Our streets may not be paved with gold, but they are paved with promise…” as Ted Kennedy said on the Senate debate floor in 1965. As we celebrate Hart-Celler’s 60th Anniversary, we will explore the ways in which immigrants preserve their cultural heritage and continue to transform the cultural landscape of our region. The participating artists will offer insights on immigration experiences and adaptation of traditional arts to a new cultural environment. In live performances they will use the language of music to speak about uniqueness of cultures and shared humanity: Nadine LaFond – Haitian Creole songs, Nina Pan –guzheng (Chinese plucked zither); and Pepe Santana – traditional Andean instruments from Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia.
Iveta Pirgova, PhD
Moderator
Dr. Pirgova is the Director of the Department of Folklife and Cultural Studies at Wheaton Arts and Cultural Center. Over the years Iveta has worked with more than 65 ethnic and regional communities in New Jersey striving to preserve and share their cultural heritage. With a primary interest in cultural expressions of ethnicity and identity, she has designed a series of educational and public programs, including more than 30 major exhibitions, various festivals and performances, workshops, classes, and artist residencies in folk and traditional arts. Iveta has published 2 books, over 80 articles and is fluent in five languages.
Marion Jacobson, PhD
Moderator
Dr. Jacobson is a folklorist, ethnomusicologist, and author who writes, teaches and produces public programming on world music, culture, and the arts. Dr. Jacobson earned her PhD in Music from New York University and has taught at NYU, SUNY New Paltz, and the City University of New York. She is currently serving as Director of NJ Folklife at Perkins Center for the Arts where she leads a variety of programs and oral history research projects.
Nina Pan
Artist
Nina discovered her love for music at a young age. She grew up listening to classical music and took a few years of violin lessons in China. When her local Huaxia Chinese school started offering lessons on the guzheng (Chinese plucked zither), she jumped on the opportunity to learn from her talented teacher, April Yang.
An active volunteer in the community, Nina currently serves as board member of the Asian American Association in South Jersey (AAASJ), a nonprofit organization serving as a liaison between underrepresented Asian communities and government and local resources. An animal lover, Nina also volunteers for the Animal Welfare Association (AWA) in Voorhees. In her professional life, Nina is a traditional Chinese medicine doctor practicing in New Jersey and Pennsylvania for two decades.
Nadïne LaFond
Artist
Nadïne LaFond is a vocalist, songwriter and mixed media artist whose work spans music and visual arts. Drawing from Caribbean and American roots, her songs create a unique sound shaped by over 20 years of live performance and collaboration. Her debut solo album, Wisdom Child, reflects her journey of turning adversity into light. As a visual artist, Nadïne creates mixed media works that explore journey, spirituality, and human connection with Nature. Coming from a long line of visual artists, poets and musicians, she began drawing symbols at age four while visiting family in Haïti, where she feels her original creative spark was ignited. Inspired by her Haitian heritage, she combines abstraction, symbolism, and figurative elements to address social, cultural, and technological themes.
Born in Brooklyn, NY, and raised in New Jersey, she has developed and led workshops in visual arts, music, and literature. Since 2004, she has worked with educational institutions and arts organizations as well as an independent teaching artist. Nadine also provided long-term residencies in traditional Haitian arts for Millville schools as well as residencies in Creole singing for the NJ Folk and Traditional Arts at Home program.
Pepe Santana
Artist
Juan Pepe Santana is a musician, educator, and instrument maker based in Stanhope, New Jersey. Born in Ecuador, Pepe moved to the U.S. in the 1960s, where he has performed and taught Andean traditions for several decades. Pepe plays over two dozen native wind instruments (flutes, pan-pipes and whistles) and a variety of string instruments (charangos, mandolins, bandurria, tiple, guitars). His emphasis on ancient sounds and rhythms has defined him as a true spokesperson of traditional Andean Music. Pepe has participated in major folk festivals in the United States and Canada. Frequently lectures at Music Schools and Folklore Societies in this country and abroad.
Pepe Santana established and directed the Festival of the Andes at Waterloo Village in New Jersey. He is also the founder and director of Group INKHAY (Quechua verb meaning, “to tend the fire”). Its members are the interpreters of the traditional music from the Andes Mountains of Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador. Pepe is a master folk musician in the Folk Arts Apprenticeship Program of the NJSCA, and was awarded the National Merit and Title of Great Gentleman by the Ecuadorian Government.
