February 26, 2012

This is a special SHOUT OUT to Sister Sharon for holding down the fort while I calmly (yeah, right) paced the halls at Oakwood Hospital last Monday evening and Tuesday morning, anxiously awaiting the arrival of my very first grandniece!

Ms. Sabrina finally made her appearance on Tuesday afternoon at 4:30pm, weighing in at 7lbs, 8oz. Her mom and dad (my oldest nephew) did a stellar job with this little wonder. And so a new trend begins in this part of the Latten family. My father (of 9 brothers and 3 sisters) had 4 girls, who, between them,  had 9 boys and 1 girl. Now a new generation of girls (my daughter's first will probably be the only boy, lol) is led by the venerable Ms. S.

February 13, 2012

The CYT Dance Ministry is currently working on a series of pieces (a ballet) for presentation on the second Sunday in March. If the piece is completed, it may be presented for Black History Month at the end of February. The piece is based on this Yoruba song "Ise Oluwa". I heard and fell in love with this music when I was younger and watching the epic mini-series "Roots". We will be using the following version, as well as the version by Sweet Honey In The Rock, as well as additional pieces of music, to round out our ballet. Below is the basis of the song and a video that features the beautiful voice of Letta Mbulu, who sang the "Roots' version of the song. Believe and enjoy!

Ise oluwa, kole bajey o.

That which the creator made
can never be destroyed.

West African (Yoruba)