Celebrating The Hispanic Month October 2025: Taller de Tambores Venezolanos

Maestros: Maria Natividad Gonzalez

Músicos: Ricardo Ferrer Soto y Gerardo Nogales

Voices of Arts Central is overflowing with gratitude to everyone who joined “El Taller de Tambores Venezolanos”. A celebration of the venezuelan roots, the joy, the culture, and the venezuelan traditions. all the love and support gave the strength to continue the mission of our organization: creating spaces where artists, through interdisciplinary and innovative collaborations, can expand their full creative potential.

Special thanks to the Institute of Contemporary Dance for opening the doors of their beautiful studios, to the wonderful dance teacher Maria Natividad Gonzalez for her talent and charisma in guiding the class through the different steps from the regions of the Venezuela country, and to the amazing musicians who shared their magic and talent with the audience, Ricardo Ferrero Soto and Gerardo Nogales.

Voices of Arts Central was proud to be part of the first edition of Danza en Tarimas 2025. This festival reflects HAPAA’s mission to uplift Latin and immigrant voices through the performing arts and to create spaces where personal and collective stories can be shared on stage. These voices carry history, resilience, and hope, and reminding us of the power of storytelling to bring people together.

This neoclassical dance solo explored the deep and personal journey of leaving behind one’s country, our humble family, "Nuestro Barrio", and everything familiar, carrying only a single bag and a heart full of hope. It reflects the courage required to start new, alone, and the strength to build a life far from home, with the quiet resilience needed to keep moving forward while holding tightly to our identity and roots. Set to an original viola score by Tonya Burton and featuring dancer Diego Mackenna Borrero, courtesy of Uptown Dance Center, and choreography by Karina Gonzalez, principal dancer of the Houston Ballet and Founder of Voices of Arts Central, this piece offers an honest, raw, joyful, and beautiful tribute to resilience, identity, and the stories we carry within us.

Voices of Arts Central was founded with a simple yet powerful mission: to create a space where diverse artists unite to share a collective voice that is stronger, deeper, and more resonant than any one alone.

In 2021, this vision began to take shape when Principal Dancer Karina Gonzalez and multidisciplinary artist Leonor Lanza discovered a shared desire to collaborate. From that spark, La Voz de los Azulejos was born, a project that gives life to the search for identity and the universal need to belong.

While the concept and composition were led by Leonor Lanza, this work could only come alive through collaboration. David Rivera’s videography captured each breath and movement; Monica Guerra’s designs wove colors and textures into the story; and dancers Karina Gonzalez and Rupert Edwards embodied its soul through movement. Together, they created not just a performance, but a living expression of unity, artistry, and voice.

La Voz de los Azulejos is more than a project, it is the beginning of a journey. A journey of self discovery, connection, and the power of art to remind us of who we are and who we can become.

Precious Gift is a deeply personal and multi-disciplinary project inspired by the recent life experience of dancer Karina González. Through the powerful union of dance, original music, and film, Precious Gift invites audiences into the intimate and transformative journey of pregnancy, a time of profound vulnerability, strength, and awakening.

With an evocative original score by violist Tonya Burton, new choreography by González, and immersive visuals crafted by filmmaker David Rivera, the work explores the emotional spectrum of motherhood: from uncertainty and internal struggle to beauty, joy, and unconditional love.

More than a reflection on pregnancy, Precious Gift is a celebration of life itself, of the unseen forces that connect us to each other, to music, and to the natural world. It is a tribute to the miracle that emerges when love and creation come together.

The film was originally featured in the 7th Annual Frame x Frame Film Festival in 2024 and later reimagined as a live performance for the MIX-MATCH Festival in 2025. This powerful collaboration brought together dancers Rupert Edwards and Karina González, musicians Tonya Burton and Austin Smither-Lewellen, and filmmaker David Rivera to create a deeply moving, interdisciplinary experience.