About this Event
What does it mean to carry a garden you’ve never seen? To mourn what was taken, and still make something beautiful? Songs for Tomorrow is a 60-minute multimedia concert-ritual that brings together Cuban rumba, African American gospel, blues, Persian and Arab classical music, and spoken word into a single, unforgettable evening. Created by Narges Bajoghli and Gerardo Contino, this performance traces the arc from grief to joy — not by skipping over the grief, but by moving through it together.
Across four movements, the ensemble charts a journey through displacement and memory, mourning and metabolizing, and finally, collective, hard-won celebration. Two worlds of sound build separately on stage, then find each other. A Persian garden melody learns to breathe in Cuban rhythms. A gospel chord holds space for Palestinian improvisation.
Featuring:
Gerardo Contino — vocals, artistic direction
Najla Said — monologue
Mani Nilchian — tar/setar, voice
J. Hoard — vocals
Fidel Vicioso — monologue
Adan Perez — keys
With rumba ensemble and Middle Eastern percussion
“We mourn to metabolize. We metabolize to survive. We survive to make joy — not the joy of forgetting. The joy of remembering and choosing to live anyway.”
By Camino Al Arte
Supported by grants from the City of New York, the Open Society Foundation, and Johns Hopkins University
This event is free and open to the public. Doors open at 5:30 PM. 60 minutes, no intermission. Performed in Spanish, English, Persian, and Arabic — meaning is carried by sound, by tone, by presence. All are welcome.
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
El Barrio's Artspace PS109, 215 East 99th Street, New York, United States
USD 0.00
