Journey to citizenship honored at special celebration

BY NORMA B. DENNIS | ndworddesign@gmail.com

June 27, 2023, is not likely to be a day Fred Lopez will forget. It is the day he became a naturalized American citizen during a ceremony held in Charlotte. His older brother Johan Mendez Lopez was there to witness the event.

July 10 is also a day that will hold significance for Lopez. On that day the sta and residents of the Pennybyrn retirement community where he works held a celebration in Lopez’s honor recognizing his journey to citizenship.

In addition to three of his five siblings, sister Franderly Rivas Lopez, and brothers Eddy Rodriguez Lopez and Edwin Rodriguez Lopez, special guests at the celebration included somewhat of a who’s who in politics — Britt Moore, At Large, High Point City Council; Cyril Je erson, Ward 1 High Point City Council; Monica Peters, Ward 3 High Point City Council; John Faircloth, N.C. State representative serving parts of High Point; Cecil Brockman, N.C. State representative serving parts of High Point, including Pennybyrn; Michael Garret, State senator serving most of High Point; and Jim Morgan, community advocate and former three-term N.C. State representative who served High Point.

Kathy Manning, U.S. Congress representative, was the guest speaker.

“All of us are a certain number of generations removed from immigrants that came to settle in this country,” Manning said. “The things that bring us together are more important than our di erences. We are a nation of immigrants. We want the brightest and best and that is what I see in Fred.

“People like you make the U.S. what it is,” she said addressing Lopez. “You make me proud to be an American.”

Manning presented Lopez with a flag that had flown over the United States Capitol in his honor.

Born in the Dominican Republic, Lopez’s journey to become an American citizen actually began at age 9 when his family moved to the Greensboro/High Point area. Looking for a better life for her children, his mother had married an American, which ultimately brought her to the States. Circumstances later found her raising her family as a single parent, but decisions were always made with her children in mind.

When Lopez arrived in America with his family he spoke only Spanish and was enrolled in the Newcomer’s School for eight months. As he became more proficient in English, he was transferred to a regular public school and graduated from High Point Central High School.

While at Central, Lopez participated in the Guilford Apprenticeship Program (GAP) and worked in the IT department of EAS, a construction and manufacturing company. He also worked for a short period with another company before coming to Pennybyrn in August 2022.

“I felt an energy when I was interviewed at Pennybyrn. The people were very friendly, which is not something you usually see in IT,” Lopez said. “The idea of working here seemed calming. IT work is generally di cult, grunt work and can be draining to your mental health. Here it is more like helping friends with their technical problems. It makes work more pleasurable.

“Residents are supportive and treat me like family. They are very grateful for the help I provide.”

It was not well known at Pennybyrn, however, that Lopez had been working to get his citizenship. He knew speaking and writing English would be no issue, but he had studied diligently to pass the written test.

“The test is not easy,” he said. “If any American would go in blindly to take it, I feel only one in 100 would pass. That might be an over estimate, but I am just saying it is not easy. For me, failing was not an option. I did not have what it costs to retake the exam.

“I have never felt I was anything but an American,” he added. “My identity has been shaped by living here. Getting my citizenship was more about making it official. It is hard to describe, but once that happened, I felt (free) and safe.”

After becoming a citizen Lopez registered to vote the same day. Now at the age of 21, he will have the opportunity to vote in the upcoming primaries for the first time.

When Lopez originally asked Lynn Johnson, director of resident and community engagement at Pennybyrn, for a day o to take the citizenship test in Charlotte, she was excited. Since the residents could not travel to the swearing-in ceremony, it was decided to host a celebration for Lopez at Pennybyrn and open it to the sta and residents there.

“Once that was announced, I could not go through the hall without being congratulated,” Lopez said.

The newly recognized American citizen did not have a personal July 4 celebration, but spent the day with residents at Pennybyrn. Although working, he felt a new appreciation for the Fourth.

“When you are born in a country that is not as privileged as America, you see things di erently,” Lopez said. “I know if not for the opportunities America has given me I would not be where I am today. I have a lot to thank this nation for.

“I still have a sister in the Dominican Republic and because of my background I have some cultural influences from there. But it is liberating to be o cially recognized from what I have long felt as my home country.”

Lopez says that his mother had always wanted to get her citizenship and was in the process of doing so when she passed away.

“I have had some obstacles in life but not as many as my mother, he said. “It is because of her I have the privilege to say today, ‘I am an American.’” !

WEEKLY ARTS ROUNDUP]

Camel City Jazz Orchestra To Perform Bossa Nova Classics Featuring Martha Bassett

RiverRun hosts back-to-back free screenings at Marketplace Cinemas

BY RACHEL BARRON

A special bossa nova ensemble of Camel City Jazz Orchestra (CCJO) will perform classics of the genre, featuring vocalist Martha Bassett singing in the original Portuguese, on Saturday, July 29. The concert at the SECCA auditorium will begin at 7 p.m.

For Bassett, learning how to speak and sing Portuguese was a dream she never had time to pursue until the COVID pandemic. With performance venues shut down, she was able to focus on learning the language and Brazilian guitar. She also formed a band, Quarteto Brasil, which has performed around the state.

Matt Kosma, artistic director and tenor saxophonist for CCJO, heard Quarteto Brasil play in Winston-Salem last year and was inspired by the idea of forming a larger 12-piece bossa nova ensemble, with Martha as vocalist, for this concert. “I started listening to original recordings and realized that many of them were fully orchestrated. The larger ensembles, including the strings, were so beautiful. That was the inspiration for adding a string quartet to the instrumentation, which includes four winds and a rhythm section.”

Bossa nova, which originated in Brazil, is rhythmically related to the samba, but is distinguished by its complex harmonies. The concert will feature new arrangements of bossa nova standards such as Desafinado, Meditation, and One Note Samba , written specifically for the ensemble. The arrangements were written by Jay Meachum, CCJO trumpet and flugelhorn player, Chris Peebles, who plays alto sax and flute, and Dan Hitchcock, a former lead alto sax player for CCJO. General admission tickets are $30 and may be purchased at camelcityjazzorchestra.org/tickets. Tickets for students with ID and children under age 12 are $15.

CCJO is a nonprofit or ganization founded in January 2012 to perform and cultivate jazz music in Winston-Salem and to serve as the community’s professional big band. The organization is dedicated to developing and promoting a vibrant jazz culture in Winston-Salem through performances and educational programs.

The RiverRun International Film Festival and Temple Emanuel have joined forces to present a pair of film screenings at Marketplace Cinemas, 2095 Peters Creek Parkway, Winston-Salem — both of which will feature award-winning filmmaker Dani Menkin in attendance to introduce the films. Admission to both events is free and audiences can register for tickets at https://riverrunfilm. com/.

Menkin’s latest film, Little Town, will be shown at 7 p.m. Saturday, August 5th. The film stars Jason Paul Field as a struggling, recently widowed stand-up comedian who embarks on a road trip with his young son (newcomer Grant Stevens) and a free-spirited young woman (newcomer Crystal St. John) which becomes a journey of self-discovery for all three of them.

At 2 p.m. Sunday, August 6th, Menkin’s award-winning documentary feature Aulcie will be screened. The winner of the Best Documentary award at the 2021 Faith in Film — Film Festival, the film traces the life and career of Aulcie Perry, the legendary basketball star Aulcie Perry, who could have played for the New York Knicks but opted instead to play for the Maccabi Tel Aviv pro team, helping to lead them to the 1977 European Championship. Yet for all his success, Perry couldn’t avoid the temptations that came with stardom and had to forge his own path to redemption.

Menkin will also present a special preview of his upcoming documentary feature Colleyville, an in-depth examination of the 2022 hostage situation at the

Congregation Beth Israel synagogue in the titular Texas town. Rabbi Charlie CytronWalker of Temple Emanuel in WinstonSalem was one of the hostages and figures prominently in the documentary. He will be on hand to discuss his experiences and working with Menkin to bring this extraordinary true story of courage to the screen.

“I am excited to bring my films for the first time to Winston-Salem and work with RiverRun,” Menkin said. “On top of that, I can’t wait to share the stage with Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker from Temple Emanuel, who has inspired me with this courageous personality to share my new film and the hostage situation event he was part of. I am looking forward to presenting a first look at my work-in-progress for Colleyville and meeting the crowd in person.”

“It’s always a joy to partner up with RiverRun to o er special film screenings outside of the normal festival time,” said Zack Fox, general manager of Marketplace Cinemas. “The fact that these two screenings will feature the filmmaker Dani Menkin as an in-person special guest will make these a must-see. I am personally very excited to see his new film Little Town. It looks charming.”

Coming soon to Marketplace Cinemas is the North Carolina Comedy Festival, and two stand-up comedy shows will be presented there on September 8th and 9th.

The 26th annual RiverRun International Film Festival is scheduled for April 18th — 27th, 2024.

The o cial RiverRun International Film Festival is https://riverrunfilm. com/. The o cial Marketplace Cinemas website is https://www.mpcws.com/. Dani Menkin’s o cial website is https://www. heyjudeproductions.com/. !

See MARK BURGER’s reviews of current movies. © 2023, Mark Burger.