January Newsletter — The Canales Project

Dear friends of TCP,

Greetings and happy Sunday! It is hard to believe that the first month of the new year has come and gone. 2021 has already brought extraordinary events and change that we are excited to experience with you.

TCP Statement of Response to the Capitol Hill Insurrection

The Canales Project does not stand for the violence and anger the nation witnessed on January 6th. We believe in using the power of the arts to give voice to issues on identity and culture, and to examine belief systems and help overcome our differences. 3 weeks ago, the United States experienced a startling high in the political and social temperature.

Congratulations President Biden and Vice-President Harris

Yet, 3 weeks later, our country moved forward with a new president and our history’s first female Vice President. This is a step forward with a new energy for hope and change. As we congratulate and welcome President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, we also reflect on our growth and achievements, and look forward to new opportunities for our country.

Hear Her Song

Another moment to celebrate is the beautiful poem recited by Amanda Gorman at the 2021 Inauguration. As the first person to be named National Youth Poet Laureate, Gorman eloquently painted a spoken portrait on a canvas that is both America’s challenging past and promising future. Using her own words, Gorman exemplified how language and art are capable of inspiring, healing and challenging an entire nation. She poignantly captures the exact mission and vision of our initiative Hear Her Song- to use language, identity and music to celebrate women.

The Women’s March of 2017 was a peaceful, worldwide protest that took place on January 21-22 2017, the day after the inauguration of President Donald Trump

This month also marks the four year anniversary of the historic Women’s March of 2017, the inspiration of our project Hear Her Song! In honor of this memorable moment, we are excited to announce the upcoming release of our inaugural album of Hear Her Song will launch in March 2021, in alignment with Women’s History Month.

Produced in collaboration with engineer Christopher Botta (OneBeat, Emily Wells), the album features songs by Katy Pfaffl, Hyeyoung Kim, Helen Park, Janet Noh, Dina Fanai, Eliza Hull, Faye Chiao, Rosabella Gregory, Maria Landi, Sophia Lanuza, and Gwyneth Herbert. We have so many artists and partners to thank for making this project come to life, and we are thrilled to be able to shine a light on these women and their stories. Check out our first partnership and composer/honoree spotlight!

Artist Advocacy/V-Pals Series

As part of our ongoing mission to help break down cultural identity barriers, we have been featuring artists with advocacy interviews through our 2017 online initiative, V-Pals! Our latest interview was with the one and only Rosabella Gregory. A wonderful composer, performer and singer-songwriter, Rosabella shares her musical upbringing and participation with Hear Her Song. Rosabella provides beautiful insight by sharing, “I think that the fear of failure, stops you if you let it…you can't teach someone unless you can remember how it is to be taught…[and] all these things, I feel like they're connected to this idea of growth and being open.” Check out what Rosabella has to say below!

Another part of these series include commemorating artists in correspondence with national heritage months. Past interviews included features of Angélica Negrón in September for Hispanic Heritage Month, Adeliia Faizullina in October for Disability Employment Awareness Month and Tiffany Ayalik and Inuksuk Mackay in November for Native American Heritage Month. Be sure to be on the lookout for upcoming interviews!

“What’s Next For Women Like Us” Podcast Feature

On January 21, our founder Carla Canales appeared as a guest on the radio and podcast, What’s Next For Women Like Us hosted by Linda Rendleman! The show’s mission is similar to ours and Hear Her Song: to share women’s stories of perseverance, inspiration and motivation using our voices and creating our most authentic lives. You can tune in to their insightful conversation on here!

Linda is an award winning author, speaker and humanitarian, and is an honoree of Hear Her Song from its inaugural season. Check out her song written by Dina Fanai, in partnership with the Women Like Us foundation.

We hope you are having a safe and positive start to the new year. We can’t wait to share the exciting new steps TCP will be making these next few months. Please feel free to reach out if you are interested in contributing to the Hear Her Song album release, or any other programs that speak to you!

Warmest regards,

Carla D. Canales
Founder and Director
The Canales Project

For further information on Hear Her Song, V-Pals or for an opportunity to participate, please reach out to us at admin@thecanalesproject.com.