Posted on September 22nd, 2023
On September 10, 2023, over 175 people gathered in Toronto for Canciones y Cuentos. The sold-out fundraiser was a benefit for the Gustavo Martinez Love of Learning Scholarship of Jovenes Adelante, a project of Amistad Canada.
Named after long-time Amistad member and supporter Gustavo Martinez, the scholarship was set up by the family after Gustavo’s recent death. It has been awarded to Rodrigo Sanchez who has just begun a 7-year program in Queretaro leading to a degree in medicine.
The afternoon was a unique program of song and story arranged by Amanda Martinez and her friend, author Martha Batiz. Amanda, daughter of Gustavo, sang some of her father’s favorites. She reminded the crowd that her father had journeyed to Canada by bicycle with his brother Arturo in 1956. The journey of the brothers was documented in the film CICLO which was produced by Arturo’s daughter Andrea Martinez Crowther.
Martha Batiz, author of Plaza Requiem and No Stars in the Sky
balanced the musical program, reading excerpts from her short stories and reminding attendees that Latin America has long suffered from political regimes with scant respect for human rights.
And who knew that the writer could also sing? The afternoon ended with a rousing duet from Martinez and Batiz and with applause for the fact that the afternoon had generated enough money to pay for the first Gustavo Martinez Love of Learning Scholarship.
Photographer: Sandra Laurin
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