John Malveaux: 'African American Heritage Month Celebration'

John Malveaux of www.MusicUNTOLD.com writes:

MusicUNTOLD and Long Beach City College-Pacific Coast Campus will present a screening of the Mexican film ANGELITOS NEGROS on Wednesday February 27, 2013, 11:00 am at Dyer Hall. Starring popular Mexican actor Pedro Infante, the drama Angelitos Negros concerns a racist Caucasian woman who learns, after giving birth to a baby that is not white, that the woman who she thought was her black nanny when she was growing up is actually her mother. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi. 

In honor of 2008 Women’s History Month, MusicUNTOLD presented a live conversation and performance by soprano Hope Foye. Hope was a classically trained soprano, activist and protégé of Paul Robeson when her passport was taken during the McCarthy era because she participated in a competition in East Germany. Hope spent the next ten years earning a successful career including a TV show in Mexico where she learned the song ANGELITOS NEGROS 

Soprano Hope Foye, with accompanists, will sing  ANGELITOS NEGROS following the screening. Hope is now 90 years young. Please see Spanish and English translation of the song Angelitos Negros.

Angelitos negros

Pintor nacido en mi tierra,

con el pincel extranjero,

pintor que sigues el rumbo,

de tantos pintores viejos.

Aunque la virgen sea blanca,

píntale angelitos negros,

que también se van al cielo,

todos los negritos buenos.

Pintor si pintas con amor,

¿por qué desprecias su color?,

si sabes que en el cielo,

también los quiere Dios.

Pintor de santos alcoba,

si tienes alma en el cuerpo,

por qué al pintar en tus cuadros,

te olvidaste de los negros.

Siempre que pintas iglesias,

pintas angelitos bellos,

pero nunca te acordaste,

de pintar un ángel negro

Little Black Angels

Painter, born in my land

with a foreign brush in your hand,

Following in the footsteps,

of all the artists who came before.

Though the Virgin may be white,

paint me some little black angels,

for they go to heaven, too

as all good black people do.

Painter of art, if you paint with any heart,

Why do you despise this color?

Knowing well that in heaven,

God loves them, too.

Painter of alcoves of saints

if you have a soul in your body,

why is it that when you paint

you always forget the black ones?

Whenever you paint churches,

you fill them with beautiful angels,

but you never remember,

to paint a black angel.

John Malveaux

www.musicuntold.com