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The MSC L.T. Jordan Institute for International Awareness invites you to a musical performance and conversation in Rudder Theatre on Friday, March 1 at 6 p.m. for our upcoming “Soul of an Island: A Response to Hurricane Maria,” program. Hear firsthand how one Puerto Rican community became a beacon of hope in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria. Community leaders Christine Nieves and Luis Rodriguez will share their stories and musical talents to demonstrate how community, creativity and the arts help us to persevere even in the hardest of times.

Luis and Christine provide uplifting insight to the many aspects of disaster recovery. They will discuss their experiences with service-oriented leadership in their community and share valuable lessons through their words and music that can be applied to our own Aggie Community. Luis and student musicians will perform works from his recently debuted album, Amor(es), directly influenced by Hurricane Maria.

Christine Nieves is a native Puerto Rican with her Masters of Science in Evidence-Based Social Intervention from Oxford. Luis is also a native Puerto Rican with his Masters of Music in Classical Music Composition from the University of Massachusetts. Together they run a Mutual Protection community in Luis’s hometown of Mariana where they organize citizen efforts to provide for the needs of the community. The organization was founded in response to a lack of government support in the time following Hurricane Maria. By mobilizing their community to found community kitchens and doing restoration work, they were able to provide for both the physical and emotional needs of their fellow residents of Mariana.