{"id":4389,"date":"2017-06-06T12:30:44","date_gmt":"2017-06-06T17:30:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/multi.nycnewsnetwork.com\/nyforseniors\/?p=4389"},"modified":"2017-06-16T12:32:36","modified_gmt":"2017-06-16T17:32:36","slug":"ruben-diaz-jr-brings-gospel-concert-to-bronx-seniors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nycnewsnetwork.com\/nyforseniors\/ruben-diaz-jr-brings-gospel-concert-to-bronx-seniors\/","title":{"rendered":"Bronx Boro President Ruben Diaz Jr. Brings Gospel Concert To Bronx Seniors"},"content":{"rendered":"

By: Angella Brown<\/p>\n

A chilly and overcast April Fools\u2019 Day didn\u2019t prevent scores of Bronx-area seniors from lining up in front of Dreiser Loop Community Center in Co-Op City. The early bird gospel fans were eagerly anticipating the inaugural Bronx Gospel Concert, a free event presented by the Office of Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr<\/strong>. Billed as \u201cGeneration Fest: Bridging the Gap with Music,\u201d it was an afternoon of inspirational song, dance and praise, filled with soul-stirring music and energetic performances.<\/span><\/p>\n

With assistance from his wonderful staff of \u201cSenior Services Divas,\u201d led by Director of Senior Services Larcenia Walton<\/strong>, the borough president himself greeted attendees on line, stopping to pose for pictures and give hugs as he thanked many of them personally for coming out. Diaz\u2019s office received over 850 RSVPs through local senior centers, and the venue seating was nearly at capacity when it was time for the program to begin.<\/span><\/p>\n

After a welcome by the day\u2019s emcees, Elder Nitisha Moore of Relay for Life, and local radio personality Dr. Bob Lee of WBLS-FM 107.5, Deputy Bronx Borough President, the Honorable Aurelia Greene, led the invocation, a reading of Psalm 145. During his opening remarks, Diaz, a self-described \u201cpreacher\u2019s kid,\u201d said: \u201c\u2026one of the best ways to connect with the Lord is through music\u2026we\u2019re gonna have a good time today!\u201d He encouraged every audience member to get up out of their seats and dance, if the spirit of the music hit them. And indeed, the enthusiastic senior crowd did just that, from the time the first act hit the stage!<\/span><\/p>\n

It felt more like Sunday inside as every act \u201ctook \u2018em to church.\u201d Performance after performance, the place filled with spiritual sounds by singers like Andrea Brown, Pastor Wilson Mercado and Richard Talbert, Jr. Songstress Shayla Hernandez even sneaked in a secular tune, Michael Jackson\u2019s \u201cMan In The Mirror,\u201d to which the seniors swayed and sang along. Other crowd-pleasing acts included saxophonist Tony Smith, God\u2019s Anointed Praise Dancers, 76-years-young \u201cla cantante\u201d Spanish singer Carmen Sanabria, and Bollywood performer, Bharati S. Kemraj.<\/span><\/p>\n

During intermission, concert-goers munched on complimentary \u201cgoody bag\u201d snacks while they perused the sponsor tables, where they were able to shop for fashions and accessories with Etsy shop Diana\u2019s Tees, and Bronx-based Sasi Designs. \u00a0Among the many health care providers in attendance was AlphaCare<\/a>, a Magellan Health managed long term health care company. Beatrice Morton, AlphaCare Community Outreach Manager, noted: \u201cToday is remarkable! I am overwhelmed at the size of the crowd, but I love gospel music, too, so I know they\u2019re here for an uplifting good time.\u201d She added her appreciation for the recognition AlphaCare received from Ruben Diaz prior to the start of the concert, saying \u201c\u2026this is an impressive first event; AlphaCare looks forward to many more successful partnership opportunities in the Bronx.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

One woman thoroughly enjoying the program was Eva Lazaar, a ReServist (Retired Seniors in Service) outreach specialist for the Parkchester Empowerment Program. Eva learned about the event on Facebook, and knew she wanted to stop by. \u201cPrograms here [at Dreiser Community Center] are always nice. There was an interfaith breakfast here not too long ago. I love inspirational music and song, and today\u2019s event brought out the best of the Co-Op City community.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\"DSC_00834\"<\/p>\n

Above: Diaz\u00a0with Aurelia Greene, Deputy Borough President<\/p>\n

\"223456\"<\/p>\n

Above: Diaz with Carmen Sanabria, Singer<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By: Angella Brown A chilly and overcast April Fools\u2019 Day didn\u2019t prevent scores of Bronx-area seniors from lining up in front of Dreiser Loop Community Center in Co-Op City. The early bird gospel fans were eagerly anticipating the inaugural Bronx Gospel Concert, a free event presented by the Office of Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5798,"featured_media":4412,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[80,58,145],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4389","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bronx","category-featured-news","category-spring-2017"],"yoast_head":"\nBronx Boro President Ruben Diaz Jr. Brings Gospel Concert To Bronx Seniors - New York for Seniors<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nycnewsnetwork.com\/nyforseniors\/ruben-diaz-jr-brings-gospel-concert-to-bronx-seniors\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Bronx Boro President Ruben Diaz Jr. Brings Gospel Concert To Bronx Seniors\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By: Angella Brown A chilly and overcast April Fools\u2019 Day didn\u2019t prevent scores of Bronx-area seniors from lining up in front of Dreiser Loop Community Center in Co-Op City. 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