Image of the members of the 1959 Council for the nursing program. From left to right: Marilyn Mason, Lorraine Baranowski, Ruth Crane, June Archibald, and Ruth Hillman.
This video is about Joe Rosell’s life and relationship with his father and what his father means to him. Joe runs the tennis program at the German Canadian Club in London, ON. He took the lead after his father passed away. He also owns his own landscaping business and runs it from London, ON. He shares the story of his father coming to Canada and building tennis courts with the aim to help make tennis more accessible and affordable to people. His father ran and taught the tennis program at the German Canadian Club and after he passed away Joe took over and kept his legacy alive.
I am doing well! I am always curious and looking for creative ways, as a single person to fend off boredom and isolation at home in between work shifts. I am 54 years old, I have my own house, I have a job I love and am so very grateful that I am essential and go in each day for all of my shifts and do the best job I can at the job I love and have loved for nearly 8 years.
Al Bilad newspaper is an Arabic-English newspaper distributed in London, Mississauga and Hamilton. It was started by two business partners: Laith Al Hamadani and Ziad Ali. In this video, I interview Ziad Ali, who is also the editor in chief of the English section of Al Bilad newspaper. Al Bilad relays news from the Middle East and also contains news from Canada. You can see how Al Bilad provides bridges to people who are and would like to know about the Middle East, so that they are still intact, while also keeping up with Canadian news. In this interview I ask Ziad Ali questions about why he decided to found Al Bilad and how he deals with bias concerning choice of topics. I also ask him about his role and duty as an imam/khateeb at al Hayyat mosque (shown on the video). He likes to teach and he believes he can provide bridges by relaying knowledge and news.
This portrait demonstrates through various music clips, the integration of music and the importance in my partners life. Through being from a family of doctor’s in Havana, being the only musician enabled him to attend school for “free” in Cuba after being 1 of 6 chosen. Through participating in a program that enables him to arrive in Canada, and for a fee that is to be paid back to the government, is able to play concerts in Canada. He speaks about how the connection of music amongst different composers, no matter the sound or instrument, is a family and a connected language. He represents his identity through the constant listening and incorporating of music into his saxophone, drums, and piano gigs, alongside dj’ing at various clubs within London. Through tailoring his music towards the cultural crowd, and being able to adapt and fit in with the crowd with unique and current songs, brings forward the ability for various cultural groups to feel connected through the language of music. A universal language.
Jimmy Borja immigrated to Ontario, Canada in 2004. Despite being fluent in the English language, Jimmy had a difficult time overcoming the cultural and even the more subtle language barriers. In this video Jimmy shares the hardships of permanently living in a country where you don't know anyone who speaks your native language. He also offers advice for others undergoing this process of immersion.
In this video, we follow Alberto Alvarez as he journeys from Colombia to London. We will delve into his experience with being a new immigrant in Canada while also trying to understand what it is like to become part of a new culture/new community. Alberto then explains the process of reconnecting with his Colombian roots through the London community. Further, this project will seek to understand how culture and identity intertwine to create a distinct cultural identity that differs depending on who you are around at a specific point. Community Connections brings together music, image, and video to tell the story of a determined young man who grapples with his identity to become the bicultural community member he is today.
