UANM

Ukrainian Cultural Forces free music concert Santa Fe and ABQ

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Dear Friends,

Cultural Forces is on a coast to coast tour thanking America for our support for Ukraine and will perform a variety of music next week on Wednesday, November 6 (the day after election day) at:

Santa Fe – from 12 noon til 1:30 pm at New Mexico Museum of Art, 107 W Palace Ave.

and

Albuquerque – starting at 5 pm at Kimo Theater, 423 Central Ave NW (corner 5th St.)

The live performances are free and you and your friends are cordially invited!

Cultural Forces brings together active servicemen and volunteers of artistic and creative trades. Through culture and the arts, Cultural Forces improve troop morale and provide psychological support to soldiers in combat and recovery zones. Professional artists before the war, most have fought in some of the fiercest battles of the war and, after recovering from their injuries, they’re getting back to playing music.

We hope to see you there and, if we forgot to invite anyone you’d like to bring along, seats will be available to accommodate your group. For any further information, please call UANM to leave a message at 505.990.8266.

Thank you!

Pam Feather,
President Albuquerque Sister Cities Foundation Inc.


Larysa Castillo,
President Ukrainian Americans of New Mexico Inc.

Los Alamos Living Treasure Stephanie Sydoria Delivers Keynote At Ukraine’s 27 Years Of Independence Event

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Ukrainian Americans of New Mexico celebrated both the 27th and the 100th anniversaries of the declarations of Ukrainian independence by gathering Aug. 26 at the Albuquerque Civic Plaza to read aloud the official proclamation issued by Mayor Tim Keller.

Father Artur Bubnevych of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Byzantine Catholic Church blessed the participants and led the prayers of thanks and in remembrance of fallen heroes in the continued fight for Ukraine’s freedom.

Read the rest of the article by clicking on the link below,

https://www.ladailypost.com/content/los-alamos-living-treasure-stephanie-sydoria-delivers-keynote-ukraine%E2%80%99s-27-years

Kurbasy

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From November 10-12, members of UANM had the opportunity to experience the renown Ukrainian musical ensemble Kurbasy perform at venues in Santa Fe and Albuquerque to mesmerized audiences,
captivated by the voices and modern musical arrangements of the virtuoso artists. After their meetings with the evening of the concerts, Natasha Yona extended the hospitality of her home the next day and
showed the group around town before they flew off to Seattle for the final stop on their North American tour. They were sponsored by the US State Department and we hope to see them return to New Mexico as
soon as they can! www.centerstageUS.org

UANM Board of Directors

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Nataliya P. Edelman

President

Natalia was raised in Bucha, Kyiv region. As a young mother starting out she encountered first hand the Chernobyl nuclear catastrophe and was evacuated to Siberia with her 8-month-old son leaving behind her husband who was mustered onto the site of the meltdown as a “liquidator”. She eventually returned to Ukraine where she founded and operated a few successful businesses to support her family before eventually moving to the United States in 1999, first to Maine and then on to New Mexico where her son served in the United States Air Force. She holds a Master's degree in TV Production from Kyiv National Theater, Cinema and TV Production University. At school, she had the opportunity to work on different aspects of production. Nataliya is a director, PRE and POST Production certified from New Mexico CC, is an owner of Yonafilm Production, LLC and is a former Producer at SKYDIVEFILM Production. She was chosen to represent her NM school at several international cinema conferences and is also a certified yoga teacher.Founder and Co-Producer at Ukrainian Film Festival, New Mexico. Judge Film at IISFF11 Independent International Short Film Festival, New York.

Larysa Castillo

Director

Larysa Castillo, was born in Boyarka, Kiyivsaka obl, Ukrain, on June 3rd 1970. Grew up in Mikolayiv, southern Ukrainian. Came from creative family of teachers in multiple generations, but chosen different career path and became a pediatrician after graduation of medical school in Zaporizhzha in 1997. Came to United States in 2002 and was an active member of Ukrainian community in NJ. In 2010 came to Albuquerque, NM and working as an RN atPresbyterian hospital. Raising 2 sons. Hobbies: cross stitching, crocheting and making traditional Ukrainian "motanka" dolls. Became a member of UANM in 2019.

Daria Derebera

Vice President

Daria was born in Chernihiv Ukraine and raised in a Ukrainian family home where ancestral Ukrainian traditions and songs were respected and encouraged through the generations. During her student years, she was an active member of the noted “Druzhba” ensemble, traveling to perform and represent Ukraine in various international folk dance festivals in Italy, Poland, Spain, France and other countries. Daria graduated from Chernihiv State Institute of Law, Social Technologies & Labor (Ukraine) in 2009 with a Master of Law degree and followed that up in 2011 with earning a Masters in Finance Management from Kyiv National Economics University.

Anna Levchuk

Anna Levchuk

Vice President

Anna Levchuk was born in Kyiv, Ukraine, and grew up immersed in classic Christian Ukrainian traditions, including culinary. Anna pursued a degree in Restaurant Management and then managed some of Kyiv's finest restaurants before shifting her professional focus to the cosmetology/ beauty supply industry. Her son Demyd was born in 2019 but, with the outbreak of all out war in 2022, their family's life path, as for all Ukrainians, was forever altered. The shocking daily reality of this conflict forced them for the first two months to live in constant stress and fear, seeking refuge in whatever bomb shelters they could find. Eventually, Anna made the difficult decision to leave her homeland, emigrating to the USA with her parents and now 4 year old son. Their journey was arduous- they were detained, their passports mistakenly confiscated. Despite the hardships, they began to rebuild their lives as refugees in Albuquerque. Presently, Anna is striving to establish her career in the media industry, taking the necessary steps forward in her new life. Having herself gone through the hardships of the refugee experience, she continues to send aid back to those defending Ukraine and also helps other Ukrainian displaced persons in making the transition to the immigrant life in the US.

George Klapischak

Secretery

With a planning and policy background, George began his career in city government and consulting in the New York and New Jersey markets. He then transitioned his background into a two-decade career in the investment and insurance industry, eventually becoming CFO of UFA, an international fraternal life insurance company where he was also responsible for all property acquisitions and management, loans, securities purchases as well as portfolio management. George then began an entrepreneurial career that led him to startup and subsequently sell a number of international management, manufacturing, construction and marketing firms for the global export and import industry. George currently leads Roundstone Funding Corp. in the southwestern USA market. He holds both undergraduate and graduate degrees from Rutgers University. His passion for finance, history and the performing arts/ film has led him to his additional role as treasurer of the New Mexico Film Foundation. George recently appeared on The Colt Show to discuss the future of New Mexico Film.

Ilona Bilichak

Director, Art

Ilona Bilichak is from Ivano - Frankivsk, Ukraine. Believing in adventures and luck Ilona had moved to the US in 2006. Since then she traveled around America while exploring different cultures and looking for a place to call home. Faith brought her family to New Mexico where she fell in love with sunny weather and bright colors of this state. Artsy spirit was always with her since childhood. That's why when being young she already knew her career path. In 2013 she Succesful graduated University of Art in Ukraine, as a fine art teacher and Artist. During time living in New York Strate, Ilona went to New York City College of Technology for advertising design major.

Stephanie Sydoriak

Honorary Director

Stephanie Sydoriak arrived in New Mexico from New England in 1948 as a young married 22 year old woman ready to start her new life here with husband Dr. Stephen Sydoriak, a fellow Ukrainian American who would go on to become a reknown scientist and researcher, first to liquify Helium 3 and then share in other inventions at the Los Alamos Labs. Before moving west, Stephanie studied physics at Northeastern and then attended Yale graduate school, but here in New Mexico she bore six children, translated German, Russian and French scientific papers, taught piano and in 2011 was named a Los Alamos living treasure. She also authored 2 books- the story of her family's history and journey from Ukraine to pre WWI America and afterward “An Ocean Between, 100% American, 100% Ukrainian” and “Inside Passage” a book of poetry. The Sydoriaks, first generation born in USA of Ukrainian immigrant parents who arrived in Boston in 1914, adjusted to American life but kept their Ukrainian language and traditions alive here in New Mexico right through today. Beginning in the 1950's with putting on public dance performances wearing traditional Ukrainian costumes and teaching pysanky Easter egg decorating classes to neighborhood children and adults alike, they lectured on Ukrainian history, arts and customs, Christmas and Easter religious observances, Ukrainian food for different seasons including the blessing of the traditional Easter baskets and many other fascinating exhibits in public libraries, senior centers, churches and schools in the area. Their backyard Ukrainian summertime picnics were well attended by others who were of Ukrainian ancestry or married to one. Stephanie continues her work today, sharing her extensive files and memories with us. We are very grateful for her wit, knowledge and dedication to keeping Ukrainian alive and well in New Mexico and we truly honor her special achievements in sharing them with those she met throughout the decades. See more of Steph Sydoriak's history here.

Olga Yurkiw

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Olga Yurkiw is a journalist, editor, teacher, TED Fellow and co-founder of StopFake, a volunteer organization launched in 2014 to combat false news reports coming out of  Ukraine and Russia during the Maydan Revolution of Dignity. Since then StopFake has evolved into an advanced fact-checking organization with over 200,000 active users covering media in 11 languages and in multiple countries. Their original mission has broadened to help educate news consumers on how to spot fake news on their own, providing useful guidance on exposing biased or inaccurate reporting in order to rebuild the trust we’ve lost in our journalists, leaders and institutions.

Olga was a featured speaker at this year’s Journalism Under Fire conference presented December 4-7 by the Santa Fe Council on International Relations (https://www.sfcir.org/journalism-under-fire/). Afterward, Olga granted us an interview to reflect on the work of the organization from its inception, provide an overview of their effectiveness so far and consider where they are heading in the near future. The interview was conducted in her native Ukrainian.

Learn more about the fight against harmful propaganda and misinformation as well as two critical ways we can ensure that we’re not reading (or sharing) fake news. Olga’s TED talk from April 2018 in English is here:

Pralnia – “Laundry Theater”

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On Saturday November 3, 2018 members of UANM were treated to the electrifying, high energy 90 minute non stop full on performance of cabaret theater Pralnia (“laundry”), which was originally launched in June 2015, the day after the troupe’ s five members graduated from the Puppetry Department at Kyiv’s National University of Theater, Cinema, and Television. “We had a vision of an ideal theater/laboratory. We understood that we wanted to work in a theater that didn’t exist, so we decided to make one ourselves,” says Pralnia’s Marusia Ionova.  The show they made, and continue to evolve with every performance, truly represents their mission which is “We act and we are ourselves. We ask questions to wash souls, to clean hearts, to freshen minds.” And they certainly did- Thank you, Pralnia, and return to New Mexico soon!

Teatr Pralnia was sponsored by Center Stage, a public diplomacy initiative of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.

Read more about the event here.

Ukrainian Americans of New Mexico 85th Anniversary of Holodomor

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Ukrainian Americans of New Mexico gathered in Albuquerque on October 13, 2018 to join in communion with all other “Light a Candle in Remembrance” actions throughout the globe to commemorate the anniversary of the Ukrainian murder by famine genocide of 1932-33.

The opening solemn panakhyda was sung at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Byzantine Catholic Church in Albuquerque NM by the assembled choir and by pastor Fr. Artur Bubnevych. Mrs. Nataliya Pavlenko, whose family lived and farmed in the Chernihiv/ Nizhyn region of Ukraine, then recollected her childhood memories of the stories told by her mother and grandparents who finally broke their painful silence decades after the horrors of those years, but yet made everyone in the family promise to never speak of this anywhere again outside their home for fear of arrest and imprisonment. She relayed how communist party activists came to their house and took every scrap of food, grain and property they could carry off and how her mother, then a small child of 4 herself, was warned to hide in fear of being killed and eaten when anyone knocked on their door, of how her grandmother, to her last days on earth, went to bed each night only after placing a morsel of bread under her pillow to safeguard against the Holodomor happening again. She explained how her mother was told to swallow small stones to avert the gnawing of constant hunger and how the family pounded acorns in the forest to make flour to shape into little bitter pancakes to eat.

Two documentary films on the Holodomor were then presented to the audience of over 70 attendees, followed by a repast of Ukrainian foods prepared by the organizing committee members. Books and brochures on the topic were also on display, and the organizers acknowledged the generous donation of the Holodomor teacher’s handbook and other titles by the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies Press.

Much was learned and shared that evening and participants left with a greater understanding of the lasting effects of the genocide against Ukraine, a crime which had been silenced for so very long.