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Memory cafes at the National Comedy Center ignite laughter and connection for dementia patients

Memory cafes at the National Comedy Center ignite laughter and connection for dementia patients

Toronto Star2 days ago
Mario and Gail Cirasunda, of Orchard Park, N.Y., share a kiss on a bench following a Memory Cafe event at the National Comedy Center Monday, May 5, 2025, in Jamestown, N.Y. (AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes) JTB flag wire: true flag sponsored: false article_type: pubinfo.section: cms.site.custom.site_domain : thestar.com sWebsitePrimaryPublication : publications/toronto_star bHasMigratedAvatar : false firstAuthor.avatar :
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Book Review: 'The Tilting House' is a novel about coming of age in Communist Cuba
Book Review: 'The Tilting House' is a novel about coming of age in Communist Cuba

Winnipeg Free Press

timean hour ago

  • Winnipeg Free Press

Book Review: 'The Tilting House' is a novel about coming of age in Communist Cuba

Yuri is a 16-year-old orphan who lives simply with her religious aunt in a big, old house in Communist Cuba in the years after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Yuri's parents had named her after the Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gargarin, hoping that one day she would grow up to be a famous female astronaut. Yuri now has vague hopes of being accepted into the Lenin school, Cuba's prestigious preparatory. Yuri and her Aunt Ruth's quiet lives are suddenly turned upside down when an unexpected visitor from 'la Yuma' — slang for the United States — shows up at their Havana home with a camera swinging from her neck and announcing she is family. Ruth later tells Yuri that 34-year-old Mariela is her daughter, and that when Mariela was an infant she sent her to live with a family in the United States through Operation Pedro Pan, a U.S. government program in which thousands of unaccompanied children were sent from Cuba to Miami in the early 1960s. 'The Tilting House,' by Miami-based writer Ivonne Lamazares, is an affecting and sometimes amusing coming-of-age novel set in a country that few have had the opportunity to visit, despite its proximity to the U.S. It's a study of hidden family secrets, the unhealed wound of losing a mother and the quest for home. Lamazares, who was born in Havana, knows her homeland well, and her book is rife with description and historic detail that only someone with first-hand knowledge could provide. Lamazares left Cuba for the United States in 1989 during a period of shortages and deprivation known as 'The Special Period in Time of Peace.' Her first novel, 'The Sugar Island,' also set in Cuba, was translated into seven languages. In 'The Tilting House,' Yuri is quickly pulled into Mariela's chaotic world and her absurd art projects, which include a tragicomic funeral for Ruth's dead dog, Lucho, in a public park using highly illegal homemade fireworks. Ruth, already viewed as suspect by the government as a member of the small Jehovah's Witnesses group, is arrested and sent to jail on unexplained charges. Weekly A weekly look at what's happening in Winnipeg's arts and entertainment scene. Mariela later tells Yuri that they aren't cousins, but sisters, and that their now-dead mother gave birth to her as a teenager. Mariela insists that their Aunt Ruth 'kidnapped' her and sent her to live in the U.S., where she was raised on a farm in Nebraska. More harebrained projects follow, and the family's tilting house finally tumbles after neighbors and acquaintances slowly chip away at the building to repurpose many of the structure's materials. Yuri later emigrates to the U.S., where she studies and starts a career that allows her to make a return visit to the island. On that trip her past becomes clearer, and she reaches something approaching closure and forgiveness. ___ AP book reviews:

Charli XCX and The 1975 drummer George Daniel are married
Charli XCX and The 1975 drummer George Daniel are married

Winnipeg Free Press

time2 hours ago

  • Winnipeg Free Press

Charli XCX and The 1975 drummer George Daniel are married

LONDON (AP) — Charli XCX and The 1975 drummer George Daniel have tied the knot. A representative for Daniel confirmed to The Associated Press that the pair married over the weekend. The couple were seen posing in front of London's Hackney Town Hall on Saturday. Daniel wore a suit, and Charli XCX wore a Vivienne Westwood bridal mini dress, Vogue confirmed. Representatives for Charli XCX did not immediately respond to AP's request for comment. The 'BRAT' pop star posted a video on TikTok while wearing the same bridal minidress. It featured the text 'when george isn't crying when he sees me walking down the aisle,' and a caption, 'luckily he did.' The Grammy-winning Charli XCX, born Charlotte Emma Aitchison, is an English singer and songwriter who first made waves in 2012 for writing the synth-pop hit, 'I Love It' for the Swedish duo Icona Pop and in 2014, for her collaboration with rapper Iggy Azalea on 'Fancy.' In the years since, she's continued to innovate, working with the futuristic hyperpop collective PC Music. Most recently, she released the energetic, hedonistic, summer-defining album, 'BRAT.' Daniel is an English musician, record producer and DJ, best known as the drummer and founding member of the popular pop-rock band The 1975. Charli XCX and Daniel announced their engagement on Instagram in 2023. The pair have collaborated a number of times in the past. Daniel is a feature co-producer and co-writer on two 'BRAT' tracks. Weekly A weekly look at what's happening in Winnipeg's arts and entertainment scene. ___ AP Music Writer Maria Sherman reported from New York.

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