AS/COA's Christopher Sabatini discusses Oswaldo Payá's legacy, saying that while the movement for greater political dialogue in Cuba will continue, it will be hard to replace Payá's charismatic leadership, as well as his unique stance between the government in Havana and the exile community in Miami.

On June 29th, Americas Society hosted Cuban composer Aurelio de la Vega for an evening of his music. In this video, de la Vega responds to an audience member's question regarding the influence that Arnold Schönberg and electronic music had on de la Vega's music.

In collaboration with ProMéxico and the U.S.-Mexico Chamber of Commerce, AS/COA presented a panel discussion on plans to create Guadalajara as the site of Ciudad Creativa Digital, a creative, digital, and entertainment industry hub in Latin America. The panel focused on Guadalajara as the model of “Smart City” and its implications for Mexico, the region, and the world at large.

The Ciudad will be a world-class center for global audiovisual, digital, and interactive production and a model for future economic, urban, and environmental development. It includes innovative urban design linked to technology to attract world-class firms and investment in the fields of digital production and technology.

Speakers:

• Jesus Ricardo Alvarez Felix, Innovation Coordinator for ProMéxico
• Carlo Ratti, Director, MIT SENSEable City Lab
• José Antonio Torre Medina, Under Secretary for Competitiveness and Business Regulation, Secretariat of Economy, Mexico
• Alonso Ulloa Vélez, General Director and Partner of SITI, Innovation and Strategic Management, and Advisor of the State of Jalisco to the Guadalajara Digital Ciudad Creativa project
• Moderator: Christopher Sabatini, Editor-in-Chief, Americas Quarterly and Senior Director of Policy, AS/COA

Los Chantas performs live during Music of the Americas participation in Make Music New York.