May is Older Americans Month and to celebrate Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Alvarez hosted the first-ever Senior Talent Showcase where seniors entertained the crowd by dancing, singing and playing musical instruments.
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| Performers from the Armando Badia Senior Center. |
The event also honored renowned musical legends and artists who call Miami-Dade County home.
The Mayor presented appreciation awards to legendary Cuban singer Olga Guillot, blues great Charles "Doc" Austin, concert violinist Ida Haendel and musicians and actors Pro-Arte Grateli (Pili de la Rosa, Marta Perez, Demetrio Menendez and Miguel de Grandy), Rolando Ochoa, Manolo Torrente, Rosendo Rosell and the late Israel "Cachao" Lopez.
Mistress of ceremonies and radio personality Martha Flores presided over the event, which was kicked-off by a lovely rendition of the national anthem sung by the Honorable Commissioner Rebeca Sosa. To close the event, the daughter of "Cachao," Maria Elena Lopez, sang a song in tribute to her father that stirred the audience's emotions.
The performers practiced for weeks and it showed! Much to the audience's delight, more than 50 performers - all over the age of 60 - sang, danced and played music for an audience of about 500 other seniors. The centers providing the talented performers were: Women's Park, Victoria Senior Center, Armando Badía Senior Center, Rafael Villaverde Senior Center, Arcola Lakes Park Singing Angels, Country Village Park Senior Steppers and Robert King HighTowers.
The event was held at the classic Miami-Dade County Auditorium, where several of the honorees remembered performing there "back in the day."
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