By Katie Mayock, Journalism Intern
Coro Latinoamericano (COROLA) is a local non-profit organization and community choir dedicated to spreading Latin American cultures through song. Daniel Marchán, a Venezuelan choir director and classical guitarist, founded COROLA in 1997, with a small group of local Hispanics/Latinos when the Spanish-speaking population of Pittsburgh was almost nonexistent. At the time, South American immigrants formed the majority of the choir’s membership, and they sang mostly Latin American folk and popular music. They have since expanded their repertoire to celebrate the rich musical traditions of the Caribbean, Iberian Peninsula, and Central and South America. While they mainly sing in Spanish, they have also performed in other languages, including Quechua, Haitian Creole, Portuguese, and Nahuatl.
As Pittsburgh is known as the “City of Bridges,” COROLA defines its mission as “building bridges” between the Americas, using music to foster understanding and unity between different groups of people. As a secular choir, rather than avoiding religion, COROLA makes a point to include all religions in their repertoire. Through their performances, they celebrate their cultural identity and heritage, tell powerful stories, and express deep emotions.
Dr. Kenya C. Dworkin y Méndez, a native of Cuba and professor of Hispanic Studies and Applied Translation at Carnegie Mellon University, joined COROLA in 2012 and took over as Executive Director three months later. Dr. Dworkin y Méndez was hesitant to join the choir initially because she has COPD, a respiratory disease, but singing turned out to be a beneficial breathing exercise. Her experience at the University of Pittsburgh’s annual Latin American & Caribbean Festival in 2012 ultimately convinced her to join COROLA, and since then, she has been an unwavering advocate for the choir’s mission.
Dr. Dworkin y Méndez describes COROLA’s mission as not only building bridges to the local community, but also within the Spanish-speaking community in Pittsburgh. She believes music brings people together through “celebrating things that we have in common with other groups” and emphasizing “what values we share—family, faith, etc.” She recalls the 2014 winter concert, Christmas in Mexico, as a particularly salient example of their mission statement. Amidst a wave of anti-immigrant rhetoric in the United States, COROLA sang exclusively Christmas music from Mexico, starting with a song from the 16th century and moving to the present day.
COROLA also builds connections between cultures by collaborating with other choirs. In September 2024, they participated in CrosSING Bridges with the Mendelssohn Choir, which sings mostly Western European classical choral music, and the Heritage Gospel Chorale, which sings African American choral and gospel music. The three groups sang together, meaning each had to learn and sing pieces from musical styles and/or languages that they were not familiar with.
COROLA also strives to expose children to Latin American culture and the Spanish language. With such an emphasis on assimilating to American culture and speaking English, the children of immigrants too often lose part of their heritage. In the past, COROLA has performed in collaboration with Casa San José to celebrate Three Kings’ Day and has collaborated with El Círculo Juvenil de Cultura to put on choir workshops that culminate in a performance after ten weeks of learning and rehearsing.
Unfortunately, the kids’ collaboration has been put on hold, as have several of the choir’s other initiatives due to the COVID-19 pandemic. COROLA went on a two year hiatus during the pandemic due to the difficulty of singing in masks and out of caution for the senior age of many of its members. Lourdes Santiesteban, a Cuban native, took over as choir director following the pandemic and has pushed everyone to try new things and expand their singing abilities, but the reality is that COROLA needs more members and more money to continue operating.
Over the years, COROLA has experienced a significant amount of turnover in its membership, mainly due to the transient nature of its members, who were often students or individuals who commuted from outside the city for rehearsals and performances. The turnover has made it challenging to maintain a stable group and as a result, only one of the founding members remains with the choir today. Currently, there are eleven members, three of whom are Latin American immigrants, but most are non-Hispanics/Latinos who are interested in practicing Spanish and learning about Latin American cultures.
COROLA is currently seeking members of all voices (soprano, alto, tenor, and bass). New members do not have to know how to read music or speak Spanish to join. The choir rehearses on Sunday evenings from 5:30-7:30 PM at the First Universalist Unitarian Church in Shadyside. Membership dues, which cover the cost of having a professional director, are $25 per month.
Dr. Dworkin y Méndez says the choir has a social aspect to it, too. Many of the members are “in it for the fun and for the joy of being together and feeling connected,” she said. She calls anyone interested in joining COROLA to “come join us and sing to build bridges to your community!”. You can catch COROLA in action at their winter concert, Navidad en América Latina y España, with the First Universalist Unitarian Church on Sunday, December 15th at 7 PM and at the second CrosSING Bridges event at Shadyside’s Third Presbyterian Church on Saturday, February 15th, 2025 at 7 PM.
