World Heritage Cultural Center Set to Open in Thornwood
When Sattie Persaud arrived in the United States 15 years ago from Suriname, she thought she was already accustomed to a cultural melting pot. In Persaud’s homeland, there are citizens who can trace their ancestry to a multitude of nations, including Italy, Greece, Indonesia, and in her case, India.
But unlike the small South American country where she was raised, when there’s an ethnic celebration here other groups typically don’t join the festivities.
“We’re part of this great patchwork in the United States but everybody loses something when you’re here,” said Persaud, who was born in Guyana. “Lucky for me, when I came here I was old enough to appreciate the cultures back home, not just my culture but many cultures and when I came here I noticed that everyone just blended in with each other.”
About four years ago, Persaud, a Pace University graduate who works as an accountant, came up with the idea,with the organizations’ second founder, Juan Carlos Gonzalez, to form the World Heritage Cultural Center to welcome people of any background into the community by celebrating their way of life through food and the arts and to encourage others to participate..
“When I met Juan Carlos Gonzalez, we shared the same passion for cultures, music, food and diversity,” Persaud said. “Juan was the spark WHCC needed to be what it is today. He helped me to expand an idea to include every culture, instead of just starting with only one culture at a time. We make a great team and we are very blessed to have connected the time we did. We wanted something more, a performing arts center with a noble mission making a difference through knowledge and charity.
In 2009, she and Gonzalez, a Pleasantville native, saw the organization gain nonprofit group status. In June of that year, they held the first event, a four-hour concert called World of Colors at the Irvington Town Hall Theater that drew performers from 23 countries and was broadcast to 160 nations over the Pakistan-based Geo TV.
Since then there were global stage shows in New York, Washington and Los Angeles in 2010 and this year there were travel shows in those cities, Dallas and Santa Clara, Calif. In June, WHCC was part of the Tastes of Times Square.
The next big step comes for Persaud and Gonzalez on Jan. 19, when the organization is scheduled to open a 1,500-square-foot space on Commerce Street in Thornwood that will be its first center. It will host various dance, cooking and cultural classes and workshops at the location. For the first two weeks, from opening day through Feb. 1, there will be free one-hour workshops and dance classes.
Gonzalez, a customer service technician for a company in Danbury, said they want to make the center a place where someone of any culture would be comfortable. In the future, they hope there will be other WHCC locations elsewhere in the United States.
“We want it to be almost like a YMCA, learning acting, learning dance, learning culinary, learning editing, D.J., production, hosting. Anything you want to step in and grow, we want to teach and want to be able to help out,” said Gonzalez, whose parents are Colombian and who lived in his parents’ homeland from three to eight years old.
Persaud said she wants the center to represent as many different cultures as possible and help expose people to cultures that they might not have the opportunity to interact with or learn about. She recalled that her sister and her children traveled to parts of New York City to participate in certain African or Indian celebrations. Persaud said she hopes the center will become an “it’s-good-to-be-home kind of a place,” she said.
“Once you show people, food, music, dance, people just fall in love with it,” Persaud said.
Persaud and Gonzalez have also had the good fortune of finding a space with a landlord who also believes in their mission. The owner of the building at 590 Commerce St. is Teo Ricciardella, a longtime DJ who put together his own band about 12 years ago. He said mixing different cultures and the arts is something that is important.
“I was attracted by the fact that it was an artistic type organization, so I like that idea and at the same time I found they were very sincere,” Ricciardella said.
As a nonprofit, Persaud and Gonzalez are also fundraising and have organized a donation drive to help cover expenses. Their goal is to raise $60,000 annually for the first five years, which includes revenue raised from shows and fundraising events. Sponsorship levels are available from $100 to $20,000. Most of the performers at the shows have donated their time
“We are very, very excited, super excited, because for the past two years I know a lot of people worked a lot longer,” Persaud said. “We’ve been blessed because of the amazing, amazing artists. They all do it for free because they like our mission.”
For the first two weeks after the center opens, hours will be from 5 to 8 p.m. on weekdays and 12 to 8 p.m. on weekends. For more information on the World Heritage Cultural Center, visit www.mywhcc.com.
Martin has more than 30 years experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, including a frequent focus on zoning and planning issues. He has been editor-in-chief of The Examiner since its inception in 2007. Read more from Martin’s editor-author bio here. Read Martin’s archived work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/martin-wilbur2007/