Abogados de Inmigracion

Does this make a difference? Often times the advantage of not hearing relieves one of the never ending bullshit and negativity. Jade does not indulge in such things. Why should she? Her background is impressive. Her sister was a fashion designer, a graduate of the Fashion Institute of Technology. Her father, a professional photographer and entrepreneur passed down those skills to his daughter. Also as the first Deaf person to earn a Bachelors degree in film production from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts please leave your sympathy at the door.

Jade put together all these talents to showcase in a bi-annual event called MICA and this year saw models, fashion designers, dance, poetry, film shorts whose relative theme was that though we may be deaf, we are no different, we are people just the same. The event had a relaxed atmosphere throughout and was enjoyed immensely by those who attended.

The runway show was the showcase event that made its way over the course of the evening and it was MC’ed by Claudia Gordon and Darren Frazier. Claudia made history by becoming the first known Black deaf female attorney in the United States. The defense of people with disabilities was the inspiration for her to pursue this career. Darren is a triple-threat as he is an actor, photographer and a professor. He will perform in a series of Off-Broadway plays while teaching American Sign Language at New York University.

Several films excerpts were shown including “Somalia” and “9/11 Fear in Silence-The Forgotten Underdogs that are being produced by Deaf Vision Film works under the direction of Jade.

The designers were the attraction of this evening. Those that splashed their flashes of fashion reside from various places around the globe. The variety of styles opened the eyes of many. A look at some included Patty O from Columbia, a veteran of two top fashion schools in the states, Savannah College of Art and Design as well as F.I.T.

Sylvie-Marie Charles, a graduate of F.I.T. used her fashion degree to design her own clothing line with hats a key item. Chila, from El Salvador, is a handcraft designer whose company “Chila For Fun” is based in New York and Los Angeles. The best part of her story is that the money raised from purchases from her company goes to purchase school supplies for students in El Salvador and Guatemala. Sebastian Bond, an Argentinian has worked in Graphics for years. He has designed for Perry Ellis and Reebok. He launched his own T-Shirt collection, “FavoriT’s. Despite a hearing impairment he is bilingual.

Carla Cid de Diego from Spain, who created the costumes for “Duende Ballet Espanol”, is an F.I.T. graduate. She says it best “Fashion is who we are. Today you will see who I am.”
Last but not least we have Deborah Williams, President of her own company, Game 2, Inc. The wife of Herb Williams of the Knicks owns a Master and Doctorate in Clinical Psychology at the University of Georgia showed off her fashion touch. She will also be in charge as Fashion Director of Harlem Week this year.

Guest performer Rosa Lee performed her one-woman show “R”. Showcasing poetry, comedy skits interspersed with music and video she expressed through sign language the depth of storytelling without words.

Among the models that dominated our attention during their runway spots was one Floyd McClain, who is a finalist in Tyra Banks Male model search. He is one of six finalists that bested over 600 men for an underwear campaign. He is the only deaf person of his eight siblings. He is a well mannered 28 year old with his good head on his shoulders. His desire to make a statement is obvious, “My goal is to change minds and open doors for us all”. Feeling a personal responsibility to use this moment in the spotlight to open up discussion about deaf people in this country and the struggles pursuant to it is a battle that he is willing to lead.

We at www.musicnewsweekly.com would also like to thank Sharra Dade and Kimchyann Williams of www.Lannid.com. The publicity arm that contributed to bringing this event to your attention continues to work 24/7 to shine their lights on a plethora of events. Finally this event was done in memory of Sarah Marie Pack who was a major contributor to this event. Look out for MICA Runway 2008, in case you haven’t heard.