community LIC, JACKSON HEIGHTS HIGHLIGHTED IN NEW ‘SEE YOUR CITY’ CAMPAIGN Composer and ‘Saw Lady’ featured in new Richard Gere movie BY ANGY ALTAMIRANO nicest, friendliest person,” Paruz said. “He is so approachable and it’s really easy to talk Two Astoria musicians are slicing their way with him.” into Hollywood. For the musician, who has been playing The musical piece titled “Lullaby for the the saw as an instrument for the past 20 Forgotten,” written by composer Scott Munson years, the subject of the movie hit close to her and performed by Natalia Paruz, also known as heart after she spent a long time performing the “Saw Lady,” is featured in the upcoming film in subways and train stations and met many “Time Out of Mind” starring Richard Gere. homeless people. The film follows Gere, who plays a homeless “It felt more involved than the other movies man as he tries to reconnect with his estranged where I just go into the recording studio and daughter, according to a description on IMDb. then get out,” said Paruz, who performed and According to Paruz, the director of the movie appeared in a scene alongside Adrian Brody in reached out to her years after having seen her the 2002 film “Dummy.” “This movie feels more perform at Grand Central Station. Paruz filmed personal to me because of the subject.” a scene with Gere in Grand Central, but the part Each person involved in the film had to give of the scene in which Paruz appeared was later a dedication that appears when the credits roll. cut from the film because of time constraints. Paruz chose to make a dedication to Joe Lumis, The song by Munson, who won the 2014 a homeless man she used to run into daily at the NY Innovative Theater Award for Outstanding Union Square subway station. Original Music for his piece in a play last month, “The aim of the movie was the focus on is still heard in the background of the Grand homeless people and for me to participate in Central scene that made the film. something that is trying to make awareness of “It was really cool, Gere is so sweet and the the plight was important,” she said. Paruz’s interest in playing the saw came after an accident destroyed her dreams of one day being a professional dancer. “All of a sudden it was taken away from me and all of a sudden I didn’t know what to do with myself,” Paruz said. Later, after going on a trip to Europe with her parents and watching a man play the saw, Paruz returned to New York and began to teach herself how to play the tool. “The reason why the saw attracted me so much is that it’s the only instrument that the entire instrument moves,” Paruz said. “It’s kind of like a dance.” Today, Paruz teaches others to play the saw and, for the past 11 years, has been hosting the NYC Musical Saw Festival in Astoria, which started with four players and now features over 50 musicians from all over the world. The next festival will be on May 30, 2015, at Trinity Lutheran Church. “It’s an affordable musical instrument,” Paruz said. “Anyone can afford a saw, if they don’t have it in their toolbox already.” BY ANGY ALTAMIRANO Two western Queens neighborhoods are part of a new campaign encouraging New Yorkers to stretch their legs and explore their own backyards. NYC & Company, the official marketing, tourism and partnership organization for New York City, has launched a new promotional campaign called “See Your City” to motivate residents to explore the diverse neighborhoods found in all five boroughs. The three-month promotional campaign will showcase 10 neighborhoods throughout the city including Jackson Heights and Long Island City. “For visitors, a trip to New York City is a vacation for a lifetime. For a lucky 8 million, it’s just a subway ride away,” said Fred Dixon, president and CEO of NYC & Company. “We want to give New Yorkers a new perspective on the five boroughs. Start thinking of the more than 250 New York City neighborhoods as 250 opportunities to travel.” Content featuring itinerary suggestions and video postcards will be included on NYC & Company’s website and five of the 10 neighborhoods, including Long Island City, will be promoted through custom illustrations inspired by vintage travel posters. The LIC poster features an art piece at Socrates Sculpture Park overlooking the Manhattan skyline and the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge. “With See Your City, we were challenged with the task of selling New York City to New Yorkers, and our goal was to create inspiration to convince New Yorkers to explore their own backyards,” said Emily Lessard, NYC & Company creative director. The See Your City campaign will be promoted through bus shelters throughout the city, posts on NYC & Company’s Facebook, Instagram and Twitter accounts, commercials running in city taxicabs, and through American Express’ digital channels. Since Oct. 15, social media ambassadors have been promoting the program on Instagram through sharing images with the official hashtag #seeyourcity. For more info and to check out the featured neighborhoods, visit www. nycgo.com/seeyourcity. Poster courtesy of NYC & Company
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