The Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center Launches Tribute Video to Honor and Motivate Parkinson’s Community

PHOENIX - The Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center recently launched a video and CD featuring an original song as testament to those who continue on their journey following a Parkinson's diagnosis, with the hopes of sharing the message and advocating for their unique challenges.

Songwriter José María Lobo, from Guadalajara, Mexico, created a song for the Parkinson’s disease community about connecting with the emotions and experiences felt by those individuals in order to raise awareness and to give a voice to the Spanish-speaking community worldwide. His personal interactions with individuals with Parkinson’s at the Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center served as inspiration for “Soy el Compás de otra Canción,” which means, “I am the Beat of another Song.” Voces Unidas, the Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center’s choir group for Latinos with Parkinson’s, recorded the song and are featured in the video.

“We hope it becomes a tool to create awareness and give a voice to the Spanish-speaking Parkinson’s community around the world. Together we can show the challenges faced by not only Latinos but by all people with Parkinson’s,” said Claudia Martinez, Hispanic outreach coordinator at the Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center at Barrow Neurological Institute, which is part of Dignity Health St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center in downtown Phoenix.

The Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center offers many opportunities for patients to stay active through socialization and participation in arts and other recreational therapy activities. Since its inception, the center’s Hispanic outreach program has extended into more than 20 countries.

“Currently, Hispanic outreach offered by the Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center is the only one of its caliber in the nation that provides a variety of services for Latinos with Parkinson’s and their loved ones,” Martinez said.

Images throughout the video show the various services offered by the center, such as painting workshops, exercise classes and chorus groups.

The Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center specializes in the treatment of movement disorders, including Parkinson’s disease. Those with Parkinson’s experience a gradual loss in control of movement, gait and/or balance, which makes daily tasks increasingly difficult. The Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center works to improve the lives of individuals with such disorders by providing services that encourage them to remain socially active.  

Now available online, the Parkinson’s Voices CD has seven songs, including “I am the Beat of another Song” and a free DVD of the music video. All proceeds directly benefit the Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center and programs like the Voces Unidas choir.