Third Annual Afro-Latino Festival Marks Celebration of Afrolatinidad, Diverse Voices in Latino Community

The Afro-Latino Festival moved from borough-to-borough in its third year, showcasing impressive demonstrations, stellar music performances, collective culture, African roots, and the colorful manifestation of the diverse Latino community.

The Caribbean, Latin America and Africa have untold shared heritage and history as well as cultural connections as deep as stories and ties as eternal as music, food and art. The third annual Afro-Latino Festival, an NYC-spanning summer event, succeeded in boosting the importance of these connections by drawing together local and international entrepreneurs, academics, artists, performers, musicians and community leaders to empower and uplift diverse voices, particularly those of African descent, in the Latino community. The theme of interconnectedness was constant throughout the length of the festival that celebrated Afrolatinidad.

The three-day event kicked off on Friday, July 10 with the opening reception, taking place at Madiba/MIST (46 W. 116th St). Attendees were immediately greeted with mixed media installations and artwork by Esteban Morales, Mariona Lloreta and Kadine Anckle, a cocktail reception and a live performance by the youth orchestra of the nonprofit Afro-Latin Jazz Alliance, Fat Afro Latin Jazz Cats, directed by the 2015 Latin Jazz Album Grammy winner.

The night was punctuated with beautiful and rousing performances by Conjunto Nuevo Milenio, Kalunga Neg Mawon, Los Hacheros and up-and-coming artist Cuban Danay Suarez. However, event-planners took a moment to honor leaders and creatives in the community, dispensing five awards throughout the evening, including an award for "Journalistic Excellence," which was given to Panamanian New York Times journalist Randal Archibold.

Dr. Marta Moreno Vega, Afro-Puerto Rican and Founder of the Caribbean Cultural Center and African Diaspora Institute, was given an award for "Sustainable Community Institution." When she graced the stage, she stated, "I think the work of grandparents, elders, aunties and uncles is make sure that the legacy of your work is passed down. And to see this audience of young people focused on African diaspora studies, African diaspora culture, African diaspora creativity is what develops the building blocks of freedom, of liberation and reeducation of the mind. It breaks through the chains of enslavement and miseducation."

New York State Assemblyman Robert J. Rodriguez was gifted an award for "Politics and Community Engagement," and he quickly shared the importance of Afro-Latino themes, and diverse cultures and heritages that exist in New York City. Also, he added that it was that understanding that led to the creation of the Arturo Schomburg Democratic Club.

Before heading to the stage, Willie Perdomo, award-winning Puerto Rican poet and recipient of the "Literary Achievement" award at the Afro-Latino Festival, told Latin Post, "I feel extremely privileged to be in Harlem today, and being honored by the Afro Latino community...a community that's been true to my heart since I was born." Once on the stage, he stated, "Storytelling is part of our practice as human beings, and we can't do it alone. When we sit down to write a poem or sit down to write these stories, we're bringing our communities to our table, we're bringing our communities to the blank page."

To finish, Janel Martinez, tech journalist and CEO of website Ain't I Latina, was given the award for "Digital Empowerment." Martinez shared that many of the honorees were individuals that's she's looked up to and helped her to find her voice as a first generation hondurena who entered journalism to write pieces to spoke to Afro-Latinos, and tells those stories in way traditional media never could or would.

Friday evening was concluded with the announcement of the official proclamation by the New York State Assembly recognizing the U.N. International Decade for People of African Descent (2015-2024)

Cubana Social (70 N. 6th St, Brooklyn) was the location for the AfrolatinTalks, which took place the afternoon of Saturday, July 11. The purpose of these talks was to highly the intersectionality of culture, technology and Afrolatinidad. The team of experts touched upon numerous topics, which included maximizing social media adverting for business; cultural heritage and its connection to communications technology; and representations in the international decades of Afrodescendents in media cultural tourism and the census.

Omaris Zamora was the moderator of the final panel, which included Mexican professor and anthropologist Sagrario Cruz-Carretero, Puerto-Rican activist William Garcia and Haitian lawyer and writer Alice Backer. Their lengthy chat, which crossed borders and understanding, began with conversations on contextualizing blackness, colorism, white supremacy and the denial of blackness made possible by selective terminology.

Cruz-Carretero spoke about Mexico's blindness to blackness, research into African presence in her country and the identification of cultural features, such as food and music, which traces connections to Africa (ex. the cadence and call of response of the music, or the fact that Ghana's Fufu becomes Puerto Rico's Mofongo or Cuba's Machuquillo). Garcia spoke about "the myth of racial trilogy," systematics forms of oppression in Puerto Rico and a culture of racism in PR where the existence of race-based police brutality and bigotry is denied. Also, Backer discussed Haiti's inability to understand what white supremacy is and the damage that that ignorance has caused.

Later in the day, "Afrolatinos TV: The Untaught," which involved seven years of research and 100 hours of interviews, was screened at the Williamsburg Music Center. The film touched upon deeply rooted religion, racism, identity, poverty and other issues facing Afro-Latinos in Latin American countries.

Saturday concluded with the festival moving to the Wick in Bushwick for a dance party and concert hosted by popular NYC tropical bass DJs Que Bajo?! and Los Gaiteros de San Jacinto.

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Please read the second article on the Afro-Latino Festival, which focuses on music and performances by Bombazo Dance Co., Kizomba NYC, Riva Precil, Bodoma Garifuna, Batala NYC, Los Hacheros, Kafu Banton, Les Nubians and Cultura Profectica, as well as the importance of visibility and diverse representations of Latinos in mainstream media.