The African roots of the Americas

There is a lot of ignorance about Afro-Latinos, despite the deep history dating back to the introduction of slavery in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Image: Daniel Valero.

The third edition of the wonderful Afro-Latino Festival was held in New York City between July 10th and July 12th. In its own voice, the festival “… provide(s) a networking space to pay tribute to the African roots of people from Latin America and the Caribbean.”  The festival included concerts from traditional musicians that carry on the legacy of African influence on the music of Latin America, such as the Colombian cumbia band Los Gaiteros de San Jacinto, but also featured shows by artists exploring more contemporary musical directions, such as Cuban rapper Danay Suárez.

It also featured various panels to discuss what exactly means to be Afro-Latino, and how Afro-Latinos are portrayed on their countries’ and in international media.

On the first day of the festival, we met in Madiba, in Harlem, with Mai-Elka Prado, the founder of the festival, and with Amilcar Priestley, its director, to talk about the purpose and the history of this event.

We also met with Los Gaiteros de San Jacinto and asked them about their music and their musical traditions.

We were also very lucky to get a good spot to catch Los Gaiteros’ concert in The Wick, in Buschwick, where we were able to record their performance of their Grammy Latino-winning hit “Un fuego de sangre pura.”

Further Reading

Between Harlem and home

African postcolonial cinema serves as a mirror, revealing the limits of escape—whether through migration or personal defiance—and exposing the tensions between dreams and reality.

The real Rwanda

The world is slowly opening its eyes to how Paul Kagame’s regime abuses human rights, suppresses dissent, and exploits neighboring countries.

In the shadow of Mondlane

After a historic election and on the eve of celebrating fifty years of independence, Mozambicans need to ask whether the values, symbols, and institutions created to give shape to “national unity” are still legitimate today.

À sombra de Mondlane

Depois de uma eleição histórica e em vésperas de celebrar os 50 anos de independência, os moçambicanos precisam de perguntar se os valores, símbolos e instituições criados para dar forma à “unidade nacional” ainda são legítimos hoje.

What is free and fair?

2024 has been the ultimate election year. Just Us Under A Tree rejoins the Africa Is a Country Podcast to reflect on South Africa’s May poll and what it reveals about contemporary democratic politics.

Writers for a new world

The debacle around Ta-Nehisi Coates’ latest book shows us that no matter a writer’s individual acclaim, the liberal media establishment will never tolerate anything that fundamentally challenges its racist edifice.