Afro Caribbean History through the Arts Festival. Celebrating Juneteenth

Featuring Brendaliz Cepeda and Bomba de aquí (Puerto Rico), as well as Maestros Lázaro Galarraga, Tomás Román, and Danys Perez La Mora (Cuba), we gather in Holyoke, MA., to honor the cultural systems of the circum-Caribbean as an innovating force in Our Americas. This second annual Juneteenth event highlights the spirituality, resilience, unity, and community building skills of Caribbean peoples. We recognize Holyoke as an extension of the Caribbean through its contemporary Puerto Rican, Dominican, Haitian, Cuban, and other island populations. Our program title, ‘Afro-Caribbean History through the Arts’, is inclusive to welcoming all to this occasion with some of the best folk artists of this genre, who will guide and teach us about the collective genius of Caribbean peoples, […]

Featuring Brendaliz Cepeda and Bomba de aquí (Puerto Rico), as well as Maestros Lázaro Galarraga, Tomás Román, and Danys Perez La Mora (Cuba), we gather in Holyoke, MA., to honor the cultural systems of the circum-Caribbean as an innovating force in Our Americas. This second annual Juneteenth event highlights the spirituality, resilience, unity, and community building skills of Caribbean peoples. We recognize Holyoke as an extension of the Caribbean through its contemporary Puerto Rican, Dominican, Haitian, Cuban, and other island populations.

Our program title, ‘Afro-Caribbean History through the Arts’, is inclusive to welcoming all to this occasion with some of the best folk artists of this genre, who will guide and teach us about the collective genius of Caribbean peoples, through inherited methods of evoking and memorializing their history within a sacred context. Our artists are initiates into Afro-Caribbean systems — traditions that have developed over the centuries to teach mutual respect and co-existence — whose performance art sustains collective support for the expression of visions and sentiments.

June 13th and 14th: Workshops at (Lyman Park)
498 Dwight St. Holyoke. From 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

June 13th and 14th: Live Performances at Holyoke Media
1 Court Plaza, Holyoke. From 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.