World-Class Latin Culture & Global Roots
Calpulli Mexican Dance Company “Monarcas” Tells Inspiring Stories
This is a wonderful series of stories about Mexican American sacrifices and contributions to the culture and prosperity of the United States. These are stories of the unsung people whose hard work made America great.
It’s this weekend at Hostos Center in Mott Haven, The Bronx. More
New York Latin Culture Brings the World Together
Calpulli Mexican Dance Company "Monarcas"
Mexican culture, American history, and inspiring stories at Hostos Center
Barclays Center Latin 2026
Blessd, Alejandro Sanz, Carín León, Shakira, Daniel Caesar, Rawayana, Young Miko
Repertorio Español Latino Theatre
“Los soles truncos,” “La gringa”
Museum of Modern Art Latin 2026
New Directors/New Films, Naufus Ramírez Figueroa, Frida and Diego, Wilfredo Lam (Apr 11)
International Romani Day Celebrates the Community That Created Flamenco
Flamenco, Jazz Manouche, Balkan Brass
Iroko “Kíko” Keith Widyolar
Founder, Editor, Cacique, Mayimbe, Oba, Bobo, Whatever
¿KLK? I’m an American, a 20-year New Yorker who lives and works in the Latin world.
I build brands and businesses, but my life’s purpose is to bring people together through culture. Maferefún Eleguá.
I’ve been looking for the roots of Latin culture since 2006. They reach around the world, but the literal root has been right in front of me the entire time. It’s the yuca.
Raw yuca root is poisonous. Indigenous Amazonians developed the technology to make it safe to eat.
Taíno brought it to the Caribbean because it’s nutritious and didn’t spoil on long sea voyages.
On the islands, Taíno developed advanced farming techniques and mass-produced casabe flatbread. Yuca was so important, they named the great father Yúcahu.
In the Caribbean, we still eat boiled yuca with garlic and oil, bitter orange, and sauteed onions for any meal. It’s inexpensive, filling, and delicious.
The colonizers recognized yuca’s power and took it to Africa and Asia.
In Mother Afrika, it’s called “cassava,” “manioc” (French for the Brazilian Tupi-Guarani word “mandioca”) or “muhogo.” In West Africa it can be used to make fufu.
In the Pacific, yuca is called some version of “tapioca” or “manioka” and has become the main starch of the islands.
In Asia, yuca is often called “tapioca,” or “cassava.” It is used to make sweets, including the tapioca balls in your favorite Taiwanese Boba Tea.
Thailand is now one of the world’s major yuca producers. That’s where I first tasted it as a child.
I just figured out that those tapioca balls and the boiled yuca I eat for dinner are the same Amazonian Caribbean super food.
So come with me and Yúcahu. Let’s explore New York’s Latin World, the city of enchantment. ¡Ay bendito!
“E-le-le, le-le-le…” WEPA. ¡Ashé!