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World-class Indigenous, European, African, Asian & Oceanian Culture

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The Impossible is Always Possible

Thursday, May 13, 2021 ~ Netflix’s “Selena: The Series” is great television. Finally Latinos are telling our own stories – and that is an entirely different story. Selena’s life is very relatable and Christian Serratos, who plays her, draws you in.

Selena once said, “I feel that if you have a dream, don’t let anybody take it away. And you always believe that the impossible is always possible.” Those are the words of a New Yorker at heart.

Get Vaccinated

Don’t let anything prevent you from being healthy! The COVID-19 vaccines were widely tested and have been taken by millions (including us). “60 Black Health Experts Urge Black Americans to Get Vaccinated” New York Times, February 7, 2021.

COVID-19 Information: New Yorkers (nyc.gov), Tourists (nycgo.com)

Features

Continuing

Latin Celebrations

Being a mix of all races, places and cultures, we celebrate a lot.

Un Verano en Nueva York

New York City

New York City, NYC, Nueva York, Nova York, whatever you call it, our city has been Latin since the first immigrant, Juan Rodríguez, arrived from Santo Domingo in 1613. He was…

Continue Reading New York City

Plante Bandera

Arroz Con Habichuela

Te Dedico Mis Mejores Pregones

La Vida Es Un Carnaval

Amores Lejanos

Abran Paso

Everyone Gathering Together in Peace

African drummers (Jakezc/Dreamstime)
Jembe drummers. “Jembe” is a Malian expression that means “everyone gathering together in peace.”

Colonizers (human slavers) feared the drum because they understood that rhythm talks. They were afraid we would use the drum to rise up, and do to them what they were doing to us.

To justify their own violence, abuse and thievery, colonizers dehumanized and demonized everything that wasn’t their own. They said we were not human, devil worshipers who practice “black” magic and a bunch of other nonsense. Colonizer priests played along because it enriched them too. Politicians gained power. Hollywood made money. This colonial point of view got into our heads and became part of our American culture.

One of the things the colonizers didn’t realize is that there are no demons, only demonizers. To dehumanize others, you must dehumanize yourself first and that eats you from the inside. Demonizers start imagining monsters everywhere. That’s the trouble in our country now. We’ve become the very demons that we so feared.

The colonizers got the drum wrong too. The drum is a healing instrument. It’s true that it talks, but “jembe,” a West African word for drum, says “everyone is gathering together in peace.”

Regardless of your heritage, it’s time to start the drum again. It’s time for everyone to be gathering together in peace.

Jembe”

Mother Africa

African Drum Brings People Together Around the World

These African diaspora traditions are really not about drumming, singing and dancing – they are about connecting with family, friends, community and the forces of nature.

There is Nothing Wrong Going Back for What You Forgot

Since the Colonial Period, European colonizers have claimed and stolen everything, but Latin culture is very African. We are Indigenous too, more than you can possibly understand in New York because U.S. schools teach that we’re dead (we’re still here, we’ve always been here).

Latin jazz legend Eddie Palmieri explained it simply when at a 92nd Street Y concert we covered in the Upper East Side, he said:

The Spaniard brought the African. The African put everyone to dance. In the States, they took away the drum, and we got the blues.”

Eddie Palmieri at the 92nd Street Y

The blues is the root of popular music in the United States. When they took away the drum, the blues evolved into jazz, country, swing, R&B, rock and hip-hop.

Regardless of who is performing, most American popular culture originates in Mother Africa. Many of us are taught from childhood to say we are White, but we are really a mix of everyone: Indigenous + European + African + Asian. We mixed with the Pacific islands of Oceania too. We are the children of the whole world, los hijos del mundo entero.

In the Ghanian concept of Sankofa, we are recovering our heritage, not because we want to go back, but because being fully who you are is our ancestral superpower. It makes us better people and better Americans.

When we drum, sing and dance, everyone is invited to gather together in peace. “La rumba no tiene color.”

Ay, el sonar de los tambores
esa negra se amaña
y al sonar de la caña
va brindando sus amores”

“La Pollera Colora” by Juan Madera and Wilson Choperena (1960)

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Hispanic Day Parade

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A la orden…

A la orden (Juan Hernandez/Dreamstime)
At your service (Juan Hernandez/Dreamstime)

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This project is led by travel writer Keith Widyolar who in 2020 was named a “key Hispanic journalist” and “Hispanic travel market influencer” by NYC & Company, New York City’s official branding and tourism agency. Keith is a marketing and communications consultant who builds brands and businesses through public, media and government relations. He is a founder of Kong Wubba™, the pet industry leader in dog and cat toys.

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