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Latin Folk Music

Latin Folk music and dance are traditional expressions of families and communities. Some artists remain traditional, and some have evolved into urban fusions. In the beginning, all music is folk music and all dance is folk dance.

Latin Folk Music NYC

Germán López plays Latin Folk on the Canary Island timple guitar at National Sawdust in Williamsburg, Brooklyn on Sat, Apr 2 at 7:30pm. $35. 🇪🇸

For the Common Ground: Mini-Global Mashup #5 – Southern Italy Meets Senegal, Alessandra Belloni plays Southern Italian music and Alioune Faye, a Griot (West African troubadour), plays Senegalese percussion at Flushing Town Hall in Flushing, Queens on Sun, Apr 3 at 1pm. $15. flushingtownhall.org 🇮🇹🇸🇳

The Drums Along the Hudson Native American and Multicultural festival is at Inwood Hill Park in Inwood, Manhattan on Sun, Jun 5, 2022 from 11am – 6pm. Free. [To be confirmed.]

Folk Music Venues in NYC

Flushing Town Hall performing arts center in Flushing, Queens.

Queens Theatre in Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Queens.

Terraza 7 nightclub in Elmhurst, Queens.

World Music Institute world music and dance producer.

Previous Folk Music & Dance

Aurelio Martínez (Richard Holder/World Music Institute)
Aurelio Martínez (Richard Holder/World Music Institute)

Aurelio Martínez & the Garifuna Soul Band play Garifuna Folk, with NYC’s own Wabafu Garifuna Dance Company opening, for the World Music Institute at Le Poisson Rouge in Greenwich Village on Thu, Dec 16 at 7:30pm (6:30pm doors). worldmusicinstitute.org 🇭🇳|🇧🇿🇬🇹🇳🇮🇺🇸 

Miguel Zenón joins Ches Smith and We All Break for their “Path of Seven Colors” record release show of Haitian Vodou music at Roulette Intermedium in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn on Tue, Oct 26 at 8pm. $20. 🇭🇹🇵🇷

Cuban Nueva Trova legend Pablo Milanés brings his Dias de Luz Tour to The Town Hall in Midtown, Manhattan on Sat, Oct 23 at 8pm. From $45. 🇨🇺

Folk Music & Dance in New York City

The World Music Institute, Calpulli Mexican Dance Company, Dzul Dance, Center for Traditional Music and Dance, Redhawk Native American Arts Council and ID Studio Theater all produce folk music and dance. Flushing Town Hall in Flushing, Queens hosts folk music and dance shows.

Folk Music & Dance New Yorkers

Only in New York City can you enjoy this amount of diversity. Everybody from everywhere is here.

The Folk Music & Dance World

These artists from the United States and around the world have recently performed in New York City.

Chouk Bwa

Saturday, November 16, 2019
PURCHASE, New York (White Plains) ~ Traditional Haitian folk music as part of ‘(T)HERE: A Global Festival of Art, Culture and Ideas – Haiti’ at the Purchase College Performing Arts Center

Continue Reading Chouk Bwa

Folk Music of Faith and Ritual

Culture begins as an expression of the mysteries of faith and the rituals of belonging to a community.

This is where folk music begins. As it develops, it may lose its connection with faith, or that connection may become hidden to those who don’t know where to look.

Some folk musics become popular and then blend with other musics. Even the most contemporary music like salsa, hip-hop, reggaeton and Latin trap follows this path. It all derives from folk traditions.

We have been human (Homo sapiens) for about 200,000 years. We like to think that we are so very modern, but we really haven’t changed that much.

Diego Obregon Afro Colombian Pacific Coast marimba master. Vaya con Dios. (courtesy Sergio R. Reyes)
Diego Obregon Afro Colombian Pacific Coast marimba master. Vaya con Dios. (courtesy Sergio R. Reyes)
Traditional Latin Music

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