African Influences in the Caribbean: West Africa and Puerto Rico

Escuela de Bomba y Plena Tata Cepeda, Valencia College and the Puerto Rican Organization for the Performing Arts (PROPA) are partnering together to provide a series of panel discussions called “African Influence in the Caribbean.” During this fourth program, ethnographic and archival research and area expertise will inform a discussion on how West and Central African descendants have preserved a connection to the Mother Continent through dances in the Caribbean. Independent scholar and genealogist Melanie Maldonado (PROPA) will discuss DNA tested afrodescendants in Puerto Rico and conduct an oral history with Barbara Liz Ortiz of the Cepeda Brenes family of tradition bearers who will share about her own genealogical journey to learn more about her family’s African ancestry and how it influences their cultural practices. This lecture will be complemented by a dance class co-presented by master dancers Tata Cepeda (Puerto Rico) and Bayo (Nigeria). The audience will have an opportunity to interact throughout this community discussion with the scholars and subject matter experts.