Una versión en español de este artículo se puede encontrar aquí.
Sounds from an Antiguan steel drum echoed through the halls of Caldwell Hall on Thursday evening as hundreds of students gathered to celebrate the harmony of two cultures, creating the ambiance of a Caribbean festival. The pleasant aroma of seasoned rice and beans wafted through the festive space while tastes of delicious pollo a la brasa—roasted Peruvian chicken—and fried plantains satisfied the cravings of visitors.
Through a series of performances from both the Latino and black community coupled with stories from the Office of Multicultural Student Affairs, Pan African week successfully brought in the first ever Afrolatinidad, an event purposed to showcase how the African diaspora influenced Latino and other world cultures.
After the parade had made it through and filled their plates with delicious cuisine from Mami Nora’s, NC State’s Latin dance team, Sube Ritmo, opened the night with two of their signature salsa and bachata performances.
Touching on the African part of Afrolatinidad, the all-female Eritrean/Ethiopian dance group performed a couple traditional dances that reflected their culture.
Toni Thorpe, the program coordinator at the African American Cultural Center, also delivered a heartfelt story about a bird named Sankofa, a bird with beautiful feathers who finds power in knowing who she is and where she comes from after being insulted by a larger, more intimidating bird.
The event was organized through a collaboration of the Society of Afrikan American Culture [SAAC], Mi Familia, the Caribbean Student Association, Multicultural Student Affairs and the African American Cultural Center.
Jasmine Cannon, a junior studying women’s and gender studies and secretary of SAAC, decided to organize the event after watching a Henry Louis Gates Jr. documentary series on Netflix about the African diaspora through Latin America.
“It’s a series of four episodes, and it takes you through elements of the slave trade and how that affected different areas of the Caribbean and Latin America,” Cannon said. “I remember one episode talking about the conflict between Haiti and the Dominican Republic and the issue of caste systems in Latin America.”
The event closed with a story from Darryl Lester, Assistant Director at the African American Cultural Center. The story paralleled the obstacles and social injustices that minority communities often face with how an eagle growing up amongst chickens found empowerment when he discovered who he was.
Afrolatinidad received positive support from students from a variety of backgrounds. Jorge Pacheco, a senior in Technology Design Engineering Education, welcomed the opportunity to learn more about other cultures.
“It was a good chance to learn about the broad conglomerate of cultures that we have here at State and see different representations of their different heritages through all the stories, and the performances, too,” Pacheco said.
In the future, Cannon hopes to make AfroLatinidad into a two-part event, with one part focused on culture and the second part on social justice issues. Having grown up in a diverse New Jersey environment, Cannon sees the value in having communities come together to tackle social justice issues and wants to see this added to AfroLatinidad in the future.
“I was reminded of how great it felt to be in a space where not only two communities were both comfortable and felt like they were properly represented, but also in a place where they could enjoy themselves and learn about each other. It’s important for communities from different cultures to come together to discuss these issues, because no social justice issue is isolated,” Cannon said.
