AFRIBEMBÉ 2024 TAKES HARLEM WEEK ON AN ARTISTIC PASSAGE FROM AFRICA THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN TO EL BARRIO

On Sunday, August 11th, The Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute and the Harlem community went on a journey from Africa, the Motherland, to Haiti, the beacon of Black freedom, to East Harlem, our home, through powerful musical presentations by Something Positive, Kongo Haitian Roots Music and Keep Rising To The Top. This was CCCADI’s 6th annual Afribembé Festival: Rhythms of Home presented as part of Harlem Week’s “A Great Day in Harlem” at General Grant National Memorial Park. From East Harlem to West Harlem and beyond, our community gathered together to celebrate our Pan-African cultural connection with sounds from across the African Diaspora.

CCCADI joined forces to mark Harlem Week’s milestone of 50 years.

“CCCADI is also approaching its own 50th anniversary in 2026. What this milestone has brought to light is how many of us recognized a need in our community and built institutions so that we could serve our people and preserve who we are despite a system trying to tear us down. It is a beautiful thing when we can come together to acknowledge, create and celebrate our culture, our people, ourselves,” said Melody Capote, Executive Director of CCCADI

After enjoying Harlem Week’s afternoon of presentations featuring local and international performers of The Gospel Caravan and emerging artists like IMPACT Theater, Melody kicked off the Afribembé segment with a libation, first paying tribute to our ancestors. Immediately after, Something Positive stole the show, captivating the gaze of thousands of festival-goers with a Moko Jumbie procession. The dance company, which represents African traditions as preserved in Trinidadian culture, continued with high-energy dance and drumming numbers that elevated the legacy of Elegba, Sango, Oya, Yemoja, Inle, Babalú-Aye, and Obatala.

Form the ancestral spiritual traditions of the Motherland to the revolutionary spirit of Haiti, Something Positive was followed by a performance from Kongo Haitian Roots Music. The Brooklyn-based group of Haitian artists, musicians and activists guided the audience through music honoring the Ginen African tradition of Vodou.

The final stop of the Afribembé journey was East Harlem, represented by the dance company Keep Rising To The Top. Consisting of youth dancers who showcased a variety of African Diasporic rhythms in their choreography, Keep Rising To The Top performed with purpose, delivering messages through movement and music selections that encouraged healing, empowerment and mental health care.

From elders who have been present since the first Harlem Week celebration, to toddlers who are brand new to the experience, Black cultural pride and appreciation was on full display. The CCCADI Marketplace was no exception, featuring it’s newest limited edition Afribembé: Rhythms of Home t-shirt, a new Collector’s edition CCCADI t-shirt, classic pieces such as its Afribembé: Black to the Future t-shirt, plus items from four of its Lakay se Lakay vendors.

Throughout the day, the celebration featured key voices from the community, including longtime WBLS hosts, as the radio station also celebrated its 50th anniversary, as well as CCCADI’s emcee for its Afribembé segment, poet, author and activist, El Barrio’s own, Felipe Luciano. The Emmy Award-winning journalist, news anchor and former adjunct professor, co-founder and chairman of the NYC Chapter of the Young Lords Party, Member of The Original Last Poets and host of “Latin Roots” graced the stage to address the audience in the spirit of Black August, Black unity and Black revolution.

CCCADI’s Afribembé is born out of the legacy of El Festival de Santiago Apóstol en El Barrio also known as the Loiza Festival in El Barrio. The Loiza festival ran for 50 years and celebrated the traditions of the town of Loiza, Puerto Rico, one of the most African-influenced towns on the island inspired the creation of AFRIBEMBÉ: a celebration of our African Diasporic traditions that bond and bind us as one.

This year’s festival punctuated the way in which African descendants have held on to the rhythms of home across centuries and regions.

AFRIBEMBÉ is made possible by: New York City Department of Cultural Affairs - Coalition for Theaters of Color, the New York City Council, Ford Foundation, Gilman Foundation, Mellon Foundation, and the Open Society Foundations.