South Bronx Culture Festival 2023: Mi Cultura Viva en Mí

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Published on April 01, 2023, 5:20 pm
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Since 2011, Casita Maria’s South Bronx Culture Festival has celebrated the vibrant culture and communities of the South Bronx through an annual performance series anchored by a new theme each year. This year’s theme, Mi Cultura Viva en Mí, is rooted in healing and self-love. We have gathered a community of women from Caribbean and Latin American Diasporas, who carry their culture with them and reframe traditional music and dance, sharing hope and creating inclusive community connections while amplifying the voices and perspectives of all, who identify as women. 

This year’s SBCF line-up, with musical roots from the diasporas of Brazil, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Haiti, México, Puerto Rico, and the confluence of cultures that is New York City, is curated by Casita Maria’s Interim Executive Director, Gail Heidel, in partnership with the Ori-Gen Collective, La Reina Del Barrio and Bronx Arts Ensemble. 

FREE outdoor performances will take place June 02-04, 2023 at Father Gigante Plaza in front of St. Athanasius Church, 878 Tiffany Street, Bronx, NY 10459. Everyone is welcome to attend all events in person, or to watch the Festival events at a later date on BronxNet Television.

Throughout the weekend, bilingual celebrity MCs and BronxNet hosts Rhina Valentin & Javier E. Gomez will keep the celebration going, along with DJs BEMBONA, Sabine Blaizin and Boston Chery. Headliners will include percussionist and drummer Annette A. Aguilar performing with her 12 piece Salsa band, Afro-Brazilian percussion group Batalá New York, and Casita Maria’s 9-piece jazz ensemble BronX BandA featuring seven time Grammy award-winning artist Arturo O’Farrill performing original compositions inspired by oral histories of women from the Bronx. The ensemble will be joined by Arthur Avilés Typical Theater, presented in partnership with BAAD! Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance, who will choreograph and perform new work. These acts will anchor a full schedule that will include artists ranging from Young Artists of Casita Maria and Bronx Studio School for Writers & Artists to performance groups: Alea, Akua Dixon & Quartette Indigo, Renee Goust, LA MANGA, Mireya Ramos, and Sonia de Los Santos. The full performance schedule is provided below.

Additional partnering organizations will create even more joy and activities for the community. Bronx Children’s Museum will lead hands-on art making activities; Bronx Night Market will present a curated selection of Bronx food vendors; DreamYard; New York Public Library will park their Bookmobile near the stage. This entire program would not be possible without Sebco, Inc., who will allow us to use Father Gigante Plaza for free. 

This program is supported, in part, by public funds from The New York City Department Of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and Council Member Rafael Salamanca Jr. Additional support is provided by the Howard Gilman Foundation.

For artist and partner bios and to learn more, please visit here.

Performance Schedule

Friday, June 02, 2023

  • 02:00 – 07:00 p.m.: Bronx Children’s Museum, Bronx Night Market (food vendors), DreamYard;
  • 02:00 – 03:00 p.m.: BEMBONA (Afro-Diasporic Sounds DJ Set 1);
  • 03:00 – 03:45 p.m.: Bronx Arts Ensemble presents *Akua Dixon & Quartette Indigo (Funk / Blues / Latin Jazz);
  • 03:45 – 04:15 p.m.: BEMBONA (Afro-Diasporic Sounds DJ Set 2);
  • 04:15 – 04:45 p.m.: Young Artists of Casita Maria and BSSWA;
  • 04:45 – 05:30 p.m.: BEMBONA (Afro-Diasporic DJ Set 3);
  • 05:30 – 07:00 p.m.: Annette A Aguilar & StringBeans (Salsa) with young dancers of Casita Maria.

Saturday, June 03, 2023

  • 12:00 – 07:00 p.m.: Bronx Night Market (food vendors), DreamYard;
  • 12:30 – 05:00 p.m.: New York Public Library Bookmobile;
  • 12:30 – 01:00 p.m.: DJ Sabine Blaizin, Oyasound (Global Soul / African Diasporic Set 1);
  • 01:00 – 01:45 p.m.: LA MANGA (Cumbia, bullerengue y gaita / Afro-Caribbean Colombian);
  • 01:45 – 02:30 p.m.: DJ Sabine Blaizin, Oyasound (Global Soul / African Diasporic Set 2);
  • 02:30 – 03:15 p.m.: **Renee Goust (Latin / Regional Mexican);
  • 03:15 – 04:00 p.m.: DJ Sabine Blaizin, Oyasound (Global Soul / African Diasporic Set 3);
  • 04:00 – 04:45 p.m.: **Alea (Colombian Latin Alternative);
  • 04:45 – 05:30 p.m.: DJ Sabine Blaizin, Oyasound (Global Soul / African Diasporic Set 4);
  • 05:30 – 07:00 p.m.: Batalá New York (Afro-Brazilian percussion).

Sunday, June 04, 2023

  • 12:30 – 06:00 p.m.: Bronx Night Market (food vendors), DreamYard;
  • 12:30 – 01:30 p.m.: Boston Chery (DJ Set 1);
  • 01:30 – 02:15 p.m: **Sonia de Los Santos (Bilingual Family Music);
  • 02:15 – 03:00 p.m.: Boston Chery (DJ Set 2);
  • 03:00 – 03:45 p.m: **Mireya Ramos (Latin Fusion / Latin Alternative);
  • 03:45 – 04:30 p.m.: Boston Chery (DJ Set 3);
  • 04:30 – 06:00 p.m.: BronX BandA.

Featuring Arturo O’Farrill & ***Arthur Avilés Typical Theater

(Latin Jazz and Modern / Contemporary Dance)

*Presented in partnership with Bronx Arts Ensemble

**Presented in partnership with the Ori-Gen Collective

***Presented in partnership with BAAD! Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance

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Casita Maria

About Casita Maria Center For Arts & Education

Casita Maria Center For Arts & Education is the first and oldest Latino 501(c)(3) charity in NYC, founded in 1934.

The South Bronx-based community arts and educational organization presents diverse, contemporary visual and performing arts and education programming for all ages.

Casita Maria creates a safe and welcoming community, enriching and uplifting youth and families towards success, through shared cultural, art and educational experiences and programs.

Location:

Casita Maria Center For Arts & Education
928 Simpson Street
Bronx, NY 10459

Tel.: 718-589-2230

Email: info@casitamaria.org

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Jonas Bronck is the pseudonym under which we publish and manage the content and operations of The Bronx Daily.™ | Bronx.com - the largest daily news publication in the borough of "the" Bronx with over 1.5 million annual readers. Publishing under the alias Jonas Bronck is our humble way of paying tribute to the person, whose name lives on in the name of our beloved borough.