Describes the origins, characteristics and celebrations of the Puerto Rican folkloric tradition of "Los Vejigantes", a character associated with the music of bomba and plena.
The chants and the toques de batá for the dead performed by the Raíces Ensemble and guest artists in the Festival for the Dead are taken from the Lucumí/Ocha liturgy of Cuba.
Oyá is the orisha, or force of nature of the whirlwinds, the energy that brings chaos and destruction to make room for change and new growth. She is also the gatekeeper of the cemetary and the marketplace, deciding who may enter and who may leave.
Raíces Cultural Center was able to present a variety of traditions that honor the ancestors through music, song and dance thanks to a cultural collaboration with Grupo Ribeiro from New York City, who presented the Brazilian traditions of the caboclo…
Raíces Cultural Center delivered an arts and culture residency about the history, music, song and dance of the vejigantes at the Greater Brunswick Charter School in 2009. This culminating assembly performance was part of the 2009 Raíces Production…
Elegúa is the keeper of the crossroads. He is an Orisha, or force of nature, associated with destiny. He is known as a trickster and a messenger and is often associated with children. This image depicts a dance for Eleguá performed at the Spirit of…
Performing Eleguá at the Spirit of the Drum Production. Eleguá is the Orisha, or force of nature, of the crossroads. He is considered to be a messenger and a trickster.
Rumba is a secular percussion, song and dance tradition that developed on the streets in Cuba. The dance represents the chicken and the rooster, and is a flirtatious and sensual conversation between the two dancers.
Sean Battle, a performing arts intern at Raíces in 2010 wrote original poems in honor of the Orishas for the Spirit of the Drum production, while also resarching, studying and learning the history, rhythms, songs and movements associated with the…
The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Hip-Hop Ambassadors Cultural Exchange program stopped at Raíces Cultural Center on their tour of the Northeast.