Latino Culture Lives At Sofrito For Your Soul

I need your help delivering Christmas to these kids this year...

Please share this with everyone via your blog, facebook, twitter, 

linked in, my space, migente or however else you connect with people.

   

A bone to the dog is not charity. Charity is the bone shared with the dog, when you are just as hungry as the dog.  Jack London (1876 - 1916)

Mi Gente...

As many of you know we are hosting the Pa'l Pueblo Charity Event this Friday, This event will be hosted by co-founder Papo Swiggity and will feature "Parranda" style music, a delicious Latino holiday buffet, spoken word poetry, conscious hip hop, comedy and community (buy tickets here)

This year we are struggling to reach our goals due to big companies cutting back their budgets. We are able to cover some basic costs of hosting the event  thanks to the generosity of Platinum Mic Studios  and because all of the artists, poets, comedians, community activists and supporters that will loan their talent to this fundraiser. 

The truth is that this event almost did not happen without their commitment. 

Now I am asking you to commit too. Please help us reach our goal of making sure that each child of the Bushwick United Headstart opens a gift this christmas. 

Use the widget below to make a contribution...give what you can, remember every little bit counts. 

Will you help me put a smile 

on a single child's face?

100% of your money goes to the children!

or you can buy tickets or donate via our Eventbrite Page using Paypal by clicking here!

Help us make a difference in Brooklyn....

 We need community partners to help us make this event survive the current economic recession and deliver Christmas to the kids of Bushwick United Headstart like we have for the last two years. If you agree, in exchange for your assistance we will list you or the organization of your choice as a community partner on all future mailings, our facebook page, our eventbrite page and special acknowledgment during the event.

If you have any question or if you would like to contribute in a different way, feel free to reach out (516) 690-7397.

Thank you for your continued support...

George Torres

The Urban Jibaro

Chat Skype: urbanjibaro

Contact Me   

Parrandas, Areitos Transformed

Our ancestors worshiped in both private and public ways. Areitos were celebrations which honored not only the Spirits but also the persons hosting it along with the invited guests. Epic songs were sung and danced to. Tekina were the ceremonial leaders of the Epic songs that recounted both the deeds and the exploits of the ancestors. There was however also room for the creation of new songs and dances.  The Spanish documented that the Casica Anacaona was famous for her compositions and choreography for the Areitos. They even mention in one account that she organized an Areito where over a thousand maidens danced in honor of the Spanish. These celebrations took place in the Batey. That is the area where the sacred ball game was played. It was important that all creation witness the Areito. Song and dance were a form of prayer. It was a way for the community to be and move as one. It connected everyone to the common ancestor and reinforced the sense of kinship. Every important event in human life was celebrated with an Areito. With the conquest by the Spaniards the Areitos proved too dangerous so they were soon outlawed. Organized gatherings were not allowed except under the leadership of Catholic priests or a devote convert and then only for the purpose of teaching the Christian faith. The need for a substitute way of celebration, that met the need of the people to express themselves was noted. Parrandas were brought from Spain to meet this need. It was a tool used to reinforce the Christian doctrine while at the same time allowing people their self expression and the need to worship through song and dance. The Parrandas of Boriken began to look and feel different from what was done in Spain. Our Parrandas had indigenous elements within a Christian context. The Taino and their decendants still played their maracas and guiros only now there was a Spanish guitar. The celebrations still took place outdoors under the night sky. The dancing often took place in the front yards of the Bohios and to this day this area of the home is still called Batey. The songs were still mostly a form of prayer that was taken from home to home until the wee hours of the morning. The songs that were sung at these Parrandas were originally of a religious nature and many continue so to the present day. Jesus, Mary and Joseph are sung about but with a Taino/Jibaro flavor. After a time the Jibaro began to improvise new songs, not only about religion but also about their joys and sorrows. Women have also been known to be great improvisers of the sytles sung for Parrandas. When I hear a woman sing decimas I hear Anacaona underneath the Spanish trappings and my heart stirs. We read about the Caribs or the Garifuna as many are called today and we find reference to their "Paranda" (same word as our's but only spelled with one R) as one form of traditional Carib music. There are some differences in that they use three drums and turtle shell rattles. Their Paranda is also stationary in that they sing and dance in one location while we go from house to house. It can not be denied however that both styles of Parandas have similar roots and purpose. Today there are many recordings of the traditional Jibaro music. The songs often speak of our Taino ancestors. The sounds of the guiro and the maraca is always constant and consistent in the background. It is there reminding us and connecting us to the Areitos of old. The guiro and maraca in fact are everywhere in our Boricua music. Almost every piece of Salsa music has them. However we've heard them for so long that we stop noticing. It is the same with many other Taino cultural expressions. If you eat viandas (root vegs) with fish, or corn, beans or pumpkins, you are eating traditional foods. If you use achiote to color your food or just cook an old fasion sancocho (ajiaco) you are connecting. If you've ever attended a Parranda or had a Spiritist blow cigar smoke on you or you prayed in front of your grandmother's home shrine, then you were connecting. The following Décima is of my own inspiration. Written in the traditional way. It has ten lines with 8 syllables per stanza. Le Lo Lai Le Lo Le ay Le Lo Lai Le Lo Le Hoy estamos recordando, Hoy estamos recordando, Las costumbre del abuelo De Yukiyu un te quiero llevo cuan flor entre labios En Boriken hay Quaribos En Boriken hay Quariches La voz del Coqui me dice Daca Taino Taino. Translation Le Lo Lai Le Lo Le Today we are remembering Today we are remembering The customs of the grand father An " I love you" from Yukiyu I carry as a flower on my lips. Boriken has brave men. Boriken has brave women The voice of the coqui frog says I am Taino, I am Taino. I'm sharing this today in the hopes that we become more aware of how much of our culture we really still retain. My dear friends, try to remember this as you celebrate the coming holiday season. Our unique cultural expressions are there just beneath the surface, all we have to do is take a second look. In Peace by Domingo Hernandez De Jesus (Turey) Email: dhernandez@yai.org

NYC Event: 12/11/09 - Capicu Poetry Hosts The 3rd Annual Pa'l Pueblo Charity Event

For Immediate Release

 

Brooklyn, NY --(Sofrito PR Wire)-- Capicu Poetry in association with Notice Lounge have partnered to host the 3rd Annual  "Pa'L Pueblo" a holiday celebration / Toy Drive   in which proceeds from the door will benefit children of the Brooklyn's Bushwick United Head Start "Toys For Head Start" program located at 153 Johnson Avenue in Brooklyn NY. 

This event will be hosted by co-founder Papo Swiggity and will feature "Parranda" style music, Nuyorican / Urban poetry, comedy and community.

Special Performances by: 

Comedian/Actor/Director

Victor Cruz

Also....

Poetry by J.F. Seary, Mia Hernandez...

Visual Art by Taino Spirit

Music by DJ. Sambarella

and an incredible limited open mic.

This event is being made possible via sponsorships from the following entities:

Presenting Sponsor

Platinum Mic Studios

 

Gold Sponsor

FutuVision Productions

 

 

Latino Buffet Sponsor - Notice Lounge, Community Sponsors Sofrito For Your Soul, Media Jester, Blaze-A-Page, Radio Capicu, Phi Iota Alpha Fraternity, Inc - Theta Chapter, Taino Spirit,Swiggity Cartel

 

Event Details

 

Date: Friday December 11^th, 2009

Venue: Notice Lounge

Address: 198 Union Ave (between Broadway & Montrose) Brooklyn, NY 11211

Time: 7:00pm – 11:00pm

Admission: $10.00 (online tickets) or $15.00 at the door.

What's Included: Free "Cuchifritos" with donation and after party admission.

BUY TICKETS, DONATE, SPONSOR OR RSVP ONLINE

--------------------------------------------------------------

 

About Bushwick United Headstart

 

BUSHWICK UNITED HEAD START is a non-profit organization that provides low income families and their children aged 3-5 years old the opportunity and services that they need and may not be able to receive due to their lack of income. Our agency has 5 centers located within the Williamsburg/Brooklyn communities

 

About Capicu Poetry

 

The Capicu Poetry Open Mic is a premiere monthly cultural showcase event hosted in Notice Lounge in Williamsburg, NY. Founded in March 2007 has already made it's presence known in NY by featuring both veteran as well as up and coming performers of spoken word. In addition, Capicu Poetry has featured prominent visual artists, up and coming entrepreneurs, comedians and select musical guests.

 

Capicu Poetry has been featured on an opening segment of HITN TV's Dialogo De Costa en Costa with Malin Falu, Latin Beat Magazine and has recently begun to make an impact on the global community by developing Radio Capicu, the first Latino show on Blog Talk Radio.

 

 

 

Media Contact

 

George Torres

Sofrito Media Group

516-690-7397  (office)

SofritoMediaGroup@gmail.com

The Poetry of Bobby Gonzalez: Anacaona

(artwork by Taino Spirit)

ANACAONA

She sits on the earthen floor.
Her wrists and ankles
fettered by iron chains.

She sits motionless, absolutely still.
with here eyes shut tight,
as her breath comes and goes
in long measured flows.

She is the poet queen of Ai-tí.
And now she squats alone in a hut.
Chained.
In darkness.
With only the damp floor of Mother Earth
to comfort her.

She begins to release tears
that fall to the ground
like offerings to the Great Bleeding Mother
La Madre Tierra
Itíba Cahubaba.

She cries tears of sorrow
for a daughter who will not have
a mother to teach and to love her.

She cries tears of sorrow
for the children who will now have to
endure a life of cruel enslavement.

And she cries tears of anguish
for the earth of her island
that will no longer
be tenderly cared for
by the only people who are
are sensitive to her ways
and to her needs.

And then she begins to hum.
And then she begins to chant.

She chants the poem song that had been sung
on the morning that she was born.

She chants the poem song that had been sung
on the day she became a woman
and was given a new name.

And she chants the poem song that been sung
on the day when she felt
the labor pains
that seemed to tear her body apart.

And then
she begins to sing
and cry with joy,
knowing
that she will soon be walking
in the radiant spirit land
where the ancient ones dwell.

But for now,
she sits alone
on the earthen floor
of a hut.

Her wrists and ankles
fettered by iron chains.

And the moon in the sky
turns blood red in anger
as the poet queen
squats on the earthen floor
alone.

Anacaona was a cacique, a political spiritual leader, of the Taino people in a region of the country known today as Haiti.

Copyright©2001 by Bobby Gonzalez from his book of poetry Song of the American Holocaust: Native Poetry From the South Bronx Reservation.