Afro-Diasporic Ocean Festival Comes to Rockaway this Sunday!

By Kami-Leigh Agard

This Sunday, September 1, feel the Afro-Latino vibrations at Beach 94th Street Amphitheater for the first-ever Afro-Diasporic Ocean Festival in Rockaway, curated by Queens-based arts organization, LiberArte. The Afro-Colombian music and dances, capoeira demonstrations and art you will witness—are all done by South American natives, who just days ago, flew to New York specifically to serve Rockaway a truly authentic expression of Afro-Latino culture.

Thousands of African slaves were transported to Chocó, Colombia to exploit the gold and silver mines in the basin of the Atrato river. The Afro-descendant communities of the Chocó live in one of the poorest and more dangerous areas of Colombia, and of the entire Americas. Yet, as an enclave, they kept the culture alive, spreading it around the world, and now after literally obtaining legal artist visas to perform, share their history and art, will be touring the U.S., with Rockaway being their first stop.

Headlining the event is Tambacum, an Afro Colombian traditional music group, joined by Brazilian music group Grupo Acupe and Afro Caribbean poet Adriana Devers.

The nonprofit LiberArte, spearheaded by founder, Yura Sapi, co-produced the event with local, Laru Beya Collective, Afrolatin@ forum, R&E Ocean Community Conservation, Buena Onda Collective, Los Herederos, The Surf Lot, Reel Works, and NYC Parks. Tambacum joins the festival from Nuquí, Chocó, as part of its U.S. tour. Through their music, they will share ancestral wisdom, preserve their cultural legacy and celebrate the abundance of nature from their neighboring Pacific to Rockaway’s Atlantic Ocean.

For Sapi, who counts both Colombia, Ecuador, and Long Island, NY as her roots, hosting the first-ever Afro-Diasporic Ocean Festival at the Amphitheater in Rockaway was a perfect match.

“Rockaway felt like a very perfect place for us to feel at home by the ocean. For some, NY is far, but also of course, there’s really great things about getting to know a new place. Plus, with our grant from Flushing Town Hall, which is an extension of NYC Council of the Arts, it helped me develop the idea of an ocean coming, centered around Rockaway,” Sapi said.

Joining the event is Grupo Cultural de Capoeira Angola do Acupe, a Queens Brazilian capoeira group that delves into the rich musical and philosophical aspects of Capoeira Angola (Africa), and Adriana Devers, an award-winning Afro-Caribbean writer and poet, who celebrates her ancestry through her literary works. The festival is followed by an after-party at The Surf Lot on Beach 96th Street with DJ Madame Vacile, whose DJ sessions are a mix of African rhythms in different genres.

The Afro-Diasporic Ocean Festival aims to bring together the richness of Afro-diasporic cultures around the spirit of the ocean.

Sapi said, “We have been working to support the Afro-Colombian group, Tambacum, over the years, from Nuquí, Colombia to New York, now welcoming them as our first-ever artist-in-residence as a nonprofit organization. Through connections fueled through the arts, held by the ocean and the beautiful community of Rockaway Beach, we are bringing forth our harmonious future into today.”

The Afro-Diasporic Ocean Festival is happening this Sunday, September 1 starting 1 p.m. at Beach 94th Street Amphitheater. The event is free, but donations warmly welcomed, especially for the performers who flew in from Colombia. For the full day’s lineup, (including the after-party with DJs and more at The Surf Lot: 189 A Beach 96th Street) visit: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/afro-diasporic-ocean-festival-at-rockaway-beach-amphitheater-tickets-912972373947