About the South Bronx Culture Festival
South Bronx Culture Festival 2024:
Born in El Barrio & Raised in the South Bronx
May 31-June 2, 2024
Join us in celebrating 90 years of service to the community
Headliners:
BronX BandA featuring Arturo O’Farrill
Bobby Sanabria MULTIVERSE Big Band
Eddie Palmieri Salsa Orchestra
Since 2011, Casita Maria’s South Bronx Culture Festival (SBCF) has celebrated the vibrant cultures and communities of the South Bronx through an annual performance series anchored by a new theme each year. This year’s theme, Born in El Barrio & Raised in the South Bronx, celebrates Casita Maria’s 90th anniversary and our enduring commitment to serve the community. The 2024 Festival line-up includes music, art and dance from the diasporas of the Brazil, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Honduras, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and the confluence of cultures that is New York City.
SBCF 2024 will showcase the work that we do throughout the year, teaching and inspiring young artists, documenting the history of the Bronx through music and dance, and maintaining partnerships with local artists and organizations as we enrich and elevate our beloved community. Presented free to the public, the 3-day SBCF includes outdoor music and dance performances and art activities from May 31 to June 2, 2024 at Father Gigante Plaza in front of St. Athanasius Church at 878 Tiffany Street in the South Bronx. Everyone is welcome to attend all events in person, or to watch the Festival events at a later date on BronxNet Television, our media partner.
Throughout the weekend, bilingual celebrity MCs and BronxNet hosts
Rhina Valentin &
Javier E. Gomez
will keep the celebration going, along with DJs
GRANDWIZZARD THEODORE,
Tiff McFierce
and
Sabine Blaizin (Oyasound). Headliners will include: Casita Maria’s 11-piece Latin jazz ensemble
BronX BandA featuring artist
Arturo O’Farrill performing original compositions inspired by oral histories of Bronx heroes;
Bobby Sanabria MULTIVERSE Big Band
featuring:
Janis Siegel, Antoinette Montague, Jennifer Jade Ledesna and Danza Fiesta; and the legendary
Eddie Palmieri Salsa Orchestra co-presented with the
National Jazz Museum in Harlem.
These acts will anchor a full schedule that will include talent from
Young Artists of Casita Maria to performance groups:
Mariachi Real de México
&
Ballet Folklorico Mexicano de Nueva York, Wabafu Garifuna Dance Theatre,
Yasser Tejeda,
People of Earth and
It's Showtime NYC!
Additional partnering organizations will create even more joy and activities for the community.
Puerto Rican Institute for the Development of the Arts (PRIDA) will present a collective of artisan vendors.
Casita Maria’s own Teaching Artist,
Maria Luisa Portuondo Vila will lead a hands-on art activity.
Danza Fiesta will provide a dance lesson in the basics of Bomba.
Ballet Hispánico through their
Latine Immersive Experience with Tempo Alegre
will take us on
a journey through Latin America. Finally, the
New York Public Library will park their bookmobile near the stage. This entire program would not be possible without the support and generosity of
SEBCO Inc., who allows 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 and the
Rockefeller Brothers Fund.
Performance Schedule
Location: Father Gigante Plaza in front of St. Athanasius Church, 878 Tiffany St, Bronx, NY 10459
Friday, May 31
3:30-7pm
PRIDA (Artisan Vendors / Vendedores Artesanales)
3:30-4pm GRANDWIZZARD THEODORE (DJ)
4-4:45pm Casita Maria Young Artists
4:45-5:15pm GRANDWIZZARD THEODORE & It's Showtime NYC! (Street Dance)
5:30-7pm BronX BandA featuring Arturo O’Farrill with special guests It's Showtime NYC! & GRANDWIZZARD THEODORE (Latin Jazz)
Saturday, June 1
12:30-4pm
New York Public Library (Bookmobile)
12:30-7pm
Casita Maria Teaching Artist Maria Luisa Portuondo Vila (Art Activity)
PRIDA (Artisan Vendors)
12:30-1pm/ 1:45-2:30pm / 3:15-4pm
Tiff McFierce (Energetic, Eclectic, Immersive DJ Sets)
1-1:45pm Mariachi Real de México y Ballet Folklorico Mexicano de Nueva York (Traditional Mexican Music & Folkloric Dance)
2:30-3:15pm Wabafu Garifuna Dance Theatre (Garifuna Folkloric Dance)
4-4:45pm Yasser Tejeda (Dominican Roots Music)
4:45-5:30pm Dance Lesson led by Danza Fiesta (Basics of Bomba)
5:30-7pm Bobby Sanabria MULTIVERSE Big Band feat: Janis Siegel, Antoinette Montague, Jennifer Jade Ledesna + Danza Fiesta (Big Band Latin Jazz and Beyond!!! / Vibrant Cultural Ambassadors)
Sunday, June 2
12:30-6pm
PRIDA (Artisan Vendors)
Casita Maria Teaching Artist Maria Luisa Portuondo Vila (Art Activity)
12:30-1:30pm Ballet Hispánico Latine Immersive Experience with Tempo Alegre (A Journey Through Latin America)
1:30-2:15pm / 3:45-4:30pm Sabine Blaizin (Oyasound) (Global Soul, AfroHouse, AfroBeats, Haitian Roots)
2:15-3:45pm People of Earth (Salsa / Timba)
4:30-6pm Eddie Palmieri Salsa Orchestra co-presented with the National Jazz Museum in Harlem (Salsa & Latin Jazz)
About the Artists
Festival Hosts
Rhina Valentin is a leading figure in New York City’s entertainment industry. A Native New Yorker Afro Boricua. She is a mother, comedienne, producer, director, writer, and dancer. As a multiple award-winning artist and performer, Rhina has captured audiences with her humor while discussing adversity with honesty, representing the values of working-class women-of-color.
Since 2006, Rhina has been the host of the popular OPEN Friday talk show on BronxNet TV advocating arts, culture, entertainment, women empowerment and mental health awareness. She is the founder and CEO of La Reina Del Barrio Inc. As of Feb 2022, Ms. Valentin sits on the Board of Directors for the Bronx Council on The Arts.
She has served Casita Maria as a Production Consultant/Host for the South Bronx Culture Festival since 2018, an annual arts and culture festival highlighting the best of the Bronx, the birthplace of hip-hop. Rhina also hosted and consulted with Casita Maria on digitally migrating the production due to COVID-19 in 2020.
rhinavalentin.com
IG, FB and Linked In @rhinavalentin
Javier E. Gomez, is a producer, award-winning journalist, and actor. As a journalist he has over 20-years experience covering New York City and Hispanic affairs. Javier currently hosts “Dialogo Abierto,” the Spanish-Language public affairs program on BronxNet Community TV.
"The South Bronx Culture Festival is a fantastic celebration of community, music, dance, art, local food, and family, for people of all ages. I encourage everyone to check out the performance schedule, and join us for this exciting outdoor event to start the Summer festival season of 2024, and to celebrate Casita Maria's 90th anniversary", he said.
Visual Artist
Maria Luisa Portuondo Vila is a Chilean artist whose work spans from installation to literature. Her projects normally focus on creating artistic events that emerge from the relationship between artwork, context and participants, who are regarded as co-creators of the art piece. Vila´s pieces are created from a wide range of media and they grow as her audience does. This allows her to capture people’s personal memories and weave them as micro-memories in a collective memory record. In this way, her work can be seen as a contribution to historicity, society and to an awareness of what makes “us”. María´s work has been exhibited in Asia, Europe, and The Americas. She currently lives and works in New York City. Vila is a Casita Maria Teaching Artist.
Performers: Friday, May 31
GrandWizzard Theodore, aka Theodore Livingston, creator of the scratch and needle drop, is featured in the first hiphop movie “Wild Style” and in the movie Scratch. He has traveled around the world teaching hiphop classes and playing venues and been teaching at the NYC Scratch Academy since 2002. His life story is told in the Netflix show The Get Down. GrandWizzard is a Casita Maria Alum.
IG: @THEREALGRANDWIZZARDTHEODORE
Young Artists of Casita Maria (Grades K-12) will feature talents developed in Casita Maria's after-school programs including choir, dance, guitar, musical theater, percussion, piano, violin, and visual art.
It's Showtime NYC! Historic Casita Maria partner and fellow Bronx based non profit Dancing in the Streets brings the award-winning street dancers of its signature program It's Showtime NYC! to celebrate Casita Maria's remarkable legacy. The dancers, led by Artistic and Program Director Cal Hunt, will share a perspective of their litefeet, hip hop, flexN and other street dance freestyle and choreographed works and will offer a special commissioned collaboration with GrandWizzard Theodore and Bronx Banda.
BronX BandA is Casita Maria’s latest collaboration with nine-time Grammy Award-winning artist Arturo O’Farrill. This 11-piece improvisational ensemble is bridging the gap between performers and audiences by weaving original jazz creations into the daily life of the community. Compositions and performances integrate local musicians and collaborative artists, melding traditional jazz with the sounds and stories of the community.
New compositions based on the life and legacy of Bobby Sanabria and Casita Maria Alums Tina Ramirez founder of Ballet Hispanico and jazz musician Dave Valentin will be performed.
casitamaria.org/creative-arts/bronx-banda
Performers: Saturday, June 1
Bronx native, renowned DJ, and multi-disciplinary artist
Tiff McFierce is set to ignite the 1s & 2s at our South Bronx Culture Festival! Experience her dynamic musical vibe now and catch more of Tiff McFierce next spring at her first gallery exhibition at Casita Maria! Follow@TiffMcFierce for more!
@TiffMcFierce / @Look_IN._
Mariachi Real De Mexico was founded in 1991 by Ramon Ponce and his son Ramon Ponce Jr. This year Mariachi Real De Mexico is proudly celebrating 32 years. Mariachi Real De Mexico is considered to be the ambassador of mariachi music and the most important and sought after mariachi ensemble in New York City and the North East of the United States.
Ballet Folklorico Mexicano de Nueva York is a non-profit organization founded in 1983. We are celebrating 38 years of proudly promoting Mexican culture and traditions in New York. Through our performances, exhibitions, workshops, and educational programs, we aim to educate the public and build stronger bridges towards a more culturally diverse society. It is or goal to encourage dance talent by making Mexican cultural education available to anyone who is interested.
@bfmny
Wabafu Garifuna Dance Theater is a Garifuna, Folkloric and Modern Dance Company. It was founded in 1992 (originally named Hamalali Wayunagu “Voices of Our Ancestors”) by Dance Instructor and Choreographer Luz F. Soliz. The company is the longest running Garifuna dance troupe in New York City. From its establishment, Wabafu has been an instrumental source for people in search of information about the endangered Garifuna culture through the arts. Be ready to experience the Garifuna history, language and vibrant tradition through live drumming, song, drama & dance.
Yasser Tejeda is an award-winning Dominican composer, guitarist, vocalist, and producer who will be sharing the beauty and importance of Dominican music representation. Yasser hopes to incite an awakening while inspiring new generations to explore, promote, and uplift their roots. According to Billboard, Yasser is giving traditional folkloric music a new spin with jazz, rock, and Caribbean rhythms in "a frenzied celebration of ancestral union." Juan Luis Guerra, the most influential Dominican artist in the world, praised his mission, calling it a "marvelous example of what's happening with Dominican music.”
@yassertejeda / FB: Yasser Tejeda
Danza Fiesta: Baile y Teatro Puertorriqueño was founded by Gilda Rivera-Pantojas and is based in New York City. Its mission is to share and spread Puerto Rican music, dance and culture with the community and the world.
The choreography we will present is inspired by the best Latin jazz music by Bobby Sanabria. Our performance will take the audience on a vibrant journey! We created this work to appeal to the Latin flavor of Puerto Rican people, with the intention of reminding them of our cultural wonders. They will hear Latin jazz music watching our energetic and passionate dancers, who will share a bit of our cultural heritage through the magic of dance. Join us as we pay tribute to our culture in this moving and exciting performance!
Led by legendary drummer and Bronx Walk of Fame Artist, the multi Grammy nominated Bobby Sanabria. MULTIVERSE Big Band goes where no big band has gone before playing the kaleidoscope of sounds that represents NYC's borough of music. From explosive Latin jazz to hard core salsa, funk, blues, and more. Fernando Gonzalez of JazzTimes magazine has described the band as..." a musical juggernaut."
Performers: Sunday, June 2
Latine Immersive Experience takes audiences on a guided journey through Latin dance and
culture. This interactive, fun-filled experience features excerpts of the Ballet Hispánico's Latin Social Dances and is narrated by artistic leadership. Music, cultural connections, choreographic insights, and history come together to deepen the audience’s experience of dance.
Tempo Alegre offers a diverse repertoire of Latin music styles with a commitment to delivering authentic performances and a passion for celebrating Latin culture through music. From the spirited rhythms of merengue and salsa to the timeless melodies of bachata, cumbia, bolero, and beyond. Over the years, Tempo Alegre has cultivated a reputation for professionalism, reliability, timeliness, and musical excellence. Tempo Alegre brings people together through the universal language of music.
thebash.com/latin-band/tempoalegre
Dj
Sabine Blaizin's work focuses on the exposure and pleasures of African diasporic music. Brooklyn Mecca, Cumbancha, and Oyasound are a few of her creative projects. Dj Sabine spins Global Soul: House, Afrotech, Afrobeat, Haitian Roots and other diasporic tunes. As an artivist, Sabine continuously gives back and serves her African diasporic community. In this capacity, she is the Director of Programs at the Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute and volunteers as the NY Deputy Ambassador for Haiti's She Builds Initiative. Sabine ultimately seeks to create new scholarship through the African and Haitian diasporic lens of music, culture and spirituality.
IG: @sabineblaizin
People of Earth is a global music collective quickly emerging as one of the United State’s most exciting Latin and tropical bands. The band plays original music that blends influences from Cuban Timba and Rumba, Puerto Rican bomba and plena, Haitian Kompa, Brazilian MPB, and American soul, RnB, and hip hop, with songs in Spanish, English, Portuguese, and Kreyole.
Known as one of the finest pianists of the past 60 years, Eddie Palmieri is a bandleader, arranger and composer of salsa and Latin jazz. His playing skillfully fuses the rhythm of his Puerto Rican heritage with the complexity of his jazz influences: Thelonious Monk, Herbie Hancock, McCoy Tyner as well as his older brother, Charlie Palmieri.
Palmieri’s parents emigrated from Ponce, Puerto Rico to New York City in 1926. Born in Spanish Harlem and raised in the Bronx, Palmieri learned to play the piano at an early age, and at 13, he joined his uncle’s orchestra, playing timbales. Palmieri’s professional career as a pianist took off with various bands in the early 1950s including Eddie Forrester, Johnny Segui’s, and the popular Tito Rodriguez Orchestra. In 1961, Palmieri formed his own band, La Perfecta, which featured an unconventional front line of trombones rather than the trumpets customary in Latin orchestras. This created an innovative sound that mixed American jazz into Afro-Caribbean rhythms, surprising critics and fans alike. Palmieri disbanded La Perfecta in 1968 to pursue different musical endeavors, though he would return to the band’s music in the 2000s.
palmierimusic.com
About the Partners
The Bronx Chamber of Commerce, founded in 1894, mobilizes members, the private sector, and philanthropic partners to build equitable economic opportunities for Bronx businesses and residents which build community wealth and chart a forward thinking, results-driven economic future for Bronxites.
BronxNet Community Television provides programming and opportunities to inspire, educate, inform, engage and promote community voices for the Bronx and beyond.
bronxnet.org
The mission of the
National Jazz Museum in Harlem (NJMH) is to preserve, promote and present jazz by inspiring knowledge, appreciation and the celebration of jazz locally, nationally and internationally. We tell the truth about jazz and fuel our mission through four Core Programs: Education, Jazz &… (Community Engagement & Performance), Exhibits and Partnerships. Our programming and our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Policy represent our commitment to showcasing jazz and jazz-adjacent voices and perspectives that characterize and welcome the most inclusive diversity of audiences.
jmih.org/about
For 125 years,
The New York Public Library has been a free provider of education and information for the people of New York and beyond. With 92 locations—including research and branch libraries—throughout the Bronx, Manhattan, and Staten Island, the Library offers free materials, computer access, classes, exhibitions, programming and more to everyone from toddlers to scholars, and has seen record numbers of attendance and circulation in recent years. The New York Public Library receives approximately 16 million visits through its doors annually and millions more around the globe who use its resources at
nypl.org. To offer this wide array of free programming, The New York Public Library relies on both public and private funding.
Puerto Rican Institute for the Development of the Arts (PRIDA) supports Puerto Rican artists with a membership program that advocates, empowers, and services its members. We provide a platform to support the sales of art by Puerto Rican artists, inform members of upcoming events, welcome Puerto Rican artists of all disciplines, sponsor events to showcase and promote Puerto Rican arts and culture, and provide opportunities for members to conduct workshops and other special events. Board Chair, Raesha Cartagena
In an attempt to fight the blight and deterioration that had plagued the Hunts Point community of the Bronx, the group known as SEBCO (South East Bronx Community Organization) was formed in the fall of 1968 under the visionary leadership of Father Louis R. Gigante. SEBCO is responsible for the development and construction of over 6,000 new or rehabilitated housing units in approximately 450 buildings throughout the South Bronx. SEBCO has grown from a small group of community activists into a sizable and sophisticated development company with over 300 employees. From modest origins, SEBCO has contributed greatly to the City of New York by providing jobs, commerce, recreational facilities and of course, housing for its low and moderate-income residents.
Supported By
