Why we are doing this:

-These workshops are intended to teach and maintain the Afro-Indigenous traditions found throughout Latin America. While these traditions are common place in their ancestral lands, it can be difficult for immigrants or people in the diaspora to find spaces willing to allow them the freedom to practice and pass down their traditions. 

-These workshops not only teach musical and artistic skills, they teach the history and origins of these traditions and amplify the pre-European rituals present in Africa and Latin America. 

-Creating safe spaces. While attempting to do some of these workshops in public spaces, the organizers and members of these workshops who we will be collaborating with, have been harassed or asked to leave by police. These acts of aggression create a stigma around these communities and traditions. We will be working to find safe and inviting spaces that are open to the public free of harassment. We want to reimagine public parks as a place where programing happens 

-We want to get away from the idea of “venues,” meaning a place for hire that serves as a one time meeting place for an activity and focus on the idea of “community spaces” that people are invested in beyond individual workshops. By hosting regular events we will mix art and agriculture which is how many of these traditions came to be in the first place. We want participants to engage with the gardens and parks we will be working with beyond these workshops and will be promoting active participation in the beautification efforts of both the garden, parks and the surrounding community. 

-We also want people to know the history of the gardens and parks they will be working with so that they understand the labor that goes into creating a community space. We also hope to inspire and guide participants towards reimagining how they can use public space and how they can come together to create their own gardens or community spaces.