contribution by Pedro Bonetti
This remains one of the liveliest of the roundtables. All the panelists seemed relaxed, and though they claimed they were nervous, they all seemed to want to talk about their experiences with Yemojá.
The panelists were Valerie Forbes, Bárbara Gutiérrez, Ezequiel González, Poppy Cioffi and his godson Reinol Montes De Oca. Ms. Forbes is originally from Jamaica, while the remainder of the panel were either Cuban-born or Cuban-Americans. Continue reading
Diaspora Cultural Center joins what will be an international movement to pray to the Divine for the welfare of mankind. During December, religious communities devoted to the orishas of several cities in the United States , like Mexico and Venezuela, two major events held to heal our communities while promoting world peace. Continue reading
Diaspora Cultural Center se une a lo que será un movimiento internacional para rogarle a lo Divino por el bienestar de la humanidad. Durante el mes de diciembre, las comunidades religiosas devotos de los orishas de varias ciudades de los Estados Unidos, al igual que México y Venezuela, celebraran dos importantes eventos para sanar a nuestras comunidades a la vez que promovemos la paz del mundo. Continue reading
An old Lukumi (Yourba) probverb stresses that “the person who knows will not die like the person that does not know.” If there were a maxim upon which to lay the foundations for the Diaspora Cultural Center, this would surely be it. It is our major conviction that culture, especially the cultures of Africa, so influential in the Americas, should not be permitted to whither away into forgetfulness.
As such, we have created this institution to conserve the rich cultural legacies left to us by Africa and her children, brought to us by the Americas under the atrocious conditions of the slave trade.
We laid the seeds for the DCC almost ten years ago in a small office in Miami. In our short life, we have had numerous accomplishments and continue to go forward in search of our primary objective. Nevertheless, DCC’s task is not an easy one, and the journey will no doubt be a long one, full of numerous though surmountable, obstacles. Still, out intention is to perservere and overcome any and all impediments to attain our goal. The seeds we’ve planted are already starting to sprout.
Please receive this first blog post as a vehicle that will strive to keep alive the essential elements of our African legacy. In addition, we ask you to join our effort by becoming a member of DCC. Your tax deductible contributions will help foster our aspirations and ensure that our cultures endure and that our history is not forgotten.
May the road we embark upon be blessed.
Miguel Ramos,
President
Diaspora Cultural Center
