“E-le-le, le-le-le, A-la-la, la-la-la-a…” Hispanic Heritage Month is September 15 to October 15. We celebrate the great mix of Americans with Indigenous, European, African, or Asian heritage, because we are all that.
Just this year, we’ve seen a shocking level of meanness directed at people of color, and especially Latinos. It’s a sad part of human nature to blame “others” for our own problems, but these are not some “others.” They are our families, friends, neighbors, and coworkers; our fellow Americans. If they aren’t safe, neither are we. That’s why we invite all New Yorkers to join Hispanic Heritage Month celebrations this year. You don’t have to be Hispanic. United we stand, divided we fall. Let’s stand together as New Yorkers.
Things To Do in NYC This Weekend
Some of America’s Best Spanish Flamenco at Lincoln Center
Latin Art
Latin Books
Latin Comedy
Latin Dance
Latin Fashion
Latin Festivals
Latin Film
Latin Food
Latin Music
Latin Parades
Latin Sports
Latin Theatre
Sponsored by the Best of New York
New York City’s leading Latin, Indigenous, European, African, Jewish, and Global cultural organizations support us because they support you. Let’s support them back!
Sponsors guide our editorial direction. We learn from them. They support the free editorial we do for small organizations that deserve coverage, but have no budget. Thank you! ¡Gracias ustedes!
Latin, Latino, Latine, Latim ~ Tout Moun se Moun
¿KLK? Dime a ver. Editor Iroko “Kíko” Keith aquí con todos ustedes. Vamos a gozar la vida Neoyorquino juntos. ¡Ay bendito! Tú lo sabe.
What’s up? “Kíko” Keith Widyolar, the creator of New York Latin Culture Magazine, here. Everywhere I go, except New York City, people tell me, “you’re not from here.” Claro que si. I’m a multigenerational native-born American of the United States who chooses to live in Spanish. My point of view is also Caribbean and Yoruba. ¡Aché!
Yo soy Boricua (de corazón) pa que tú lo sepa. In the Caribbean, Cubans and Dominicans say I am “aplatanado,” a foreigner who has adopted local customs. The Magazine is my way of supporting the Argentine, French, Colombian, Puerto Rican, and Afro-Dominican families in my life’s journey.
What I learned on the road is that we are far more African and Indigenous, and Latin culture is a far bigger part of American culture, than most of us have been taught.
So over nearly 20 years, my concept of Latin has grown from the traditional Caribbean, North and South American; into the great mix of Indigenous peoples of the Americas plus our mother cultures in Africa and Europe, with Jewish, Arab, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Irish, and even German influences.
“Tout moun se moun” is Haitian Kreyòl for “All People Are People.” There is only one human race and Afrika is Mother. “If you are not African, you are not human.” Please quote me on that.
Appearance is a false flag. We are all mixed, and when you learn to love and respect all peoples, your world grows exponentially. Mine has. ¡Mi Gente, Ustedes!
Puerto Rican NEA Jazz Master Eddie Palmieri (vaya con Dios) defined Latin in the Americas and the Latin influence on American culture in the simplest way:
The Spaniard brought the African
Eddie Palmieri at the 92nd Street Y in 2016 🇵🇷
The African put everyone to dance
In the States, they took away the drum,
and we got the blues“
The blues is the root of most American (and some Caribbean) popular music and dance, including: jazz, rhythm and blues, country, rock, reggae, soul, funk, disco, house, hip hop, reggaeton, and trap. Even American country music originates in Mother Afrika.
Together, the Latin family has created music and dance that is uniquely American, and loved around the world. Latin culture brings people together and turns the blues into joy. ¡Aguanilé!
Oye, you are crossing the Kalûnga
The Kalûnga is the border of the realms of the living and the dead in the traditional Kongo culture of Central Africa. It is the horizon in the Dikenga Cross or Yowa, the Kongolese cosmological diagram which represents the spiritual journey through the stages of life and death. Psychology texts use similar diagrams to describe psychological development. La Altagracia taught me this. ¡Mmm!
The Atlantic Ocean is the Kalûnga in life. Kongolese knew that anyone taken away across the ocean, never came back. It was believed to be a terrifying journey to the land of the dead. But it turns out there was life on the other side. More or less, that is the mix of Indigenous, European, African, and Asian peoples in the Americas, that we call Latin.
La Llamada de los Tambores
(The Call of The Drum)
Bienvenido a el areíto en el batéy del pueblo Latino. Somos uno en el tambor.
Escucha la llamada. La rumba ya se forma en el solar.
Yo prendo una vela.
(Welcome to the community gathering in the sacred circle of the Latin people.
We are one in the drum. Listen to the call. The party is starting in the patio. I lit a candle.)
Bom, bom, bom
ba-ta-ba-ta, ba, ta-ba, ta-ba
Bom-ba, ta-ba, Bom-ba, ta-ba
Bom-ba, ta-ba, Bom-ba, ta-ba
This call of the drum is Bomba Puertorriqueña Sicá.
“E-le-le, le-le-le, A-la-la, le-le-le“
Loíza Aldea, Loíza, Puerto Rico 🇵🇷
La salsa begins with the “Diana,” the call to prayer that asks for spiritual connection before we dance;
because by tradition, dance is how we pray.
“E-le, le-le, le-le-le-le“
La Marina, Matanzas, Cuba 🇨🇺
Rumba is what the first Africans in Cuba did, as soon as their hands were free.
“Yo Soy Ogun Balenyo”
Villa Mella, Santo Domingo, Republica Dominicana 🇩🇴
Palo, even more than merengue, is the root music of La República Dominicana.
“Diki riki riki riki, Diki riki riki riki, Diki riki riki riki, Di, Diki ri”
Capotillo 42, Santo Domingo, Republica Dominicana 🇩🇴
Dembow is the sound of the streets in La República Dominicana.
“Ay, ay, Ay-ay“
San Juan de Ulúa, Veracruz, México 🇲🇽
“Canta y no llores…”
“Aí aí aí“
San Basilio de Palenque, Bolívar, Colombia 🇨🇴
“Ajai, al son de los tambores…”
“Bim Bom, Bim Bim, Bom Bom“
Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 🇧🇷
“O meu coração pediu assim, só…”
“I like to be in América“
San Juan Hill, New York City 🇺🇸 🇵🇷 🇮🇱
“Okay, buy me in América,
Everything free in América
For a small fee in América…”
¡ A-G-U-A-N-I-L-É !
El Barrio, Loisaida, Bushwick, y El Bronx 🇵🇷
“Aguanilé” is a healing prayer to Ogun.
Who answers the call? The community responds!
Latin is family and community.
¿Oye Cómo Va?
We are Indigenous, European, African, Jewish, Arab, South Asian, East Asian, and everything in between.
“¿Oye cómo va? Mi ritmo, bueno pa’ bailar, mulata.”
Hey, how’s it going? My rhythm is good for dancing, Latina.
“Andando, andando, andando…”
(Walking, walking, walking…)
“Yo me tiro pa’l solar”
(I throw myself into the field)
Dios te bendiga
(God bless you)
¡Ashé!
(Amen)
“E-le-le, le-le-le…”
(We start and end the dance with a call to Eleguá, God’s messenger)