Featured performer · Afro-soul
Koku Gonza
Tanzanian-American singer, songwriter and guitarist blending Afrobeat, R&B, highlife and neo-soul, sung in English and Swahili.
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A day of music, dance and food celebrating African, Afro-Latinx and Afro-Caribbean cultures by the sea.
The day
We honored International Day of Afro-Descendant Women, ocean conservation, and the ties between cultural memory, land stewardship and climate justice.
Panel by afrolatin@ forum
A conversation centering Blackness within Latinidad and Latin@s of African descent in the United States.
Open call
Artists, DJs, speakers, MCs, partner organizations and volunteers answered an open call, with honorariums for selected participants. Food, craft and advocacy vendors joined through a separate vendor call.
Quilombo do Acupe led a roda de capoeira at the NYC Parks Rockaway Beach Amphitheater. Photos by LUMO Studio.
Supported by
The Queens Arts Fund, from the New York Foundation for the Arts and the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, supporting the festival as a community space celebrating Afro-descendant cultural legacy through sound, movement and memory.
Thank you
Production crew: Jova Vasquez, Kamila Hoe, Shellie Martinez, Niyah Bennett, Alex Lievano and Alejandra Parra.
Featured artists
Music · Afro-Cuban jazz
Melvis Santa
GRAMMY-nominated Afro-Cuban vocalist, pianist and percussionist who has performed since childhood in Havana and now leads her own bands in New York.
Learn more →Music · Singer-songwriter
Mai-Elka Prado Gil
Panamanian singer-songwriter who gives traditional folk songs a modern spin, and the creator of NYC's Afro-Latino Festival.
Festival host
Kim Macharia
Singer and composer who hosted the 2025 festival and guided the day's program.
Live performance · Poetry
Julissa Emile
Artist, herbalist and performance poet who joined the evening's live performance line-up.
Live painting
Quiana Lewis
Visual artist who painted live at the amphitheater throughout the festival.
Clothing & accessories
Afrotika Arts
Afrocentric clothing and accessories brand featured among the festival's artist vendors.
Seed swap
Nos Cuidamos Community Garden
Community garden that hosted a seed swap, sharing plants, seeds and growing know-how with festival-goers.
Performer
Josué Perea
New York artist and community leader whose work connects hip-hop, spirituality and community.
Capoeira workshop & roda
Quilombo do Acupe
Capoeira Angola collective founded in Salvador, Bahia in 1989, honoring the teachings of Mestre João Pequeno. Led an afternoon workshop, roda and samba.
Panel
afrolatin@ forum
Hosted a conversation with Afro-descendant women and femme leaders on Blackness, Latinidad, art and liberation.
DJ · Dance party
DJ Agent DMZ
New York DJ spinning Latin Afrobeats, reggaeton and dance music. Closed the day with the festival dance party and has played SummerStage in Central Park.
Learn more →Photography
LUMO Studio
Captured the day in photos.
Videography
Lowel Almor
Videographer who filmed the festival and created its recap videos.
Watch
Photos
