Festival Nacional Afrocaribeño (National Afro-Caribbean Festival) is an annual cultural celebration held at Ángel “Cuqui” Mangual baseball field in the ''La Cuarta'' neighborhood of

Barrio Capitanejo Capitanejo is one of the 31 barrios of the municipality of Ponce, Puerto Rico. Along with Anón (Ponce), Anón, Coto Laurel, Guaraguao, Quebrada Limón, Real (Ponce), Real, San Patricio (Ponce), San Patricio, and Marueño, and the coastal barri ...

Ponce, Puerto Rico Ponce (, , , ) is both a city and a municipality on the southern coast of Puerto Rico. The city is the seat of the municipal government. Ponce, Puerto Rico's most populated city outside the San Juan metropolitan area, was founded on 12 August 1 ...

. The celebration, which commonly lasts three days, takes place in late June. It has been called "a world-class" event that brings together "the best exponents of salsa, bomba, plena and merengue music". It is attended by some 30,000 people. The festival's purpose is to positively impact the region by creating a cultural space to help preserve traditions. It aims to highlight the contributions to Puerto Rico culture and society by Puerto Ricans of African heritage. The festivities are highlighted by bands playing

salsa Salsa most often refers to: * Salsa (Mexican cuisine), a variety of sauces used as condiments * Salsa music, a popular style of Latin American music * Salsa (dance), a Latin dance associated with Salsa music Salsa or SALSA may also refer to: ...

, bomba and

plena Plena is a genre of music and dance native to Puerto Rico. Origins The plena genre originated in Barrio San Antón, Ponce, Puerto Rico, around 1900. It was influenced by the bomba style of music. Originally, sung texts were not associated wit ...

music.

History

The festival was organized in the late 1990s to counter raising criminal activity in the community of La Cuarta, and to help improve the self-esteem of its residents. "From those humble beginnings" the community "is now a place that smells like tradition." The community of "La Cuarta" is located at the border between Ponce and

Juana Diaz Juana is a Spanish female first name. It is the feminine form of Juan (English John), and thus corresponds to the English names Jane, Janet, Jean, Joan, and Joanna. Juanita is a common variant. The name Juana may refer to: People * Juana I ...

. It was founded in the early 20th century next to a sugar cane mill that is now extinct.

Contents and purpose

Festival Nacional Afrocaribeño is organized and held by Comité Pro Nuestra Cultura. Its leader is Ángel ‘Papote’ Alvarado Aguilera. Over 20 artists participate during the event's three days' duration. The event's purpose is to promote the Afro-Puerto Rican and Afro-Caribbean roots of the Puerto Rican people while contributing to the educational and social of growth of the community. Another objective is to "break the social stigma that exists against underpriviledged communities." Some of the musical groups that have participated in the past include

Tommy Olivencia Tommy Olivencia (May 15, 1938 – September 22, 2006) was a renowned Puerto Rican bandleader of Music of Puerto Rico, salsa music. Early years Olivencia (birth name: Ángel Tomás Olivencia Pagán) was born in the Villa Palmeras section of Sant ...

and his band,

El Gran Combo El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico, commonly known as El Gran Combo, is a Puerto Rican salsa orchestra based in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2012, it was often considered Puerto Rico's most successful musical group. The ...

, La Sonora Ponceña,

Gilberto Santa Rosa Gilberto Santa Rosa Cortés, nicknamed "El Caballero de la Salsa" (The Gentleman of Salsa) (born August 21, 1962), is a Puerto Rican bandleader and singer of salsa and bolero. He is a six time Grammy Award winner and has sold over three million ...

Victor Manuel The name Victor or Viktor may refer to: * Victor (name), including a list of people with the given name, mononym, or surname Arts and entertainment Film * ''Victor'' (1951 film), a French drama film * ''Victor'' (1993 film), a French shor ...

, and

Plena Libre Plena Libre is a plena and bomba group. Their music follows traditional forms while also drawing on other styles of music. In a biographical summary of the group, Steve Huey of ''Allmusic'' observed that the group's blend of "contemporary dance ...

Finances and cost

The event is free to the public, but a voluntary donation of $1 is encouraged. The entity that organizes the event used to receive a contribution from the Ponce and Juana Diaz municipal governments but, as of 2017, such allowances were halted due to the financial crisis those governments were experiencing. The 2016, and last, contribution form the Ponce Municipal Government was 5% of the total cost of the event.

List of events

A typical music lineup is as follows (this was the music lineup for the 2017 event):''19no Festival Nacional Afrocaribeño.''
El Vocero. 30 June 2017. Accessed 3 March 2020. Friday:
:8:00 p.m.: Secreto a Voces
:9:00 p.m.: Tego Calderón
:11:00 pm.: Plenéalo Saturday: :8:30 p.m.: Bomba Evolución
:9:30 p.m.: Homenage to Giovanni Hidalgo y José Mañengue Hidalgo
:10:00 p.m.: Grupo Esencia
:11:00 p.m.: La Sonora Ponceña Sunday: :4:00 p.m.: Isabel Albizu Bomba School
:6:00 p.m.: Bomba IYA
:7:00 p.m.: Homenage to La Cuarta's Past Musicians
:7:30 p.m.: Guayacanes de San Antón
:8:30 p.m.: Homenage to Ángel “Cholo” Espada
:9:30 p.m.:

Notes

References

External links

* Ramon Marin. ''Las Fiestas Populares de Ponce.'' Editorial Universidad de Puerto Rico. 1994. {{Ponce, Puerto Rico, state=collapsed Carnivals in Puerto Rico Festivals in Ponce, Puerto Rico Food and drink festivals in Puerto Rico Cultural festivals in Puerto Rico Folk festivals in Puerto Rico 1999 establishments in Puerto Rico Afro-Caribbean culture Recurring events established in 1999 Latin music festivals