Diaspora Dialogues: Curaçao | Day of the Ancestors: Festival of Masks
Event Information
About this Event
Diaspora Dialogue: Los Angeles - Curaçao
presented by LA Commons
A conversation with:
Diamanta von Lieshdek (Kuenta I Tambú (KiT)) | Amsterdam
Linafornia (Producer/DJ) | Los Angeles
moderator: Melanesia Hunter
Sunday, July 26
2:00-3:30PM Pacific Daylight Time
The event is free and open to all.
Please consider choosing a donation ticket to support the Festival of Masks.
Please join via the Zoom Meeting link below. The conversation will begin at 2:00 PM and the waiting room will be open at 1:30 PM. Please feel free to login 1:30-2:00 to test sound and video.
Join Zoom Meeting Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81147874091
Meeting ID: 8114 787 4091
*By registering for this event I grant permission for LA Commons to use my image, video or still, and voice, as recorded, without payment or any other consideration. I understand that the workshops may be recorded and livestreamed and that content of the workshops may appear in whole, or in part, in a variety of formats and platforms.
In the third in our series of artist conversations, we reintroduce Amsterdam-based Diamanta, lead singer of KUENTA, which literally translates to drums and stories in her native language, Papiamento. When we brought Diamanta and her bandmates to Los Angeles in 2014, they were a huge hit, playing all over the city in addition to their dynamic presence in Leimert Park. We loved learning about their ancestral home in the ABC Islands of the Dutch Antilles (Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao) and the wonderful roots music, Tambú, that provides the backbeat for their 21st Century “Tambutronica.” Diamanta’s MC chops and singing brings it all together. Joining her in the dialogue will be Linafornia whose sound was formed in the ether of warm, sunburst skylines, and the cool whoof of speakers in some of LA's most hallowed underground haunts including Leimert Park’s own Bananas at KAOS Network. She embodies the new generation of producers, always stepping forward, still staying true to her roots, to the sounds that originally inspired her. Among her accolades, she was the first black woman to be given a residency for the final month of Low End Theory’s epic tenure at the Airliner. Both of these women excel at bridging past, present and future to ensure Black culture survives and thrives.
LEIMERT PARK’S DAY OF THE ANCESTORS: FESTIVAL OF THE MASK (FOM) is an annual celebration of our ancestors and an invocation for the South Central LA community. Founded in 2010 by artists Najite Agindotan, Rene Fisher-Mims, and Ben Caldwell in collaboration with LA Commons, FOM is a multicultural, multigenerational, and multimedia arts event at the Leimert Park Art Walk that champions the vast identities of the African diaspora.
Save the Dates:
Aug 9: Diaspora Dialogue: Zambia
Aug 23: Diaspora Dialogue: Nigeria
Aug 30: Leimert Park's
Day of the Ancestors: Festival of Masks
A Celebration of Black Joy!
All ages are welcomed and invited to travel the African Diaspora with us (from home) this summer!
Keeping the Beat Alive to Survive
On the long list of “regulations” Black people have had to endure, forbidden music and dance is extreme but not unheard of. On the Island of Curaçao in the Caribbean off the coast of Venezuela, slaves long ago created a form of performance called Tambú as their way of releasing negative events. For much of the history of this former Dutch colony , Tambú was banned or strictly regulated by the Catholic Church and local authorities. It generated a little too much heat, what with all that hip-shimmying to the drum that provides the percussive beat and the name - Tambú, It is a relative of music found in Black rituals throughout the Americas - Candomble in Brazil, Santeria in Cuba and Vodoun in Haiti and New Orleans. And like these related forms, it is not only an accompaniment in times of celebration but also in protest to enslavement and the racism and violence that has continued long beyond so-called freedom. For 350 years, Tambú was “regulated” by those in power, including the Catholic Church, but finally, in 2016, the government of the Netherlands formally recognized the artistry that was there all along with a cultural heritage designation. Join us as part of Day of the Ancestors, as we take a “trip” to the beautiful diasporic island of Curaçao to witness the sustaining power of music as a powerful tool for survival.
Diamanta von Lieshdek artist spotlight
Linafornia artist spotlight
Melanesia Hunter (moderator)
Professional Makeup Artist turned Cultural Curator. Since 2013 Melanesia has been producing two independent live music events that have impacted the independent music industry greatly, and shifted culture for creators of color in Los Angeles. These platforms have become much needed expression outlets for so many people... and the platforms have provided artists and musicians with life changing opportunities and a strong sense of community consistently for years. Although these two events have traveled all over LA, both The Crockpot and Tha Juice Joint music events have community building roots in Leimert Park thanks to a 6 + year partnership and mentorship Melanesia has had with Ben Caldwell of KAOS Networkz.
