|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
The nonprofit organizations Miami Light Project (MLP) and Community Arts and Culture (CAC) have partnered with the Miami-Dade County Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces Department (PROS) to present the inaugural “A Great Day at Oak Grove Park” music festival on Saturday, February 18, 2023 at Oak Grove Park (690 NE 159th St, Miami, FL 33162), beginning at 1 p.m.
The free, all-ages show will feature international, regional, and local talent from Haiti, Cuba, and Miami, including Haitian Konpa superstars Tabou Combo, Haitian songstress Emeline Michel, Haitian composer and griot James Germain, Haitian-American multidisciplinary performing artist Inez Barlatier, award-winning Cuban folk group Cortadito, Latin Grammy-nominated Afro-Cuban jam / dance band the Spam Allstars, Haitian visionary artist Papaloko, plus some very special special guests.
“Miami Project is thrilled to develop this unprecedented community-based artistic program for Oak Grove Park,” says Beth Boone, Artistic and Executive Director of MLP. “In partnership with many extraordinary artists, and like minded collegial cultural organizations, we seek to transform the ways in which the community interacts with, and experiences Oak Grove Park. Our goal is to celebrate the community and its rich cultural heritage through the presentation of world class dance, music, theater, cinema, photography and visual art.”
“We are very excited for the opportunity to be working with Miami Light Project,
and Miami-Dade County to present this wonderful event,” offers Jose Elias, founder and executive director for CAC, who also performs on electric guitar with the Spam
Allstars, and co-founded, sings, and plays the Cuban tres with Cortadito. “Also, I’m happy to announce that this concert will mark the start of the 25th anniversary season of Afro Roots Fest.”
Rhythm is the essence of the “Ambassadors of Konpa”, who exported their infectious sound from Haiti to New York City in 1971, and haven’t stopped thrilling audiences around the globe since. Singing in English, Spanish, French or their native Creole, Tabou serves a hot mix of grooves and textures with roots from around the world: merengue from the Dominican Republic, American funk and soul, French colonial era quadrilles and contra-dances, West African Soukous, added to Haiti’s dance-till-you-drop carnival music, rara, and the hypnotic drums of Haitian voodoo rituals. Learn more at taboucombo.com.
Haitian songstress and Red Cross Ambassador Emeline Michel is internationally acclaimed for fusing pop, jazz, blues, and traditional Haitian rhythms into deeply moving, joyful music delivered with a charismatic live show. Based in NYC, she runs her own production company and is a cherished voice for social issues surrounding women and children worldwide. Michel has appeared at Carnegie Hall, The United Nations, the Festival International de Jazz (Haiti), Ontario’s Luminato Festival, Montreal International Jazz Festival, and other high-profile events. More details: emeline-michel.com.
James Germain was born and raised in St. Antoine, Port au Prince, and studied music at the Promusica Academy in Haiti, and Paris, France, at the Conservatoire Claude Debussy and l’Ecole de Jazz du Centre d’Initiation Musicale. His work has been described as replenishing ofthe Haitian spirit through the reinterpretation of traditional songs, Vodou spirituals, and complaints, which are songs that complain about the situation a person is living in. He is an in-demand touring artist who has released several full-length recordings, including 2007’s critically-acclaimed Kreol Mandingue.
Born and raised in Miami, FL, Barlatier joined her father’s band, Jan Sebon & Kazak International, at the age of 12. Inez led her own band, Kazoots, and was also a member of Venus Rising: Women’s Drum and Dance Ensemble performing as a drummer, dancer and singer. With her ancestral contralto voice, her music has toured internationally and is inspired by multi-cultural wisdom and rhythms. Barlatier’s children’s show Ayiti, Stories & Songs from Haiti is currently touring schools across the U.S., and has been showcased to 70,000 children here in Miami-Dade County public schools. InezInezInez.com
Since its origins ten years ago, the evolution of Cortadito has led them to become one of the torch bearers of a pop culture phenomenon that is two centuries strong. A traditional folk and acoustic band that focuses on performing one of the earliest styles of Cuban country music known as Son (pronounced sOwn), their sound can best be described as reminiscent of the famed Buena Vista Social Club. Winners of the Miami New Times’ “Best Latin Act” award in 2019, the band frequently plays regionally, and has appeared at the Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage, as well as Florida Folk Festival, the Finger Lakes GrassRoots Festival of Music & Dance, and Afro Roots Fest. Learn more at CortaditoSon.com.
A Latin Grammy-nominated and nationally and internationally touring band, the Spam Allstars are one of Miami’s most popular, well-known, longest-running and accomplished bands. Part Afro-Cuban, part hip-hop, part funk, part electronica, they were founded by musician, producer and musicologist Andrew Yeomanson, AKA DJ Le Spam. The group’s sixth and most recent full-length album is called Trans-Oceanic. Learn more at SpamAllstars.com.
Born Jude Thegenus in Port Au Prince, Papaloko is also a visual artist, and a voice for social justice and Haitian activism. He allows himself to be possessed by a spirit whose purpose is to paint strokes of life onto canvas. Papaloko studied to become a Roman Catholic priest, but his artistic journey led him to music with at first the Rara band Koleksyon Kazak, and then with the vodou pop band Loray Mistik. In 1999, Papaloko founded the Jakmel Art Gallery, Cultural Center and Caribbean Backyard, a center for cultural diversity, awareness, positivity, and creation in Miami. judepapalokothegenus.com
The event is generously being supported by the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs. For more information, visit oakgrovefest.com.
For more Miami community news, look no further than Miami Community Newspapers. This Miami online group of newspapers covers a variety of topics about the local community and beyond. Miami’s Community Newspapers offers daily news, online resources, podcasts and other multimedia content to keep readers informed. With topics ranging from local news to community events, Miami’s Community Newspapers is the ideal source for staying up to date with the latest news and happenings in the area. Additionally, the newspaper has exclusive Miami community podcasts, providing listeners with an in-depth look into Miami’s culture. Whether you’re looking for local Miami news, or podcasts about the community, Miami’s Community Newspapers has you covered.
