Our conference, Transatlantic Malagueñas and Zapateados in Music, Song, and Dance, begins this Thursday, April 6th, at UC Riverside. The entire conference is free and open to the public and we hope that friends in the area will join us, but there are several multimedia events in the program that may be of more general interest.

The conference itself begins at 8:30 am in the CHASS Building South. You can view the whole program here.

Each day has its own keynote address: Thursday, Constance Valis Hill (Hampshire College) will deliver her paper, “Zapateados: Tracing the Diaspora of African-derived Drum Dance Forms in the New World;” Friday, acclaimed musician Raúl Rodríguez will deliver his, “Razón de Son: Creative AntropoMúsica and Ida y Vuelta Afro-Flamenco.”

Wednesday, 7:00 pm · Concert

Speaking of Raúl, we are launching the proceedings with a pre-conference party: an Intimate Gathering & Benefit Performance with Raúl Rodríguez & Mario Mas. Tickets are $40 and directly benefit our conference presenters and their expenses.

Thursday, 8:30 pm · Film Screening

CHASS Interdisciplinary Building, South Screening Room, INTS Room 1128

To wrap up our first night, we will have a screening of Gurumbé: Canciones de tu Memoria Negra with director, anthropologist Miguel Ángel Rosales. Gurumbé is a feature-length documentary exploring the history and artistic contributions of Afro-Andalusians.

 Friday, 11:40 am · Film Screening

CHASS South, INTS 1113

As a part of a session on “Resilience and Recontextualization in Diasporic Communities,” we will screen short film, Invisible Roots: Afro-Mexicans in Southern California, followed by a discussion with director Lizz Mullis and producer Tiffany Walton.

Friday, 8:00 pm · Lecture Recitals
and Gran Fandango / Open Jam

Barbara and Art Culver Center of the Arts

 Concluding our conference is a collection of lecture performances. First up, pianist Adam Kent will present his talk, “From España to Iberia: returning the Malagueña to Málaga,” which will be illustrated as Anna de la Paz dances the Zapateado de María Cristina. 

Next, Melissa Moore and Fernando Barros will present “Island Life and Conservation of Culture,” with performances of flamenco guitar and song.

Admission is free; tickets are required and may be reserved at the Culver Center website. For more program information, visit the above links.

Last but not least, our final night of performances will culminate in an open Gran Fandango. All are welcome to attend this open dance, so wear your dancing shoes, bring your castanets or other instruments, and come ready to sing!