Celebrate Culture at the Annual South Bronx Festival 2019: RetroACTIVO

Casita Maria Center For Arts & Education, and Council Member Rafael Salamanca, Jr., are proud to present the South Bronx Culture Trail Festival 2019: retroACTIVO. The festival will last from May 24 to June 29, and will include multiple family-friendly events throughout the South Bronx, presented in partnership with community-based organizations, art institutions, health providers, and city agencies.

Learn more: http://www.casitamaria.org/festival

Check out the full calendar of multidisciplinary artists, including drumming by the Native American Silvercloud Singers, protest songs from the Resistance Revival Chorus, West Side Story Reimagined by Grammy(R) nominated Bobby Sanabria Multiverse Big Band, and a new mural by the First Lady of Graffiti, Lady Pink.

In line with the Festival theme, these artists, and many more will present work that references the past in a reinterpretation of traditions, artworks, and genres as a form of resistance and way to create a future filled with resiliency, inclusion and cultural pride. The artists gathered for this annual event are a testament to the transformative power of the arts, illustrating how the arts can help change dominant narratives.

Events will be held in or nearby historic Bronx cultural sites. We encourage Festival-goers to learn more about their place in the rich history of the South Bronx through guided and self-guided walking tours.

All events free unless otherwise noted. For rain locations, visit: http://www.casitamaria.org/festival

The South Bronx Culture Trail Festival (SBCT) is a community arts and education initiative, established in 2011 by Casita Maria Center for Arts & Education and Dancing in the Streets to celebrate and capture key moments in the cultural life of the South Bronx. Each year new artists and partners are invited by Casita Maria to contribute to this ever-evolving and robust history, establishing a Cultural Trail through the South Bronx.

This year Casita Maria partnered with: Banana Kelly, BronxCare, Bronx Music Heritage Center, Catholic Charities, CityLore, Digital Bodega, 52 People for Progress, Garifuna Coalition, Greater Hunts Point Economic Development Corporation, Kelly Street Garden, The Laundromat Project, Lincoln Center, NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene Bronx Neighborhood Health Action Center, New York Restoration Project, Pregones / Puerto Rican Traveling Theater, Theater Development Fund, Southern Boulevard BID, Urban Health Plan, the Whitney Museum and SBCT host Rhina Valentin.

In addition to a cultural celebration, the festival serves as an economic engine for the community, hiring local artists and promoting local businesses and tourism. As project lead, Casita Maria Center for Arts and Education presents a vibrant visual and performing arts program at indoor and outdoor locations in the community.

"Every year, Casita Maria partners with other community-based organizations and city agencies to create a free month-long festival for people of the South Bronx. The festival brings arts and culture for everyone to enjoy. There's something for everybody. The Dept. of Cultural Affairs, the City Council, and I are proud to support this event for the community. I am very excited to see this year's festival!" says Council Member Rafael Salamanca, Jr.

"Casita Maria is incredibly proud to lead the development of the South Bronx Culture Trail Festival 2019, in partnership with Council Member Salamanca, which celebrates the borough's rich and diverse culture with Latin jazz, mariachi, Afro-Brazilian percussion, and Garifuna music and so much more. The Festival is a testament to the rich and plentiful talent in the Bronx, as well as an appreciation to the resilient community that continues to give birth to emerging cultural movements," says Haydee Morales, Executive Director, Casita Maria Center for Arts & Education

About Casita Maria Center For Arts & Education:
Casita Maria Center For Arts & Education is the first and oldest Latino 501(c)(3) charity in NYC, founded in 1934. The South Bronx-based organization presents diverse, contemporary visual and performing arts and education programming for all ages. Learn more: https://www.casitamaria.org/

The South Bronx Culture Trail is supported by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and Council Members Rafael Salamanca, Jr. and Ruben Diaz, Sr., Con Edison, New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature, New York City Department of Youth & Community Development, Southern Blvd. Business Improvement District, Lily Auchincloss Foundation, Inc., Bronx Music Heritage Center and Metro Optics Eyewear.

To post a comment, you must register and login.