African Based Spirituality Program and Series (Subject to Change)

Hostos Community College, REPERTORY THEATER.

September 23, 2006 – 8: 00 AM - 9:30 PM

African Based Spirituality Program and Series (Subject to Change)

Hostos Center of Arts and Culture, REPERTORY THEATER

September 23, 2006 – 8: 00 AM - 9:30 PM

8.00 – 8.30am

Registration

8.40 –8.50am

Introduction: Dr. Marta Moreno Vega

9 .00– 10.15am

African Belief Systems of West and Central Africa

The majority of Africans forcibly brought to the Americas during the infamous Atlantic Slave Trade were taken from West and Central Africa. Their philosophy, traditions and sacred practices came with them and were implanted through out the Americas. Panelists will address the root sacred philosophy and traditions that are the root of African based spiritual practices in the Americas.

Moderator: C. Daniel Dawson

• Professor C. Daniel Dawson – Quilombos. A Type of Consciousness.
• Ifa Bukunmi Adewale, Ph.D - African Belief Systems of Yoruba Communities of West Africa.
• Dr. Robert Farris Thompson – Kongo and Reggae –

10.30 – 11.45 pm

Re-creation of Sacred African Beliefs in the Americas – Activists Systems of Affirmation

African based spiritual practices in the Americas represent the decision of African Diaspora communities to remain connected to their African root traditions and actively fight against oppression. The panelist will address how communities in the Americas have insisted on re-creating their ancestral sacred systems.

Moderator: Dr. Marta Moreno Vega

• Dowoti Desir, Manbo Asogwe - Dying on Your Feet: The War for 21st Century Marrons
• Baba Antonio Mondesire, Awo Ifa Olo-Obatala - Selected Thoughts for Selected Heads
• Maria Terrero - Why are they called Misterios?

  12.00 – 1.15pm

Christianization/Colonialism and African Practices – focus on Pentecostalism & Catholicism

Panelists will address the contemporary challenges being confronted by African Diaspora sacred spiritual practices in a period where conservative evangelical systems are imposing their doctrines globally.

Moderator: C. Daniel Dawson

• Samuel Cruz Ph.D – Pentecostalism: African Religiosity Camouflaged
• Elsada Diana Cassells – Between Saving Souls & tanning Bodies: Afro-Cuban Religion and the Rise of Pentecostalism and Tourism in Cuba
• The Rev. Luis Barrios Ph.D – Afro-Latin@ Subversive Spirituality: The Orishas Presence in Christian Tradition. - 

1.15 – 2.15. LUNCH. BOOK SALE

2.30 – 3.45pm

Legal Issues: Practicing African Diaspora Traditions in Urban Settings

African Diaspora communities continue to be viewed as marginal and their sacred practices considered illegal. Panelists will address the strategies necessary to assure that African spiritual practices can openly secure their space in our communities and in the broader civil society.

Moderator: Dr. Marta Moreno Vega

• Cassandra Martin – Religious Freedom and African-Based Religions (Yoruba and Santeria) in the US.
• Esmeralda Simmons, Esq - - Human Rights Perspectives.
• Elizabeth C. Yeampierre, Esq. - Environmental Justice: The Sacred Elements and The Law.

4.00 –5.15pm

Folklorization, Commodification, Commercialization, Cultural Tourism of African Sacred Traditions in Africa and the Americas – Positive and Negatives

Ethnic and cultural tourism in African Diaspora communities is rapidly expanding. Part of the effort of governments is to present African traditions as "exotic" and tourist attractions. In Cuba, Brazil, Haiti among other locations sacred African practices are being commodified and commercialized. Panelists will discuss how cultural tourism is impacting African Diaspora spiritual communities.

Moderator: C. Daniel Dawson.

• Michael Manswell –
• Iyalorisha Osaye Mchawi - The Quest for African Cultural & Religious Visability
• Babalorisha John Mason – Cuba Then and Now: 20 Years and Counting.

5.30– 6.45 pm

Palenques, Cumbes and Quilombos Today – Communities Under Siege.

The spirit of the maroon is present in the Quilombos, Palenques, Cumbes and towns built by runaway Africans and their descendants generally in inaccessible locations. This spaces today are still home to African descendants who are now faced with challenges of proving ownership, being forced out of now valuable lands. The panelist will speak about their work in traditional communities of Brazil and Venezuela to assure the protection of these historic communities. Comparisons will be made between Brazil, Venezuela, Katrina, East and West Harlem.

Moderator: Dr. Marta Moreno Vega

• Gilberto Leal, Brazil
• Jesus "Chucho" Garcia, Venezuela
• Joseu E. Colon Rosado, Puerto Rico

645 – 7.45pm Dinner Break

7:50pm : When the Spirits Dance Mambo Documentary ( 90 mins).

When the Spirits Dance Mambo , the documentary, highlights the impact of Afro Cuban religions in the civil society of Cuba and its international impact. A historical survey from West African to Cuba and New York the documentary focuses on the influence of Afro Cuban ritual music and its legacy in popular aesthetic, musical expressions through legendary traditional, popular and contemporary artists.