AFRO-LATINO / HISPANIC LEGACIES : Candombe & Gurumbe: Afro-Andalusian Memor

This program explores the profound and often overlooked impact of the African Diaspora on the musical soul of the Hispanic world. From the streets of Montevideo to the hills of Andalusia, these films reclaim the Black contributions that shaped the cultural foundations of Uruguay and Spain.

Candombe:

A vibrant documentary that explores Candombe - the Black music of Urugay - as a resilient symbol of African identity in Uruguay. It traces how the Afro-Uruguayan community has preserved this cultural heartbeat through centuries of marginalization, maintaining a living link to their ancestral roots.

This film unearths the "hidden" African roots of European culture, specifically tracing the profound influence of enslaved Africans on Spanish Flamenco. It reclaims the Black contribution to the musical and social history of the Iberian Peninsula.

Flamenco is synonymous with Spanish culture. Yet, since its inception, theorists have sidelined the fundamental contribution of Afro-Andalusians to this art form.

Commercial exploitation of the American colonies brought hundreds of Africans to Spain to be sold as slaves, forming a population which, over time, managed to gain space in a society wrought with racial prejudices. Music and dance were a fundamental part of their expression and the most important affirmation of their identity. As the black population began to disappear from Spain in the late 19th century, so too did their contribution to this extraordinary art form. In Gurumbe: Afro-Andalusian Memories, their story is finally told.

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Host or Publisher African Diaspora International Film Festival