Caribbean Connections: Tying History and Music Together

Caribbean Connections: Tying History and Music Together

Saturday, November 1, 2025 1 PM - 4 PM FREE

Join Van Cortlandt House Museum and Van Cortlandt Park Alliance for an afternoon that brings together history, music, and flavor. This unique program highlights the significant ties between early New York and the Caribbean and Latin America.

The afternoon begins with a teaching musical performance by Juan Usera and the Sambuco Tribe, who will share the rhythms, traditions, and history of Caribbean and Latin American music while inviting the audience to listen, learn, and participate.

From 1:30- 2:30 PM, guests will have the chance to sample Caribbean flavors—including sweet pineapple and other tastes that shaped New York’s history of trade and culture.

At 3 PM, join VCHM Site Historian Nick Dembowski for a special, focused guided tour* of Van Cortlandt House Museum on early New York's ties to the Caribbean and Latin America. The tour will uncover how colonial trade, migration, and culture connected the Bronx to the wider Atlantic world.

Registration is not required, but is suggested. Donations are appreciated!

*Please note that the guided tour at 3 PM does have a capacity limit and will be on a first-come, first-served basis. We encourage you to join the tour right after the performance ends at 2:45 PM to ensure a spot on the tour.

Accessibility: This event will take place outdoors on the museum lawn, which is uneven in spots. Limited outdoor seating will be available. At this time, the historic house is accessed using stairs, and has three flights of stairs inside. Our Welcome Center is accessible via ramp, and a 360-degree tour of the historic house (general, not focused) is available on a tablet inside the Welcome Center.

Language: this program will be in both English and Spanish. The guided historic house tour will be delivered in English.

Getting here and parking:
Address for GPS: 6036 Broadway, Bronx, NY
Van Cortlandt House Museum is located inside Van Cortlandt Park at Broadway and West 246th Street in The Bronx. There is a paved tree-lined pedestrian path leading from Broadway to the museum.

Public Transportation:

• Subway: #1 to 242nd Street Station, then walk north on Broadway to the tree-lined pedestrian path leading into the park.
• Bus: Bx9 to West 246th Street and Broadway, then walk into the park on the tree-lined pedestrian path leading into the park.
• BxM3 Express Bus to 246th Street and Broadway, then walk into the park on the tree-lined pedestrian path leading into the park.
• Metro-North Hudson River Line to Marble Hill Station, transfer to the Bx9 bus or #1 subway as above.
  

By Car:
You can park in Van Cortlandt Park's free parking lot, which is a 5 minute walk on park trails from the museum () or you can pay for metered street-parking on Broadway ().
From Queens and Long Island:
Take the Tri-Boro Bridge to the Major Deegan Expressway North (87). Take the 230th St. Exit. Make a right at the top of the exit, followed by a quick left onto Bailey Avenue. Take Bailey Avenue to the end. Follow the Major Deegan North/VanCortlandt Golf Course signs. Bear to your left and go underneath the overpass. After the overpass take a sharp left into the public parking lot.
From Manhattan:
East Side: Take FDR Drive to Willis Avenue Bridge. Go over bridge and bear left for the Major Deegan Expressway North (87). Get off at the 230th Street Exit. Make a right at the top of the exit, followed by a quick left onto Bailey Avenue. Take Bailey Avenue to the end. Follow the Major Deegan North/Van Cortlandt Golf Course signs. Bear to your left and go underneath the overpass. After the overpass take a sharp left into the public parking lot.
West Side: Take West Side Highway North to Cross Bronx Expressway East.
Take Cross Bronx Expressway to Major Deegan North (87). Take the 230th St. Exit. Make a right at the top of the exit, followed by a quick left onto Bailey Avenue. Take Bailey Avenue to the end. Follow the Major Deegan North/Van Cortlandt Golf Course signs. Bear to your left and go underneath the overpass. After the overpass take a sharp left into the public parking lot.
From New Jersey:
Take the G.W. Bridge to Major Deegan Expressway North (87). Take the 230th St. Exit. Make a right at the top of the exit, followed by a quick left onto Bailey Avenue. Take Bailey Avenue to the end. Follow the Major Deegan North/Van Cortlandt Golf Course signs. Bear to your left and go underneath the overpass. After the overpass take a sharp left into the public parking lot.
From Westchester County & Points North:
Take 87 South to Van Cortlandt Park South Exit. At top of the exit, make a left. At next light, make another left and follow the signs to golf course, bear to your left and go underneath the overpass. After the overpass take a sharp left into the public parking lot.

Host or Publisher Van Cortlandt House Museum