WLRN 91.3 FM | By Natu Tweh
Published February 15, 2024 at 10:22 AM EST
The African Diaspora connects people from Africa to the Caribbean and Latin America, linking them through the transatlantic slave trade, various cultures and foods.
Music was also influenced by those who were enslaved, and the 4th annual Afro-Carib Festival in Miramar aims to celebrate that lineage. The event celebrates the blended cultures and shared bonds rooted in African origins.
These powerful roots highlight a people rich in music, culture, and cuisine. Various artists will perform, representing musical genres such as afrobeat, reggae, dancehall, kompa, and more.
Alexandra Davis, vice-mayor of the city of Miramar, started the Afro-Carib Festival in 2020 because the city’s residents didn’t celebrate anything and saw a chance to encapsulate the diaspora during Black History Month.
She had a vision to create a signature event in Miramar that highlights the diaspora. She said it’s a way for different cultures to learn about each other.
“I didn’t know cafe con leche until I came here … So there are things that we each can learn when we come to South Florida, which is a melting pot of cultures,” said Davis, who was born in England and raised in Jamaica.
Six years before she was elected to Miramar’s commission, she began another event called Carib Fest with the same goal. She didn’t know about Haitian culture before coming to South Florida, and she used Carib Fest as a way to bring everyone together.
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“We can’t assume that just because I’m from the Caribbean, I know what Haiti is like … Or I know about the culture in Cuba or anywhere else,” Davis said. “This way we can share and join together as a great community, and I wanted to make sure that my son who was born here, and other children like him could learn about their culture.
Not only is Afro-Carib Fest pose an educational cultural event, but Davis said it also shows that there is more in Broward and Miami-Dade than just beaches.
“There is a whole community west of the [I-]95,” she said. It’s very diverse, especially in Broward County, so we’re showcasing that diversity.”
The latest Census Bureau estimatesshows that about 39% of the Broward County city’s 137,228 residents are foreign-born, and that nearly half the city is Black or African-American.
Davis said the variety in the festival keeps people coming back because they have the chance to experience that diversity without having to venture far away.
“Not everybody gets to go to their homeland, so if we bring these things here we can have a thriving community who knows where they’re from, knows their heritage,” she said.
The 4th annual Afro-Carib Festival takes place at the Miramar Regional Park Amphitheater on Saturday, February 17.
