Medellin will host “Festiafro,” the fifth music festival of its kind showcasing a myriad of Colombia’s Caribbean-African musical trends and culture from November 1 to 3.
More than 15 music groups will be expressing various versions of African-Caribbean music that have become an integral part of the Colombian culture, especially on the Caribbean coast with its extensive African roots.
The festival provides an opportunity to learn and experience the country’s Afro-Colombian culture which boasts the best African music in Medellin during the three day festival.
The opening of the event will include a speech about the history and tradition of Afro-Colombian culture as well as a “fight against racism and discrimination, the opening of spaces and cultural scenarios for raising musical expressions around healthy coexistence and the cry for life,” reported Medellin’s description of the event.
The festival will begin Thursday, November 1 at 6:30PM at the Cultural Development Center of Moravia. November 2-3 the festivities will be hosted at the Park of Desires (Parque de Deseos) starting at 6PM.
Although the festival doesn’t officially start until November 1, the event will be launched on Sunday, October 28 with the Son Bata Orchestra playing outside in the Villa Hermosa neighborhood of Medellin.
Music groups performing at the festival include the Providencia Coral Group, Cheerful Ambulance San Basilio de Palenque, drums of the Cabildo de Cartagena and the Cali Pacific Quintet, who play traditional music from Colombia’s South Pacific sub-region. The festival will end with a musical presentation by Batucada Afrocolombiana from Medellin.
See the full musical line up here: Festiafro 2012
