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An old Lukumi (Yourba) probverb stresses that “the person who knows will not die like the person that does not know.” If there were a maxim upon which to lay the foundations for the Diaspora Cultural Center, this would surely be it. It is our major conviction that culture, especially the cultures of Africa, so influential in the Americas, should not be permitted to whither away into forgetfulness.

As such, we have created this institution to conserve the rich cultural legacies left to us by Africa and her children, brought to us by the Americas under the atrocious conditions of the slave trade.

We laid the seeds for the DCC almost ten years ago in a small office in Miami. In our short life, we have had numerous accomplishments and continue to go forward in search of our primary objective. Nevertheless, DCC’s task is not an easy one, and the journey will no doubt be a long one, full of numerous though surmountable, obstacles. Still, out intention is to perservere and overcome any and all impediments to attain our goal. The seeds we’ve planted are already starting to sprout.

Please receive this first blog post as a vehicle that will strive to keep alive the essential elements of our African legacy. In addition, we ask you to join our effort by becoming a member of DCC. Your tax deductible contributions will help foster our aspirations and ensure that our cultures endure and that our history is not forgotten.

May the road we embark upon be blessed.

Miguel Ramos,

President

Diaspora Cultural Center

Living With The Orisha Aganjú

(author unknown)

A serene and quiet atmosphere enveloped the evening when the Diaspora Cultural Center presented the Living with the Orishas roundtable focused on Aganjú. The Master of Ceremonies for the event was DCC President Miguel Ramos. He introduced the three panelists:

Jose Travieso, Maggie Acosta, and Emy Martínez. Each had taken a different direction in their journey toward initiation, but the depth of their feelings about their relationship with Aganjú was identically profound. Continue reading →

Beading Seminar

The Diaspora Cultural Center held another beading class for adults. Conducted by Master beadworker Mannolie Disantos, the class learned techniques on how to make fantastic creations from beads. The end results were one-of–a-kind masterpieces. We would like to thank Ms. Disantos for the dedication of her time to teach the students the intricacies of beadwork. The following are some of the magnificent pieces made by the students of Ms. Disantos.

Homage to Yemojá in Chicago

written by Lisa Pérez 

The white-clad men, women, and children began arriving at dawn, shortly before six in the morning: at first a van and a taxi-cab, then one car after another, to a beach on Lake Michigan, a body of water so vast that it bounds four states and resembles the ocean in its horizon-filling breadth. This is where Yemojá has agreed to receive offerings from her landlocked children in an annual celebration sponsored by Chicago’s Ilé Osikan. In past years, Olorisha Richard “Lalu” Mosley built a boat to launch into the lake filled with offerings, but as of late, the community has opted to create a large wreath that floats on the waves as if it were a raft, nailing together wooden boards and weaving leaves and flowers between the thin slats. Continue reading →

Living With the Orisha: Ogún

contibution by Delma Rodríguez

In July 2007, the Diaspora Cultural Center presented its roundtable series “Living with the Orishas” with a focus on the Lukumí orisha Ogún. The discussion for the warrior orisha associated with metals and hard work, had a unique setting. Due to unexpected complications that arose at the spur of the moment, for this mighty orisha we had one panelist, Cameau Paul, who had been ordained to Ogún in 2005. And he represented his orisha by handling this situation with character and class. Continue reading →

Living With The Orisha: Yemojá

contribution by Pedro Bonetti

This remains one of the liveliest of the roundtables. All the panelists seemed relaxed, and though they claimed they were nervous, they all seemed to want to talk about their experiences with Yemojá.

The panelists were Valerie Forbes, Bárbara Gutiérrez, Ezequiel González, Poppy Cioffi and his godson Reinol Montes De Oca. Ms. Forbes is originally from Jamaica, while the remainder of the panel were either Cuban-born or Cuban-Americans. Continue reading →

For healing and peace in the world

Diaspora Cultural Center joins what will be an international movement to pray to the Divine for the welfare of mankind. During December, religious communities devoted to the orishas of several cities in the United States , like Mexico and Venezuela, two major events held to heal our communities while promoting world peace. Continue reading →