Event: Afro-Latin America: Africa, Iberia, and the Americas

This presentation was given by the Lambda Theta Alpha Latin Sorority, Inc. and Professor Omar H. Ali about Afro- Latin America. I chose to attend this event based on the knowledge that I obtained from my Latin America in colonial times course and because of my African ancestry. We learned about Africans' forced migration from their native lands, and the African presence has shaped Latin culture, music, and food. I learned about different dance styles such as Samba and Festijo and instruments like the Cajon, commonly played in Afro-Peruvian dances in Peru. The Cajon is similar to a drum in how it keeps the rhythm of music and dance. This workshop was important to me because I was able to understand that culture is fluid. I believe we learn history in a vacuum when, in reality, there are constant cross-overs in timelines. Workshops like this contribute to critically thinking about the information that I have been taught in school.