The 2022 Rose and Orlando Costas Lecture with Movimiento Cultural Afro-Continental (MCAC), Inc.
On Saturday, April 23, 2022, Andover Newton hosted the Rose and Orlando Costas lecture with special guests and presenters Movimiento Cultural Afro-Continental (MCAC), Inc.
MCAC presented on the history and cultural significance of bomba music. The origins of bomba music and dance date back to 16th-century Africa and the advent of the slave trade. Bomba became an important means of communicating the political and social conditions of these colonial times, and served as a form of cultural resistance for those in bondage. Bomba adapted again with the emancipation of slaves in Puerto Rico in 1873. For generations now bomba has remained central to community, with the drum acting as an instrument of social and artistic expression and entertainment and the lyrics often speaking to community sentiment and/or social conditions of the day. More recently, bomba’s resilient spirit has become more pronounced in the face of Puerto Rico’s economic crisis and the vast devastation caused by Hurricane Maria in 2017. During the height of the Hurricane Maria crisis, “bombazos” were held throughout the island, bringing together community residents to dance, sing and provide temporary respite from the crisis facing the island and its residents.