Every January and February is a special time for me to reflect on important leaders of our history commemorated in Philadelphia - Martin Luther King, Jr. and Arturo Alfonso Schomburg. Both of these men fought for the inclusion of human and civil rights of Afro-descendants in the cultural and socio-economic fabric of the United States. My reflection this year began when Betsayda Machado y la Parranda el Clavo, Afro-Venezuelan folkloric group performed in Philly on January 14^th. While they played, I thought how much their music, songs and dances reminded me of the rhythms of Bomba and Plena music from my native island of Puerto Rico. Of course, similarities lie in the legacy of our colonial histories during the Spanish exploration, intervention, conquest and exploitation of the Caribbean, South and Central America including parts of North America. Even a stronger connection between Venezuela and Puerto Rico is our African roots. How the men, women and children brutally transported from the African continent to the Americas maintained that which could not be taken away from their collective memories and hearts – the spiritual practices and cultural traditions of their homeland. Another mutually identifying fact is the political and economic crisis both countries are currently suffering at the hands of dictatorial, corrupt, military and colonial governments disenfranchised from the global economy in the interest of the United States. 

On January 16^th, at the MLK rally in South Philly and immediately after the closing prayer, the crowd was exhorted to attend group meetings in various locations held nearby. I went to the Society Hill Synagogue to discuss issues on immigration and economic justice. There, Jews and Christians, Black and White, Latinx and Asians, you name it, gathered to peacefully talk, ask questions and enlighten each other about how these issues touch us all and how we can make a difference. Again, I couldn't help to think how the economic actions and policies of world empires once like Spain and more recently the United States devastated foreign countries.  How the same people from those countries where once the US government intervened or is still present fight the backlash of those actions on US soil. It’s in pleasant irony that in US soil Afro-descendants from North, South, Central Americas and the Caribbean find commonalities and connections. It is here, that “We the Immigrants” find the words and work of national leaders like King and Schomburg binding.  A human, civil and cultural right is our fight, and what Betsayda Machado and her group represent through their folklore is 500 years of human struggle and cultural resistance.  Therefore, from one Afro-Latina to another, I pay my respects and as we say in Spanish “La lucha continua!”