African Diaspora Roots Culture Music Dance Spirituality Education Solidarity Community-Building Our vision is that every youth

and adult of African Diaspora heritage will be well-versed in at least one cultural arts tradition of his or her heritage and wield their cultural art for personal wellness, community building, and social change.

Established 2005 www.thelegacycircle.org 646-924-7187 All Rights Reserved.

The Legacy Circle c/o Manuela Arciniegas, 74 West 92 St. #14B, New York, NY 10025, Tel: 646.924.7187 Email: Manuela@thelegacycircle.org Web: www.thelegacycircle.org Peace and Blessings be With You! My name is Manuela Arciniegas, and I am the founder and director of The Legacy Circle, an award winning cultural arts non-for-profit organization dedicated to promoting the cultural and artistic work of artists and educators from the African Diaspora. Founded in 2006

through a prestigious social justice fellowship from the NYU school of public leadership, we provide healing and wellness opportunities, leadership development, and creative expression through an exploration of African diaspora culture and art.
We are currently inviting collaborations for a variety of our programs, including bookings for performances, workshops, teaching artist residencies, our adult Tuesday drum and dance class, and our monthly womens drum circles. Our programs are run by professional and top-level Afro-Caribbean performance companies and artists. Our vast network includes awardwinning artists specializing in Puerto Rican Bomba and Plena, Haitian roots music, Dominican Palos and Congos, Hip Hop, R&B and Soul singers, Latin Jazz, Salsa, Merengue, Bachata, and much more. Our educators and performers are highly trained traditional musicians and dancers who've worked with youth in elementary, middle, and high schools throughout the 5 boroughs. They hold more than 10 years experience working with youth and adults in the most diverse communities of New York and have been extremely successful in helping people grow artistically, culturally, academically, and socially. Our approach is to help youth and adults learn about the contributions of Afro-Latino, African, and African-American culture in the Americas, help audiences and participants identify their talents and aspirations, and enjoy learning and performing the vibrant music and dance forms of our cultural heritage. Enclosed are presskits for our womens drum band, as well as the flyer for the monthly drum cyphers and for our co-ed, Tuesday evening adult drum and dance classes. Please print and share the attached flyer with your networks. In addition, we are currently booking educational programs, workshops and performances with schools, non-profit organizations, libraries, public and for-profit groups who welcome a fun and educational opportunity to participate in our vibrant cultural arts. Whether you're looking to celebrate Black History or Women's History Month, celebrate a birthday party, wedding, or staff party, please do not hesitate to call. Please let me know if you are interested or would like to connect us with someone who might be interested in our work. In art and spirit! Manuela Arciniegas Founder & Director, PhD. Candidate in Ethnomusicology, City University of New York/The Graduate Center

Table of Contents
1. About The Legacy Circle: pp.4 Mission, Strategy, Goals, Valuespp.5 2. Our Programs: pp.6 Teaching & Performance Artist Programs Womens Monthly Drum Cypherspp.8 Sankofa Saturdayspp.9 Spirit Circlepp.10 Adult Drum & Dance Classespp.11 3. Staff Biographies: pp.12 Performance Groups15

To learn more about our programs, become a member, contact Manuela Arciniegas, Director at: Tel: 646-924-7187, Manuela@thelegacycircle.org Join our Group Page, The Legacy Circle, on Facebook, or visit our website: www.thelegacycircle.org

About The Legacy Circle

Mission
The Legacy Circle is dedicated to empowering African Diaspora youth and adults in New York City through cultural arts education. Our goal is to awaken young people and adults to their identity as African descendants and their legacy as leaders.

Our Strategy involves

Education, Art, Community Building, and Activism. We provide workshops, organize events, lectures and presentations on Afro-Caribbean traditional music & dance that bring artists, youth and community members together to learn, practice, and honor our ancestral cultural legacy. Our workshops are aimed at helping people gain knowledge of themselves and tap into their personal power to heal themselves and others.

Our Annual Goals are to:

1) Build a new cadre of practitioners of traditional music, 2) Build solidarity & sense of community between people of African descent 3) Build skills and knowledge of participants to heal ourselves and take care of each other through our culture and spirit.

Our Organizational Structure

We are a series of collectively run Circles headed by Chiefs who manage and support volunteers to enact our mission and fulfill our goals.

Our Values
1. Spirit- Everything is connected and everything has an innate life force. Our spiritual belief systems honor and protect our interconnectedness. We honor our ancestors and their spiritual and medicinal practices because they fought to protect our traditions and ensure our survival. We believe in putting spirit at the forefront of our work and our actions. 2. Community: We value community and resist isolation and individualism. Culture brings people together and can teach us how to take care of each other. Our community celebrates our interconnectedness and cooperative work. 3. Creativity & Art: Our creativity is our stamp of uniqueness and divinity. Unleashing our creative force allows us to strengthen our intuition. Creativity also allows us to heal from the silence and violence we have faced, rediscover joy and expression, and articulate new solutions. 4. People Development: We support the development of all people, including youth and women, because we recognize that the most marginalized voices are needed to lead our community. 5. Resistance: We believe in our legacy as warriors and our power to resist domination, colonialism, capitalism, racism, sexism, and all forms of oppression. We resist through continuing to practice our culture even if our environment may be at times hostile to it. 6. Leadership: We believe in women-centered leadership, youth-centered leadership, and the leadership of upstanding, honorable, humble and humane men of color. We believe that by developing practitioners who become future teachers of our tradition, our culture will never die. 7. Culture: Our culture allows us to teach the values and practice the behaviors that can create a healthier, more humane, more harmonious world. Through our culture we create a sense of belonging, of interconnectedness to each other, and a way of being that restores vitality to our spirit and well-being to our community.

Our Programs
Educational Programs The Legacy Circle collaborates with schools and after-school programs to educate youth about the music, dance, and visual arts of the African Diaspora. Our organization is committed to helping youth and adults unleash their latent talents through exploring their culture of origin and the leadership and contributions of people of African descent in the Americas. Our educators are highly trained traditional musicians and dancers who've worked with youth in elementary, middle, and high schools throughout the 5 boroughs. They hold more than 10 years experience working with youth in the most under-served communities and have been extremely successful in helping the youth grow artistically and socially, which has in turn supported their academic growth. Our approach is to help young people identify their talents and aspirations, and connect to the history of inspirational leaders of their respective cultural backgrounds.

Teaching Artist Residencies and Workshops

The Legacy Circle provides workshops to youth, parents, and teachers during daytime, afterschool and evening programs by collaborating with service providers and public and private schools and organizations. Our cultural arts education work explores the connections between African Americans and Latinos, our legacy as leaders and positive contributors to our community, increased self-esteem and positive youth development through the arts.

The academic benefits of our cultural arts programs are expansive. Our tailor-made curriculums integrate Social Studies/World History, English Language Arts/English Language Learners, and Spanish academic subjects. Our past collaborators include Middle School 8 in Jamaica, Queens, P.S. 62 in the Bronx, Validus Prep, Bronx Charter School for the Arts, Urban Assembly Academy, Eagle Academy, and various others. The New York State Council of the Arts has recognized and awarded our educational work, as have various principles and organizations who have seen first-hand the power and value of our educational work. To see a video of our educational programs, please visit:

Performances for youth, adults, and families

Whether its a celebration for Black History or Hispanic Heritage Month, an interactive discussion and demonstration on the connections between African American and Latino youth, an exploration of African Diaspora Culture in the Americas, or birthday celebration or a holiday staff party, our educational and entertaining performances always bring joy to a variety of audiences. We are a not-for-profit 502 (c )-3 organization and can be hired through a licensed Department of Education vendor. Whether at a cultural festival, a professional performance at Lincoln Center, or a private birthday party, our diverse artists and performers quickly move any crowd to learn, celebrate, sing and dance in our interactive and ancestral drumming and dance.

Monthly Womens Drum Cyphers

Every month, women of African descent gather in a female-only, safe and relaxing space where they share resources, to make music, dance, meditate, and put their collective energies to solving urgent problems they face as women in this society. Our monthly revitalizing drum cyphers are meant to foster continued growth and leadership of women, cultivating their power as leaders, their connection to community and each other, and their access to traditional roots culture. Hosted on the second Saturday of the month at the Dominican Womens Development Center at 609 West 179th Street from 35pm, women and girls are all welcome!

Sankofa Saturdays: Monthly Educational Event & Concert

Hosted at the avant-garde Bruckner Art Gallery in the South Bronx, Sankofa Saturdays presents workshops, film screenings, and concerts by contemporary and roots emerging and established artists from the African Diaspora. Dedicated to helping promote solidarity between people of African descent, the event encourages us to all Sankofa, the Akan word from Ghana encouraging us to go back (into the past) and get it. Usually a magical night featuring a film screening, a lecture or workshop, followed by an electrifying performance, Sankofa Saturdays have featured New York Citys best conscious and inspiring roots and contemporary performers. Past artists include Mahina Movement, The Welfare Poets, Alkebulan, Storm, Alma Moyo, Kalunga Neg Mawon, Kumba Carey, Bodoma Garifuna, 809 ladies, and many others.

Spirituality Circle
Our spirituality circle seeks to introduce & educate people of African descent about African Diaspora traditional belief systems and their historical contributions to the Americas. Every year we host an educational conference entitled Mayombe: Which Craft?The goal of
the event is to highlight the nourishing cultural and spiritual elements of Palo Mayombe, Santeria, Vodoun, and other sacred African Diaspora traditions. The discussion will take a deep look at the role and responsibilities of the Palero healer in our society. It will also spark a more critical conversation about witchcraft (wanga) and the power of a Palero. Panelists will challenge the bias and myths around Palo Mayombe as purely a religion of negative magic. We aim to foster increased awareness around Bantu-Kongo traditional teachings and their potential to heal community while restoring human balance to each other and mother nature. Presenters have included the world's leading scholar on Bantu Kongo philosophy, Tata Fukiau Bunseki, and New York Citys legendary Palero (a traditional healer/priest knowledgeable in the ways of plants and herbs from the Cuban-Kongo derived Palo Mayombe tradition)--Florencio Miguel Garzon, otherwise known as Loanganga Bejuco Nfinda. world famous drummer Anthony Carrillo, and high priest Alexander LaSalle.

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Adult Ancestral Dance/Drum Classes on Tuesday Nights

For the past 4 years, The Legacy Circle has been cultivating the next generation of drummers and dancers of Afro-Puerto Rican Bomba and Afro-Dominican palos, salves, congos, and Haitian rara. Our weekly adult drum and dance classes include hands-on instruction in the sacred roots traditions essential to our culture, and they also include discussions on the philosophical and historical components of these sacred traditions. Classes are offered at affordable fees and they are open to adults and teens.

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Staff Biographies
Manuela Arciniegas (drummer, dancer, founder, director) founded The Legacy Circle in 2005 through the Social Justice Fellowship awarded to her by NYUs Wagner School of Public Leadership. She is a PhD candidate for Ethnomusicology at the City University of New Yorks Graduate Center. Manuela graduated from Harvard University in 2001 and since then has been working in education, cultural arts, and community organizing. She was the former director of Education for the Caribbean Cultural Center/African Diaspora Institute, where she coordinated over 100 arts education programs citywide managing a budget of close to $500,000. Manuela has been performing and teaching Afro-Puerto Rican and Afro-Dominican music with various troupes around New York City, including Yaya All-Womens Drumming Troupe, Alma Moyo, La 21 Division, Kumba Carey, Grupo Kalunga Neg Mawon, Nchila Ngoma, William Cepedas Afro-Boricua, and many others. Manuela has worked as a foundation officer with the Active Element Foundation, a community organizer with Sustainable South Bronx, and a school business manager with the NYC Department of Education alternative school district 79s Suspensions Program. Alexander LaSalle, (singer, drummer) is the founder/director of Alma Moyo, a music and dance ensemble dedicated to the preservation and continuation of Puerto Ricos artistic and cultural heritage , especially Bomba. He is one of the best young drummers and singers in the Bomba tradition. In addition, LaSalle is considered one of the top young scholars/historians of the musical traditions of the Caribbean and United States, as well as Kongo traditions in the Americas. He has presented at lectures and demonstrations at Yale University, Columbia University, New York University, Lincoln Center, Heritage Jazz Center in New Orleans. Alex has been a teaching artist since 2001, working through arts education organizations such as Harlem School of the Arts, Caribbean Cultural Center, Citylore, Free Arts NYC, and has taught children grades K-12 at over 25 public schools in the Bronx, Queens, and Manhattan.

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Julia Gutierrez-Rivera, (dancer, drummer) is one of New York Citys premier Bomba and Plena dance instructors, performing and teaching with Grammy Nominated group Los Pleneros de la 21, Inc. in New York City, Puerto Rico, Texas, Berlin, and various other locations. She has been teaching since with Alma Moyo and Los Pleneros de la 21, Inc, and performing with groups such as Bambula, Papo Vazquez and Los Piratas, and William Cepedas AfroBoricua, Citylore, Caribbean Cultural Center/African Diaspora Institute, Arts Horizon, at P.S. 11, P.S. 62, P.S. 78, and JHS 008. Julia has been performing since she was a child and is a candidate for a Masters from the Milano School of Non-Profit Management. Julia was the former director of Association of Hispanic Arts and is currently the program coordinator for Los Pleneros de la 21, Inc.

Genaro Ozuna was an integral member of the prestigious Dominican National Ballet Company founded by Fradique Lizardo, specializing in the traditional music and dance of Dominican Republic. He studied dramatic arts in the Bellas Artes School, and graduated from the University of Artes Plasticas of Puerto Rico with a specialization in Arts Education. Genaro has been teaching students grades K-12 in NYC public schools through the National School and Community Forum and the Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute at P.S. 152, PS 210/21st Century Academy, New Day Academy, Hermanas Mirabal Community School, and various others. He has performed dance with all of New Yorks Afro-Dominican musical groups including Grupo Kalunga Neg Mawon, Kumba Carey, La 21 Division, Asa Dife, and various others.

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Performance Group Biographies

The Legacy Circle Women's Drum Cypher is an all-women's traditional musical group rooted in Afro-Dominican and AfroPuerto Rican traditions. Our women are the next generation of NYC's most gifted drummers, singers, and dancers of AfroCaribbean music, including Palos, Congos, Salves, Bomba and Plena, the AfroIndigenous roots music of the Caribbean. Our group makes music that celebrates the fiery, nurturing, defiant, yet wise touch that mujeres (women) have. We recognize that we possess feminine power that holds up our community, and honor the immense contributions women make everyday. Our performances are only part of our process of building sisterhood with each other and imbuing our audiences with joy and strength. Featuring original and traditional songs, our sultry and booming vocals, precision drumming and expressive dance encourages everyone to raise their voice and celebrate our heritage! 809 Ladies was founded by Mireya Ramos, a gifted violinist and vocalist hailing from Puerto Rico with Mexican and Dominican Roots. The band features a diverse group of women who are on the cutting edge of fusing original songs with the traditional rhythms of La Bella Quisqueya, including Bachata, Merengue, and salsa as well. They have performed at Havana Room, 809 Bar, and various venues throughout New York.

Alma Moyo Afro-Puerto Rican Music Group was born in 2002 at a lively drum jam session at La Casita de Chema, a community garden in the South Bronx. Founded by Alex LaSalle from Moca, Puerto Rico, Alma Moyo is an intergenerational crew of Puerto Ricans and Dominicans who promote the diverse regional drum and vocal styles of Bomba with a Caribbean-blues sentiment. Illegal throughout parts of Puerto Rico as recently as the 1940s, Alma Moyos Bomba is laden with revolutionary defiance, sorrowful lament, and therapeutic chanting. Alma Moyo pays homage to the rich contributions of Ayiti to BOMBA and to Africans in the Americas.

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Grupo Kalunga Neg Mawon is a musical dance ensemble that consists of members who have spent most of their lives researching and studying African culture in the Americas. Their aim is to preserve aspects of African tradition and identity existing in QuisqueyaAyiti, known today as the Dominican Republic and The Republic of Haiti. They use the name Kalunga to highlight the Congolese cultural aspects retained in Dominican/Haitian culture and throughout the African Diaspora of the western hemisphere, such as Cuba, Puerto Rico, etc. Kalunga is a Goddess of the Congolese people known also as the Muntu-Bantu or Bakongo. She is the universal cosmos, the great bang from which all life originated, including the depths of the seas and the oceans. Kalunga also represents a time when Congolese culture was dominated by a matriarchal system where women played a prominent role in society. Neg Mawon translates into Black Maroonsthose who fought against slavery, many of whom were Congolese descendants like Sebastian Lemba. They use the term Neg Mawon to symbolize our resistance against slavery and colonialism in a struggle to maintain and develop our African identity against overwhelming odds. Bodoma Garifuna Band Speaking of Carlos Norales; is speaking of a humble, simple and talented young singer and drummer crihoyo Garifuna culture, which through his music, connects the youth with the ancestral and beyond. He was born in November 1974, on a ship named Kety Santa Fe, which was facing the Bay of La Ceiba and was full of passengers including his mother who was traveling from Puerto Cortes to Santa Fe Colon in Honduras. Their music is a testament to the rich and healing African drums of the Garifuna people.

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