Cacibajagua Presents Taino Culture at Gateway

New York (UCTP Taino News) - Members of the Cacibajagua Taino Cultural Society pause after a series of sucessful presentations at the "Gateway to Nations Pow Wow", which took place on June 6-8, 2008 at Gateway National Park in Brooklyn, NY. In the photo from left to right, (upper row) Maria Mautiari Diaz, Roberto Borrero, Vanessa Inarunikia, (lower row) Alex Kuyaya Pastrano, Nakota Grant-Borrero, and Ericc Ausubo Diaz. (Photo credit: Reina Sipainaru Miranda)

Gateway to Nations Pow Wow to feature Taino Culture

New York (UCTP Taino News) - The Gateway to Nations Pow Wow is a celebration of Native American culture that will take place at Brooklyn’s in Floyd Bennett Field, Gateway National Recreation Area from June 6-8, 2008. Along with Native American dancers, singers, Native American arts and jewelry, food vendors this year’s Pow Wow will feature select cultural presentations from members of the Cacibajagua Taino Cultural Society. The group will share Taino music, song, and dance as well as offer general information on Taino culture.

Other featured attractions at this annual event will be the Native Drum competition in classes from tiny tots to adults and showcase dances such as the Pura Women's Fancy Dance, Jingle Dance, Chicken Dance and Grass Dance.

Gates open on Saturday and Sunday at 11am and the Pow Wow continues all day until 7pm. The Grand Entry of Dancers begins at 1:00P on both days. On Friday, June 6th the Pow Wow grounds will be open to school groups from 10AM to 4PM.

Gateway to Nations Pow Wow is sponsored and organized by the Redhawk Indian Arts Council and more information on the event can be found at their website at http://www.redhawkcouncil.org/calendar/june19.htm.

Photo: Redhawk Indian Arts Council

UCTPTN 06.01.2008

Taino to Present Cultural Program at Pequot Museum

UCTP Taino News – Members of the Cacibajagua Taino Cultural Society will present a Taino cultural program at the Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center on Wednesday, July 23, 2008. The program takes place from 1-2pm and is open to the public. The group will present Taino music and dance as well as discuss the meaning of the various songs and how the Taino instruments are played and made. Celebrating its 10th anniversary, the Mashantucket Pequot Museum offers engaging experiences for all ages, from life-size walk-through dioramas that transport visitors into the past, to changing exhibits and live performances of contemporary arts and cultures. For more information on the Taino presentation check out the Museum’s website at http://www.pequotmuseum.org/.

UCTPTN 05.20.2008

Cacibajagua at the Ramapo Pow Wow

Warwick, NY (UCTP Taino News) - At left Ericc Diaz (Taino) of the Cacibajagua Taino Cultural Society connects with members of the Mexica community through a "smudging" ceremony at the Ramapo Pow Wow on Sunday, May 18th 2008. Members of Cacibajagua offered a Taino cultural presentation as well as set-up a well received information stand at the event. (Photo: Times Herald-Record/JOHN DeSANTO)

Ramapough Pow Wow This Weekend

UCTP Taino News – The Wawayanda Northern Liaison Native American Pow Wow and Gathering is set to take place this weekend, May 17-18, 2008 in Warwick, New York. The event is being held to honor “Lenape People Who Dwelled Along the Path Stretching from the Delaware River to the Hudson River” and will take place at the Warwick Veterans Memorial Park, from 10am to 6pm, rain or shine. Sanctioned by the Ramapough Mountain Indians, Inc, the Wawayanda Pow Wow will feature dancing, drumming, craft, and food.

The Ramapough Mountain Indians have resided in the Ramapough Mountains for more than three hundred years, and are a part of the greater Lenape Nation.

On Sunday - May 18 - a special cultural presentation by members of the Cacibajagua Taino Cultural Society takes place at the Wawayanda Pow Wow at 2:30pm and at 4:30pm. “Cacibajagua” is an inter-Tribal, inter-generational community of indigenous Caribbean singers, musicians, and artists dedicated to transmitting their ancestral heritage to their present and future generations.

The host drum for the Pow Wow is "Spirit of the Mountain" and Grand Entry begins at noon both days. For further information on the Wawayanda Native American Pow Wow, contact 845-610-3258 or 845-283-0764.

Photo: Jeannie Calcano, Maria Diaz, and Vanessa Inarunikia of the Cacibajagua Taino Cultural Society (Photo by Mamarazi)

UCTPTN 05.14.2008

Cacibajagua a Hit at Drums Along the Hudson

New York (UCTP Taino News) - Members of the Cacibajagua Taino Cultural Society pause after a sucessful presentation at the "Drums Along the Hudson" Native American Festival, which took place on Saturday May 3rd, 2008 in Northern Manhattan's Inwood Hill Park at 218th Street. In the photo from left to right, (upper row) Roberto Mukaro Borrero, Jeannie Karayani McDonald, Mildred Karaira Gandia, Maria Diaz, Vanessa Inarunikia, (lower row) William Ruiz, Nakota Grant-Borrero, Ericc Diaz, and Alex Kuyaya Pastrano. (Photo credit: Miguel Ibanez, Habitat Pro)

Cacibajagua at Drums Along the Hudson

The Warwick Gombey Troupe from Bermuda will perform at Drums Along the Hudson on Saturday, May 3rd, 2008

Excepts from UCTP Taino News:

Drums Along the Hudson

Date: Saturday, May 3rd, 2008
Time: 11am to 6pm rain or shine
Place: Inwood Hill Park

218th Street, Manhattan, 4 Blocks West of Broadway
Subways: 1 to 215th Street, A to 207th Street.

A Native American Festival & Shad Fest featuring drummers & dancers from around the world... Storytelling, Native Arts & Crafts, international food, free Shad tasting and Hudson River fish exhibits... Honoring for Mohawk Chief Jake Swamp, Founder of the Tree of Peace Society and Xernona Clayton, Creator and Executive Producer of the Trumpet Awards...

Special guest performers include members of the Cacibajagua Taino Cultural Society and the Warwick Gombey Troupe & The St. David's Island Indians.

For more information on the program or directions on how to get there visit
http://www.drumsalongthehudson.org/ or call 212-627-1076 x 18.

UCTPTN 05.01.2008