Eventos

About

About

Created and choreographed by Beatrice Capote

Radical Goddesses is a newly commissioned dance work by Hemispheric Institute Artist in Residence Beatrice Capote. The work awakens the histories and legacies of three black Cuban women who fought for freedom in Cuba from the 17th to the 20th centuries. Capote’s original choreography draws on Afro-Cuban and contemporary dance traditions. The piece tells the stories of Carlotta Lukumí, a Yoruba woman, Florentina Zulueta, of Arará heritage, and Manuela Alonso, who was rooted in the vibrant rumba traditions of Matanzas. Through movement, music, visual imagery, and poetry, Radical Goddesses pays tribute to these extraordinary women and to their contributions in the struggles against enslavement, discrimination, and colorism in Cuba.

Carlotta Lukumí was an enslaved Yoruba woman in 19th-century Cuba. She led the 1843 Triunvirato plantation rebellion in Matanzas. Armed with courage and a machete, she inspired others to resist brutal oppression. Though captured and executed, she endures as a symbol of Black female defiance and the fight for freedom.

Florentina Zulueta (Ma Florentina) was born in Dahomey and enslaved in Cuba. She later gained her freedom and became a spiritual leader in the Arará community. She helped found La Sociedad Africana in Perico around 1887, preserving ritual traditions, guarding sacred objects, and sustaining Arará identity. Remembered as a “princess” and healer, her legacy lives on in the drums, and ceremonies that carry her name.

Manuela Alonso (1915–1999), known as Cara ’e caballo, was a celebrated rumbera and santera from Havana. Rising to fame in the 1930s, she was known for her guaguancó, yambú, carnavales, and comparsas, performed with Chano Pozo, and later helped found Cuba’s National Folkloric Ensemble. She is remembered as a guardian of Afro-Cuban rumba and santería traditions.