A Celebration

Raffia fibers, wood carving

Performance held in Washington Square Park, NYC

2016

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"A Celebration" is exactly what the title suggests. This project was inspired by the Senufo Face Mask of the Ivory Coast, a mask used by male elders to worship the female ancestors of the tribe. The garment is made of raffia fibers, a material used extensively in West African masks and costumes, it is the mane on the Senufo face mask. The necklace is a woodcarving resembling the wooden face itself. 

The performance, held in Washington Square Park on a cool spring day, was a way to bring the outfit into it's target environment. In the performance, I dance to Celia Cruz's song "Quimbara." Afro-latin music is heavily influenced by the rhythms of the spiritual drumming rituals in African tribes. Even though the location may change, the project was meant to connect the Afro-Latin dance and celebratory culture to the tradition of spiritual dance and ancestor worship of West African cultures. Thus, this project becomes a celebration of the unbreakable bond between African tradition and my Latinx identity through the garment and the dance.