Daira Quiñones at Haw River Ballroom

This October 2024, Afro-Colombian activist and singer, Daira Elsa Quiñonez, is visiting us all the way from Colombia along with two of her band members, Xavi Boler (bombo, guitar) and César Marquinez (marimba).Since being forcibly displaced from her ancestral territory of Tumaco over 20 years ago for organizing her community , Quiñones has mobilized thousands of people across Colombia and the world through cultural activism. She uses song and storytelling as powerful tools to promote justice and healing in Colombia. She works to reclaim ancestral knowledge and historical memory, restoring humanity's connection to our Mother Earth, and strengthening Afro-Colombian communities displaced by Colombia's decades-long internal armed conflict.Throughout their travels the band will be showcasing the Fiesta del Plátano initiative organized by Quiñones, better known as “Abuela Daira.” Taking place across 5 departments in Colombia every fall, the festival celebrates the plantain's importance to the African Diaspora as a centerpiece to unite Black, Raizal and Palenquero people...

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This October 2024, Afro-Colombian activist and singer, Daira Elsa Quiñonez, is visiting us all the way from Colombia along with two of her band members, Xavi Boler (bombo, guitar) and César Marquinez (marimba).Since being forcibly displaced from her ancestral territory of Tumaco over 20 years ago for organizing her community , Quiñones has mobilized thousands of people across Colombia and the world through cultural activism. She uses song and storytelling as powerful tools to promote justice and healing in Colombia. She works to reclaim ancestral knowledge and historical memory, restoring humanity's connection to our Mother Earth, and strengthening Afro-Colombian communities displaced by Colombia's decades-long internal armed conflict.Throughout their travels the band will be showcasing the Fiesta del Plátano initiative organized by Quiñones, better known as “Abuela Daira.” Taking place across 5 departments in Colombia every fall, the festival celebrates the plantain's importance to the African Diaspora as a centerpiece to unite Black, Raizal and Palenquero people. Throughout the band's tour they will continue to build connections to the Fiesta del Plátano to grow its impacts.If you'd like to donate to this tour and Abuela Daira's work for justice and healing in Colombia, visit our fundraiser . All money raised after covering the material expenses of the tour goes directly to Daira Quiñones and her de ella community organization de ella AMDAE.

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