City Lore Presents Homenaje a Román Díaz – Final Exhibition Public Program

Rumba Entre Puentes: Tracing New York City Rumba, Community Resilience, and Cultural Transmission through Documentary Photography

 Final Exhibition Program – Homenaje a Román Díaz

Saturday February 15, 2025, 4-7 pm

4:00 – 5:00 PM – Como el Agua (Like Water) Film Screening & Discussion

5:00 – 7:00 PM – Live Rumba Performance

 Como el Agua (Like Water) This award winning, revealing documentary film by Onel Mulet takes an intimate look at renowned Cuban master drummer, Grammy winner, and Jazz musician, Roman Dîaz. Shot on location and accompanied throughout by the rhythmic pulse of rumba, Jazz and New York City.

New York, New York – City Lore presents the culminating public program for its community-based multimedia exhibition, Rumba Entre Puentes by honoring master percussionist Román Díaz with a film screening, discussion and a live Rumba Performance featuring Román Díaz Ensemble  on Saturday, February 15^th from 4-7 pm at the City Lore Gallery located at 56 East First Street in Manhattan.

This is a bilingual program featuring facilitated conversation and live musical performance. All are welcome. Refreshments courtesy of Mi Salsa Kitchen.  

An important aspect of the Rumba Entre Puentes is to highlight and honor the contributions of master percussionist and Cuban tradition bearer, Román Díaz, to the rumba scene in New York City.

From documenting his singular presence at venues, which have flourished under his musical direction such as Mi Salsa Kitchen and Zinc Bar, to producing the recent ethnographic recording that chronicles his work passing down the tradition to a new generation of practitioners in our city between bridges, the project pays homage to Diaz’s cultural wisdom and to the rumba community’s intergenerational resilience. The forthcoming album was recorded and produced by local media-arts non-profit and regular City Lore collaborator, Los Herederos, (the inheritors), www.losherederos.org,

The centerpiece of the Rumba Entre Puentes exhibition are the documentary photographs by celebrated Cuban rumba photographer Juan Caballero, which pay homage to the past, present and future of this tradition in New York City. In addition to approximately 25 still images documenting the various manifestations of Cuban rumba in and around New York City, the exhibition features a video loop from Caballero’s personal archive that shares rumba activities across New York City and Union City, New Jersey along with sound bites from participating musicians. These videos further exemplify the intrinsic power and cultural wisdom of the rumba tradition. They also add to the historical context for rumba in New York City.

Rumba Entre Puentes (Rumba Between Bridges), is the outgrowth of City Lore’s Cultural Ambassador Residency led by musician Roger Consiglio and photographer Juan Caballero. The Residency is an initiative of City Lore’s Creative Traditions Program led by Folklorist Naomi Sturm-Wijesinghe.

About Román Díaz

Cuban born master percussionist Román Díaz is a “living repository” of Afro-Cuban culture. He is a noted scholar of Cuban religious and folkloric music as well as a composer and performer of contemporary Afro-Cuban music and Jazz .  He has performed and recorded with Cuban diva Mercedíta Valdes, Canadian Jane Bunnett, Juan Carlos Formell, Paquito D’Rivera, and folkloric artist Orlando “Puntilla” Rios, and Pianist Danílo Pérez. He has also recorded with the Afro-Cuban folkloric groups; Yoruba Andabo, Raices Profundas and Los Marqueses de Atares. He has also performed at Jazz at Lincoln Center, The Kennedy Center and the Smithsonian Museum. For full bio: http://www.RomanDiazBata.com