Who’s Behind the Afro-Latino Festival of New York?

Celebrating a Decade of Culture, Community, and AfroLatine Power

The Afro-Latino Festival of New York is more than an annual gathering—it's a movement. Rooted in community, resistance, and celebration, the festival has become a cultural cornerstone in New York City, honoring the deep and diverse contributions of Afrodescendant peoples across Latin America and the Diaspora.

But who’s behind it all?

The Visionaries

The festival was brought to life in 2013 by Mai-Elka Prado Gil and Amilcar Priestley; two AfroLatine creatives and cultural organizers who saw a need: a dedicated space to uplift AfroLatine identity, history, and creativity in a city bursting with both diversity and inequality. What began as a one-day celebration has since grown into a multi-day, multi-platform experience featuring music, film, art, education, and activism.

Their goal was—and remains—to center Afrodescendant narratives, foster cross-cultural dialogue, and build sustainable community through culture. Over the years, the team has grown to include a network of artists, scholars, educators, community leaders, and volunteers who bring the vision to life.

A Community-Led Effort

The Afro-Latino Festival is powered by people. From grassroots organizers to DJs, from youth mentors to small business vendors, it thrives on collaboration and community. Each event, panel, and performance is carefully curated with intention: to affirm Blackness within Latinidad and to resist erasure by amplifying visibility.

Behind the scenes, a rotating but dedicated team manages programming, communications, logistics, and partnerships—all driven by a shared commitment to equity, joy, and collective healing.

A Living Archive of Resistance and Joy

In 2025, as the festival celebrates over 10 years of programming, the team is also launching an **archive campaign** to preserve and share the photos, videos, and voices that have shaped its story. It's not just a look back—it's a cultural time capsule, an offering to future generations of AfroLatines.

The festival’s leadership understands that visibility is power—and archiving is an act of resistance. In sharing its legacy, the team is planting seeds for the next decade of AfroLatine storytelling.

More Than a Festival

Yes, it’s music. Yes, it’s dance. Yes, it’s a vibe.

But it’s also scholarship, healing, political dialogue, and love. The Afro-Latino Festival of New York is a celebration of **who we are**, in all our complexity—and a bold statement of **who we are becoming**.

So when you ask, “Who’s behind the Afro-Latino Festival of New York?”

The answer is simple: We all are.

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