The Real NYC Part 15 - Festival de Loiza
Loiza is a small town on the north coast of Puerto Rico. It is one of two towns that were founded by the descendants of slaves. Their African heritage continues in evidence today. For more information on the town you can see my blog entry here . In New York City there is a group of Puerto Ricans who trace their roots to Loiza and years a go the formed Los Hermanos Fraternos de Loiza . Every year for the past 37 years, this organization and the Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute hold a three day festival in El Barrio to celebrate the Afro-Latino culture of Loiza. This is a wonderful party with cultural displays, music, dance and food. this year I had the honor to cover one day of the event. The full name of the festival is The Festival de Santiago Apostol, but it is commonly known as the The Loiza Festival of El Barrio. For those of you who don't know El Barrio, it is the area of East Harlem going north from 96th street and east from 5th ...