Congo Square (OUTDOORS)
Congo Square is one of the most hallowed sites in American music history. This area, once a grassy commons behind the original city rampart (now Rampart Street), was one of several gathering places for enslaved people from Africa and their descendants. In the 1700s, under French and Spanish colonial rule, slaves were permitted to buy and sell goods on Sundays. They also played African-style musical instruments and performed dances that originated from their native homes. After New Orleans became part of the United States in the early 1800s, a city ordinance limited gatherings of slaves to this spot, and only until sunset. Still, the weekly ritual sustained a continuum of African culture in the New World, with profound implications for the future of music.
Upcoming Shows
7am-1pm | The annual New Orleans MAAFA Commemoration is a community remembrance event, a moment to reckon with the horrors of the Transatlantic and Domestic Slave Trades, and a release from the chains of its legacy. MAAFA is a Kiswahili word meaning “horrific tragedy” and refers to the period known as The Middle Passage. This year’s event presented by Ashé Cultural Arts Center is on 7:00AM, beginning at Congo Square (701 N Rampart St.)
This year’s theme is Radiant Rhythms–a celebration of the divine power of African drums. For centuries, the stories of Africa have been forged in rhythm by musical griots who pay tribute to the unwavering resolve, indomitable strength, and indelible history of our culture by touching hand, stick, or bone to an African drum. MAAFA identifies historically-significant locations of New Orleans’ own history as a major slave market, such as Esplanade Avenue and The Tomb of the Unknown Slave in Tremé. In closing, we say the names of those enslaved and free, victims of tragic events, senseless violence, as well as all those who were, so that we might be.
Perforamnces by: Sunni Patterson, Caren Green, Naydja Cojoe, Zohar Israel, Kumbuk: A Drum & Dance Collective, Andrea Peoples, N'Kafu Traditional African Dance Company, Sha'Condria "Icon" Sibley, Watotos of Kumbuka, Solomon Matthews, & Nuisettes Noir Babydolls
All white attire is preferred. The local community and visitors are invited to attend this commemoration event of healing, testimony, and celebration of our ancestors, existence, and survival.
RSVP Here: https://ashecac.app.neoncrm.com/nx/portal/neonevents/events#/events/5697
