Townsville, August 4, 2023. During this weekend, the Afrekete 2023 Cultural Festival took place. The event counted with the participation of Cuban artists living in Australia who came together to perform different Cuban dance and music numbers.
From Afro-Cuban culture, representing the songs, dances and characteristics of the ancestral deities, to son, rumba and other genres were represented at the inaugural gala, which was attended by the Cuban Ambassador to Australia, who was in charge of the opening remarks of the event, and Les Walker, MP of the State of Queensland.
Of special significance was the participation of Australian teenagers, students of dance schools of different Cubans living in Australia, who danced to Cuban rhythms and genres. A mixture of multiculturalism, traditions and brotherhood between peoples was evident in Townsville.
The day also included the premiere of the documentary "Cuba my soul" made by Craig Miller, an Australian in love with traditional Cuban music.
The Afrekete festival will continue on August 6 and 7 with educational workshops on Cuban music and dance, where Cubans and Australians will exchange about the main traditional Cuban rhythms and the most autochthonous of our roots and idiosyncrasy.