NEGRA, NEGRA, NEGRA SOY
BEFORE THERE WAS RAP MUSIC, TELEVISION, AND FILM, THERE WAS SPOKEN WORD AND STORYTELLING. JOIN ME AS I REMINISCE ABOUT A NIGHT OF BEAUTIFUL STORIES TOLD BY EIGHT INCREDIBLE WOMEN.
Photos by Bizzie Ruth
From the moment the crowd went quiet and the first performer, Linda Martin, stepped up to begin her performance I knew I was in for a show that would leave me feeling full. First, allow me to give you more insight to what Negra, Negra, Negra Soy is.
Negra, Negra, Negra Soy is a compilation of performances by black and brown women sharing stories blackness and womanhood as it pertains to them. Each of the performers are women from Hartford. The lead curator is Colleen Ndemeh Fitzgerald of Kukily Collectivo, an afrofeminist art collective, and co-produced by Jasmin Agosto of Sageseeker Productions. Negra, Negra, Negra Soy translates to Black, Black, I am a Black Woman.
The performers consisted of eight beautiful black women of all different ages, each from Hartford. Linda Martin, Kaysle Stewart, Ula Dodson, Ashley Innocent, Danessa Pedroso, Terri-Ann Williams, Sonyetta Strickland, Gail Martin and Diane Robinson all graced the stage and recited poetry, shared their stories and even hummed precious vibrations. Each message captivated the audience and left us all with so much to think about in reference to our own stories and intersecting identities.
The stories and event in its entirety are reminiscent of a song from Afro-Peruvian poet and activist, Victoria Santa Cruz called, Me Gritaron Negra, that speaks to the intersectionality of what it is to be both black and a woman and so much more. Much like at Negra, Negra, Negra Soy…the words shared spoke of the infinite layers of growing up as a black woman in Hartford.
Others like Danessa Pedroso and Terri-Ann Williams shared pieces about their experience not only being black women but being immigrants as well.
At the end, all eight performers stood up and came to the front of the stage and began to chant:
Negra, Negra, Negra, Negra,
Negra, Negra, Negra, Negra,
Negra, Negra, Negra, Negra
Y Que? Y Que?
And all together, the crowd and the performers…Negra, Negra, Negra, Negra….
Negra, Negra, Negra, Negra,
Negra, Negra, Negra, Negra,
Y Que? Y Que?
Photos by Bizzie Ruth
