NEWBURGH – Safe Harbors of the Hudson in the City of Newburgh, Sunday, welcomed groups across the Hudson Valley in celebrating African American contributions to music and performance during their third annual Black History Month celebration.
As a lifelong resident of Newburgh, event emcee Maritza Calderon-Caballero recognizes the impact that African Americans have on the community. “I’ve been in Newburgh all my life. I’ve grown I grew up in a very diverse neighborhood where I had a black family to the right of me and Italian family to the left to me, every other house,” she said, “so it’s a huge part of the Newburgh community, and we need to embrace them and sharing their experiences and in their culture.”
Calderon-Caballero said African contributions to music have shaped most modern genres. “A lot of the music we know and love today comes from Africa,” she said. “Many of the genres we listen to are based on rhythms that come from Africa.”
The performances included African tribal dances, including one from local Jasmine M’Vore along with a company of spoken word artists and dancers. “It is extremely important [to acknowledge African culture] because every day we deal with a whole bunch of different situations that remind us who we are,” she said.
Embracing one another was the message of the event, as diverse groups came together to perform tribal African dances, hip-hop routines, and gospel numbers.
Matthew Castillo, a member of the YMCA of Middletown, stopped the crowd in their tracks with his spoken word poem, “Come With Me, Everybody.”
“Every day we have a chance to make the world a better place and keep out our differences face to face,” he chanted. “We can talk all day about the evil all around / Progress not made, let’s challenge today.” he chanted. “We can talk all day about the evil all around / Progress not made, let’s challenge today.”
