Festival Host

Rhina Valentin is a prominent figure in New York City’s entertainment industry, celebrated for her multifaceted talents as a mother, comedienne, producer, director, writer, and dancer. A native New Yorker of Afro-Boricua descent, Rhina embodies the spirit of working-class women of color, using her humor to candidly address adversity. Rhina has served as Host and Production Consultant for the South Bronx Culture Festival since 2018 highlighting the best of the Bronx. She also hosted and consulted with Casita Maria on digitally migrating the production due to COVID-19 in 2020.

rhinavalentin.com 

@rhinavalentin 

Lareinadelbarrio.com

@lareinadelbarrioinc 

Young Artists & Teaching Artists of Casita Maria 

The Festival showcase features both our talented Teaching Artists and the artistry developed under their direction during Casita Maria's K-8th grade after-school Arts Studios including: BeBold ballet with Misty Copeland Foundation, bomba with Bombazo Dance Co, choir under the direction of Miss Kayla, hip hop dance under the direction of Miss Marlene, Latin Dance with NYC Salsa Dance, musical theater under the Direction of Mr. Gilberto and Miss Kayla, and visual art with Miss Maria and Miss Z. 

At NYC Salsa Dance, our mission is to create a welcoming, inclusive space where everyone can experience the joy, empowerment, and personal growth that salsa brings. We specialize in providing personalized salsa lessons for dancers of all levels, ensuring each student receives the attention and guidance they need to succeed. Whether you're taking your first steps or refining advanced techniques, our goal is to help you build confidence, develop a true passion for dance, and connect with the vibrant salsa community.

nycsalsadance.com

Bombazo Dance Co, founded by renowned master Bomba dancer, Milteri Tucker Concepcion, is a Puerto Rican Bronx based 501c3 Dance Organization that conserves, educates and performs Puerto Rico's oldest musical genre and African ancestry: Bomba Puertorriquena and its relation to African Diasporic dances from Africa, The Caribbean and Latinoamerica. The organization provides dance and music classes for all ages, workshops and performances.

bombazodanceco.com

IG: bombazodanceco

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BronX BandA is Casita Maria’s latest collaboration with nine-time Grammy Award-winning artist Arturo O’Farrill. This 11-piece improvisational ensemble is bridging the gap between performers and audiences by weaving original jazz creations into the daily life of the community. Compositions and performances integrate local musicians and collaborative artists, melding traditional jazz with the sounds and stories of the community. Original compositions based on the lives and legacies of Benny  and Richie Bonilla, Valerie Capers, Nelson Gonzalez, Bertha Hope, Elena Martinez, Bobby Sanabria, and Casita Maria Alums GrandWizzard Theater, Tina Ramirez founder of Ballet Hispanico and jazz musician Dave Valentin will be performed.

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Led by Arturo O’Farrill for nearly two decades, the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra (ALJO) has shared a unique combination of big-band jazz and Latin music through the talent and virtuosity of its 18 solo musicians.

belongo.org

IG: afrolatinjazz

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Uptown Vinyl Supreme is a DJ collective and community organization born in The Bronx paying homage to the analog roots of music, party and dance culture. Our selections of music know no borders. From funk and soul, to Hip-Hop and R&B, to Salsa and Mambo you will be taken on a musical journey from the moment you arrive at the Festival. 

uptownvinylsupreme.com

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Maria Raquel is a Colombian singer and composer based in New York since 2016. She has participated in festivals such as the Tel Aviv Jazz Festival, the Summer Arts Festival, Color Es Festival, Stowe Jazz Festival, The Latino America Festival at Tel Aviv and the Primavera Fest. She has taken her talent from Colombia to Germany, Israel, Netherlands and the United States. Her powerful voice makes her an outstanding ambassador of Latin music in the world.

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Kalí Rodríguez-Peña & Mélange

Kalí Rodríguez-Peña is a Latin GRAMMY-nominated trumpeter, composer, bandleader, and educator, and one of the leading voices of a new generation of Cuban musicians in NYC. Born and raised in Havana, he blends the traditional motifs of his native Cuba with the lineage of jazz masters such as Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, and Freddie Hubbard. Rodríguez-Peña has performed at major venues and festivals across North America and collaborated with Wynton Marsalis, Arturo O’Farrill, Paquito D’Rivera, Chucho Valdés, Michel Camilo, Esperanza Spalding, Miguel Zenón, and more. His debut album, Mélange (Truth Revolution Records), was featured on Showtime’s Let The Right One In. With his band, Mélange, Rodríguez-Peña creates an energetic fusion of Afro-Cuban folkloric rhythms, jazz harmony, improvisation, and contemporary groove. 

kalirodriguezpena.com 

IG & FB: @kalirodriguezmusic 

Video: One for Nicola

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Berta Moreno & La Troupe

Experience an exhilarating and original performance that seamlessly blends contemporary jazz, Latin, African music, Soul, and improvisation. Berta’s saxophone enchants audiences everywhere, telling powerful stories infused with passion, energy, authenticity, and spontaneous creativity.

bertamoreno.com 

@bertamorenojazz

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Telmary is one of Cuba’s leading, cutting edge hip-hop and urban music artists. Her study of English, theater, and writing informed her work in the Havana music scene during the late ’90s and early 2000s. She has four solo albums, including the Latin Grammy-nominated Fuerza Arará, and Libre, awarded the 2014 Cubadisco Prize for Best Hip-Hop Recording. Telmary has graced stages all over North America, Europe, Mexico, South America and Japan at some of the world’s most renowned jazz and popular music festivals. She has collaborated with a who’s who of Cuban music greats, such as Isaac Delgado, Giraldo Piloto, Los Van Van, Alex Abreu & Havana D’primera, Omara Portuondo. She has also collaborated with Arturo O’Farrill and the AfroLatin Jazz Orchestra, Pedrito Martínez, and the late Dr. John, among others. 

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VIdeo 

Suci Kurniati Frohman 

Originally from Cirebon (Indonesia), Suci graduated from Indonesia University of Education (with a degree in Special Education). Her athletic background in Karate and Aerobic competition enabled her to move to Jakarta where she taught aerobics for 11 years. Her passion for dance led her to transition into the world of Latin Ballroom, Salsa and other forms of dance (such as line dancing). She joined Indonesia's #1 latin dance company "Salsa Fresca Indonesia" (led by Reyno Tommy Mulyono) and quickly became his #1 dance partner. In 2007 Suci and Reyno became the Asia/Pacific Latin Dance Champions (held in Hong Kong). They then became the first couple to represent their country of Indonesia to compete in the 2007 World Salsa Championships in Orlando, Florida. Suci was recognized as Indonesia's #1 female latin dancer and teacher as she taught and performed at Salsa Congresses throughout Asia. Since moving to New York Suci has danced with The Eddie Torres Dancers, Natasha Michelle Karp Indocochea dancers and is currently a featured performer with the Franck (Fastest Feet) Muhel Afro-Caribbean Dance Company. She also continues (online) to teach and choreograph dance (and 'dancercise') routines for her students and dance companies back in Asia. 

Franck Muhel 

Born in Martinique, Franck’s performances are renowned for their dynamic creative energy that inspires and electrifies audiences all over the world. As principal dancer and featured soloist with The Eddie Torres (Mambo King) Dance Company, Franck has performed with internationally acclaimed orchestras such as The Eddie Torres Mambo Kings Orchestra, The Bronx Horns and The Mambo Legends Orchestra. Franck was also a featured dancer in the hit movie "In THe Heights". He currently leads his Franck Muhel Afro-Caribbean Dance Ensemble and is known for having some of the fastest footwork and most soulful dance movements anywhere in the world.

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The Mambo Legends Orchestra (featuring former all-stars of the Tito Puente Orchestra) continues the great tradition of the golden age of latin music playing the music of Tito Puente, Machito and Tito Rodriguez. Under the musical direction of percussionist/arrangerJose Madera and co-led by saxophonist/flutist Mitch Frohman (both long time members of the Tito Puente Orchestra and Latin-Jazz Ensemble) The Mambo Legends Orchestra will have the audience transported back in time to the Palladium Ballroom for their listening and dancing pleasure.

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Al Quiñones Art Club, presented by SPARCS The Supporting Parks and Revitalizing Communities Study (SPARCS) boosts community wellbeing through programs designed by the community, for the community.

Led by CUNY’s School of Public Health, 3x3, in partnership with the Partnership for Parks, SPARCS helps communities transform their neighborhood parks into spaces of healing and connection. Through community-created activations, SPARCS boosts community physical health and mental wellbeing.

sparcsnyc.org

Belongó, formerly the Afro Latin Jazz Alliance, is a non-profit institution dedicated to performing, educating about, and preserving the music of all of the Americas, emanating from African and indigenous roots, through the entry point of jazz. The organization produces The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra's annual performance season in New York and manages the Orchestra's weekly engagement at the famed jazz club Birdland as well as performances worldwide. Its educational programs include the Afro Latin Jazz Academy of Music (ALJAM), an in-school residency program serving public schools citywide with instrumental and ensemble instruction; the Fat Cats, a pre-professional youth orchestra that prepares the next generation of musicians; and the Global Rhythms in Our Tribe (G.R.I.O.T.), a music program that connects youth with rhythms and storytelling from global cultures as a way to engage them in anti-violence activities. In addition, it holds a world-class collection of Latin jazz musical scores and recordings. Belongó embraces its mission with a commitment to social justice, equity, inclusion, and the equality of all cultures worldwide. For additional information please visit belongo.org

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Founded and opened to the public in 2010 as a space for art exhibits and performances, BronxArtSpace (BAS), a 501C3 organization, is a community-based organization committed to supporting local and often under-resourced artists, fostering projects that engage vital social, educational, and political concerns. Through curating group exhibitions, offering a residency program for Bronx artists, and providing meeting space for artist-led workshops and community-based interest groups, we combine forces with similar non-profit organizations to enhance the cultural vitality of our immediate and extended neighborhood. Located in the densest concentration of public housing in the US, BAS creates programs that represent and inspire its community. BAS works to ensure that Bronx-based artists comprise at least 45% percent of exhibiting artists, and that both women and artists of color are the majority of those presented through our programming.

bronxartspace.com

Carnegie Hall’s 2025–2026 season festival is a multifaceted reflection of the United States' 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Starting in January, the festival highlights the extraordinary musical riches that have evolved and flourished in the US, and explores the endlessly diverse voices and influences that have shaped—and continue to shape—American identity.

In more than 35 concerts at Carnegie Hall, audiences will experience Broadway, jazz, film music, rock ‘n’ roll, hip-hop, bluegrass, classical, and much more, showcasing the very best of the American spirit through music. Beginning in February, the United in Sound celebration extends beyond Carnegie Hall across all five boroughs to include events that celebrate different facets of American music, including influences from abroad, hosted by festival partners citywide.

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The Misty Copeland Foundation (MCF) is committed to making ballet accessible and inclusive by providing children in under-resourced communities with opportunities to learn, grow, and thrive through dance. Its signature program, BE BOLD  (Ballet Exploration, Ballet Offers Leadership Development), is a groundbreaking afterschool initiative that nurtures confidence, creativity, and community while advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion in ballet.

mistycopelandfoundation.org

For 125 years, The New York Public Library has been a free provider of education and information for the people of New York and beyond. With 92 locations—including research and branch libraries—throughout the Bronx, Manhattan, and Staten Island, the Library offers free materials, computer access, classes, exhibitions, programming and more to everyone from toddlers to scholars, and has seen record numbers of attendance and circulation in recent years. The New York Public Library receives approximately 16 million visits through its doors annually and millions more around the globe who use its resources at nypl.org. To offer this wide array of free programming, The New York Public Library relies on both public and private funding. 

PUBLIC WORKS, a major civic artistic program of The Public Theater, aims to restore and build community by connecting people through the creation of extraordinary works of art. Working with partner organizations in all five boroughs, Public Works invites community members to take classes, participate in programming, attend performances, and join in the creation of ambitious works of participatory theater. Public Works deliberately blurs the line between professional artists and community members, creating theater that is not only for the people, but by and of the people as well. Public Works seeks to create a space where we can not only reflect on the world as it is, but where we can propose new possibilities for what our society might be. 

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In an attempt to fight the blight and deterioration that had plagued the Hunts Point community of the Bronx, the group known as SEBCO (South East Bronx Community Organization) was formed in the fall of 1968 under the visionary leadership of Father Louis R. Gigante. SEBCO is responsible for the development and construction of over 6,000 new or rehabilitated housing units in approximately 450 buildings throughout the South Bronx. SEBCO has grown from a small group of community activists into a sizable and sophisticated development company with over 300 employees. From modest origins, SEBCO has contributed greatly to the City of New York by providing jobs, commerce, recreational facilities and of course, housing for its low and moderate-income residents. 

sebcodevelopment.org

TDF is a not-for-profit service organization dedicated to sharing the power of the performing arts with everyone. Our mission is to engage a broad and diverse audience by removing the financial, physical and invisible barriers to attendance. TDF welcomes NYC’s vibrant communities to the theatre because experiencing the performing arts improves mental health and social connections.

tdf.org

Digital Bodega is a Creative House driven by today’s culture, community, and brands. We create branded and original content produced by a diverse team of creatives from the South Bronx. We believe that no matter what, your content needs to be authentic, story driven, and socially conscious. The melting pot where people, culture and community meet.

digital-bodega.com

La Reina Del Barrio is an urban boutique marketing and media production company that provides forward-thinking messages, powered by arts, culture and social consciousness. We service artists, small to medium sized businesses, and non-profit organizations.

lareinadelbarrio.com