A night to celebrate Afro-Latin heritage through music, dance, film and hands-on workshops!
Archivo Radical is our eclectic library of images, reportages, video clips and documentaries capturing everyday life, historical moments, social movements, fashion, technology and amateur footage. Digging into the archive, it surfaces stories told from within these communities and from the outside, all of them opening a conversation with the past.
This edition turns to sound and resistance. Through voices, manifestos, rhythms and silences, we connect across Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and Peru to recover images and sounds that have carried histories of resistance, tradition, joy and identity across generations, with a particular focus on the deep roots of Afro-Peruvian music.
Archivo Radical is a CinemaAttic initiative in partnership with PILAS, UK Postgraduates in Latin American Studies.
ARCHIVO RADICAL: TWO PROGRAMMES
The Workshop
Led by José Rojas, musician, researcher, and facilitator based in Scotland, this 60-minute workshop offers a hands-on introduction to the basic rhythmic patterns of Afro-Peruvian ensemble music. Participants will explore key instruments including the cajón, bongó, congas, and cowbells, building rhythmic skills through direct practice. Along the way, you will engage with the rich musical traditions of Peru and discover how Afro-Peruvian music embodies the resistance and resilience of Black descendant communities in Peru and across South America.
All skill levels are welcome, and no previous percussion experience is required.
🕢 6:00 p.m.
📍 Leith Dockers Club, 17 Academy Street, EH6 7EF
The Event
The evening opens with a music set by Elpib0y, followed by an introduction, screenings, and a closing live performance by Soles del Perú.
📅 Thursday, 21st May
🕢 8:00 p.m.
📍 Leith Dockers
Accessibility: The screening room is wheelchair accessible, however Leith Dockers Club does not have specific accessible toilets. A wheelchair can fit into the toilets but not the toilet cubicles and all cubicles have grabrails.
BUY YOUR TICKET HERE
THE PROGRAMME
La Plena I Amilcar Tirado I 1966 I Puerto Rico
This film showcases Puerto Rico’s traditional music, focusing on plena and bomba, and the jíbaro culture where they developed. Performances by Sindo Mangual, Mon Rivera, and others are featured, alongside scenes of songwriting, mural painting, and instrument making. Directed by Amílcar Tirado (1922–2004), who created over 30 films, it was made for the Puerto Rican government and illustrated by the San Juan Ballet troupe.
Peinados de Origen Africano I 1977 I República Dominicana
“Peinados de estilos africanos” documents African-inspired hairstyles in Santo Domingo’s “Little Haiti” neighborhood near Mercado Modelo. The film features Haitian hairstylists creating braided styles, selling and adapting hair, and includes interviews with the stylists and Jeannette, one of the first to open a salon dedicated to these traditional and adapted hairstyles.
Me gritaron Negra I Torgeir Wethal I 1978 I Peru
In 1978, Santa Cruz staged what would become one of her most beloved and well-known pieces of work, the rhythmic poem Me Gritaron Negra (They Yelled at Me: Black!). The poem, which was initially performed in Spanish, was a way for Victoria Santa Cruz to work through her existence as an Afro-Latina. To not only identify as a Black Latin American woman but to visually be identified as such meant that in her youth in Peru, she experienced racism. Due to her race, she was asked not to play with other children, making her incredibly cognizant of her racial identity in the Americas, a geographical region thoroughly associated with and historically committed to structures of racism.
Iré a Santiago I Sara Gomez I 1964 I Cuba
With a vibrant musical soundtrack, Gómez portrays the city of Santiago de Cuba, connecting contemporary men and women to a past of slavery and resistance. The title was taken from a poem by Federico García Lorca. The film is photographed by Mario Garcia Joya. It portraits Santiago de Cuba and its people gently and yet its informal voice-over commentary also makes this film striking at that time. In IRÉ A SANTIAGO, Sara Gomez explores the feelings of the people of Santiago de Cuba. Mulato is a frame of mind, the film says, and that also becomes a way of shooting and editing.
Es Amador I Roberto Bonilla I 1978 I Peru
To the rhythm of violin and cajón, the documentary portrays the life of Afro-Peruvian musician and dancer Amador Ballumbrosio, known to his friends as Champita.
La marimba de los espíritus I Gloria Triana I 1983 I Colombia
This episode of the famous TV series Yuruparí, The Marimba of the Spirits, follows master musician José Torres, from Colombia’s Pacific coast, as he and his family share the processes of crafting and learning the traditional instruments of the region’s popular music.