Today, the Embassy of the United States in Bolivia began the celebration of Black History Month. The Embassy is sponsoring a cultural festival entitled “Tawirandu Lus Alaja,” (Digging for Treasures), which honors Afro-descendant women as well as transmission of knowledge through art and culture.
The festival, to take place at Cinemateca Boliviana in La Paz from February 2-12, includes painting and photography exhibits, live music, a fashion show, a theater play, and movies. All activities are offered at no cost for the public. On February 2, the festival inauguration will feature Bolivian film El Rey Negro. On Monday, February 6, U.S. film Hidden Figures will be shown in honor of the African American math team that played a significant role at NASA during the early years of its space program.
A main feature of this celebration will take place on February 9 at 7:30 p.m. Outstanding U.S. jazz singer De-Ann Lott will offer a jazz concert along with Bolivian musicians in Auditorium 1 at Cinemateca.
The embassies of Brazil, Peru, and the Dominican Republic in Bolivia will join this celebration and will sponsor screenings of several films about Afro-descendants, their culture, and identity, including K’ndela (Feb. 3), Morena(s) (Feb. 4), and Hijas del viento (Feb. 5). The film festival will close on February 7, with the screening of short films of a series entitled Rostros, Miradas y Resistencias de Mujeres Afrobolivianas by Bolivian director Maria Tereza Callisaya.
On February 8, Afro-Bolivian artists Sharon Perez and Carmen Angola will present an exhibition of paintings and photographs on the first and second levels of Cinemateca Boliviana.