El Chachareo is a form of gathering and virtual conversation that we have created at Movimiento Afrolatino Seattle to highlight our experiences and the different ways we see the strengths and challenges that we face as an African diaspora. Laughter, play, and agreements, as well as differences, silence, and discomfort, are all part of a new knowledge we build together as equals.
El Chachareo is not only our tool for building this path together, but also a principle of the collective that takes shape in song, dance, poetry, and painting.
Our Chachareo draws from the wisdom of our ancestors to collectively invent paths to solutions, spoken aloud. It is a celebration where everyone is invited, and where Afro and Afro-Indigenous voices are centered. And like any celebration, it comes with dance, music, and food. Thus, within the lively atmosphere we create, we have clear moments that allow us to truly listen to one another.
The first thing we do is “LA RUEDA” (The wheel) where we dance together to “PROBLEMATIZE” the situations that afflict us daily, from different perspectives, experiences, territories.
Then we open the space for each person to show their own rhythm. “ELLA BAILA SOLA” (She dances alone) is the part of the celebration where we shine individually, where we say who we are, and where we delve into our realities through the profound feeling of the one who lives them. It is the moment to EXPLAIN from within!
By daring to bare our souls, “She Dances Alone” becomes a mirror that allows us to see ourselves individually and collectively to “DISMANTLE” the myths, traps, and violences that prevent us from fully opening our hearts and minds. When we listen to and feel this individual rhythm, we recognize in the other the strength and knowledge we each carry inside. This “Chat” which we also do in more intimate spaces and small groups, allows us to recognize ourselves, and in doing so, pathways open for us to move forward together in the search for solutions that heal the soul. El chachareo empowers us to “DISMANTLE” the oppressive discourses and to realize that we can cook hope.
This is why this celebration does not end without having cooked a collective sancocho of solutions in “THE POT” of REPARATIONS. In “THE POT,” we add ingredients from diverse territories, each bringing a special and unique touch to the recipe of collective solutions that positions us as agents of our own realities. From “THE POT,” hearty bowls of Sunday soup are served, to be eaten together by the riverside, to continue the celebration and the Chachareo. Delicious bits, generous pieces of meat, bold seasonings that seek to transform the unjust realities we live in, so we may continue building MÁS Conversaciones and MÁS Podcast for MÁS Pride
Listen to the podcast here
