{"id":3587,"date":"2021-12-14T21:12:50","date_gmt":"2021-12-15T05:12:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movimientoafrolatino.org\/by-malay\/"},"modified":"2022-02-23T14:48:04","modified_gmt":"2022-02-23T22:48:04","slug":"by-malaya","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/movimientoafrolatino.org\/en\/projects\/connecting-more\/by-malaya\/","title":{"rendered":"by Malaya"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wpb-content-wrapper\">[vc_section][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=&#8221;3431&#8243; img_size=&#8221;full&#8221; onclick=&#8221;custom_link&#8221; link=&#8221;https:\/\/movimientoafrolatino.org\/en\/projects\/connecting-more\/&#8221;][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=&#8221;2\/3&#8243;][vc_column_text]Youngest of 5 siblings and born in Lima, Per\u00fa, M\u00f3nica Rojas is an anthropologist who seeks to spread the presence of the afro-latino community with her dance as well as her performances with the caj\u00f3n. M\u00f3nica is actually one of the founders of MAS and has been successful in connecting many afro-latino people in Washington in order to make the community more visible.<\/p>\n<p>It started when M\u00f3nica was 15 years old and witnessed a couple dancing marinera on the street. This sparked a new passion in her which ended up leading to her becoming a national dance champion just two years later. This new passion led her to seek out new kinds of people. Dancers as well as music makers. These artists were usually found at certain types of clubs that M\u00f3nica\u2019s parents didn\u2019t really approve of. They would tell her that they didn\u2019t want her living a \u2018bohemian\u2019 lifestyle. They were very protective of their youngest daughter and they had believed her main motive for sneaking out to the clubs was just to party. Although it took some convincing, M\u00f3nica wasn\u2019t alone. Before her parents came around her sister Cecilia, who is twelve years older, not only gave M\u00f3nica her first caj\u00f3n, but she also lied to their parents so that M\u00f3nica could go enjoy the time at these clubs. Eventually, her parents realized that she was serious about dancing as well as playing the caj\u00f3n. They finally understood that she wanted to do more than party. She wanted to express herself by making beautiful visual and auditory forms of art.[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]\n<div class=\"wp-playlist wp-video-playlist wp-playlist-light\">\n\t\t<video controls=\"controls\" preload=\"none\" width=\"640\"\n\t\t height=\"360\"\t><\/video>\n\t<div class=\"wp-playlist-next\"><\/div>\n\t<div class=\"wp-playlist-prev\"><\/div>\n\t<noscript>\n\t<ol>\n\t\t<li><a href='https:\/\/movimientoafrolatino.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/malaya-vid-03.mp4'>malaya-vid 03<\/a><\/li>\t<\/ol>\n\t<\/noscript>\n\t<script type=\"application\/json\" class=\"wp-playlist-script\">{\"type\":\"video\",\"tracklist\":true,\"tracknumbers\":true,\"images\":true,\"artists\":true,\"tracks\":[{\"src\":\"https:\/\/movimientoafrolatino.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/malaya-vid-03.mp4\",\"type\":\"video\/mp4\",\"title\":\"malaya-vid 03\",\"caption\":\"\",\"description\":\"\",\"meta\":{\"length_formatted\":\"0:43\"},\"dimensions\":{\"original\":{\"width\":1920,\"height\":1080},\"resized\":{\"width\":640,\"height\":360}},\"image\":{\"src\":\"https:\/\/movimientoafrolatino.org\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/video.svg\",\"width\":48,\"height\":64},\"thumb\":{\"src\":\"https:\/\/movimientoafrolatino.org\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/video.svg\",\"width\":48,\"height\":64}}]}<\/script>\n<\/div>\n\t\n[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]When asking how dancing and playing the caj\u0301on makes her feel she explained the two as almost two sides of the same coin. Playing gives her almost an external happiness. It lets her create and it lets her connect with the people around her. Dancing is more of an internal happiness. She can\u2019t even imagine her life without these two art forms. They not only played a huge part in her teenage years but in her adult years as well. She used her dancing and her music to specifically bring light to the afro-peruvians that she noticed were being almost ignored. Many people don\u2019t even know there are black people in Peru and she wanted to change that drastically. This is her life mission and it\u2019s spread from afro-peruvians to afro-latinos in Washington. She knows she\u2019s accomplished so much and being a leader, an educator, and an artist proves her point.<\/p>\n<p>In 1994 M\u00f3nica was asked to give a lecture on afro-peruvian culture at a university in Oregon. She was asked again in 1995 and the next year began studying anthropology in the United State. She used her newfound knowledge of anthropology in order to start a project in 2009. \u2018De Caj\u00f3n Project\u2019 was a group of people who used things like school presentations, assemblies, presentations, and week-long workshops in order to teach people about the presence of afro-latinos (specifically afro-peruvians). When it comes to MAS, it didn\u2019t really start out as a program but as a research project of 2013 with other afro-latino artists. It started out as an art and education season but they eventually decided that it would be very effective if turned into a full program after such a positive response from the community. M\u00f3nica\u2019s creativity, and resilience has spread, making it so that many people are able to witness the intricacy of her art as well as its beauty.[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=&#8221;3382&#8243; img_size=&#8221;full&#8221;][vc_separator][\/vc_column][vc_column width=&#8221;1\/3&#8243; css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1639545723969{margin-left: 40px !important;border-left-width: 20px !important;background-color: #f4ead9 !important;}&#8221;][vc_column_text]\n<h6 style=\"text-align: right;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Poem:<\/span> <span style=\"color: #ff6600;\"><b>Continue<\/b><\/span><\/h6>\n<h6 style=\"text-align: right;\"><em><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\"><b>By<\/b><\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Malaya Santiago<\/span> <\/em><\/h6>\n<hr \/>\n<h6 style=\"text-align: right; font-weight: 400;\">We\u2019ve lived in a world where we fight to be heard<\/h6>\n<h6 style=\"text-align: right; font-weight: 400;\">The blood that runs through my veins runs through the streets<\/h6>\n<h6 style=\"text-align: right; font-weight: 400;\">That idea is absolutely absurd<\/h6>\n<h6 style=\"text-align: right; font-weight: 400;\">And all of these events continue to repeat<\/h6>\n<h6 style=\"text-align: right; font-weight: 400;\">Although things can get pretty tough sometimes<\/h6>\n<h6 style=\"text-align: right; font-weight: 400;\">Many continue to live on and create<\/h6>\n<h6 style=\"text-align: right; font-weight: 400;\">Some not even aware of all the crimes<\/h6>\n<h6 style=\"text-align: right; font-weight: 400;\">Some without enough capacity to even hate<\/h6>\n<h6 style=\"text-align: right; font-weight: 400;\">For those who do create in order to fight<\/h6>\n<h6 style=\"text-align: right; font-weight: 400;\">To those who know this is wrong<\/h6>\n<h6 style=\"text-align: right; font-weight: 400;\">You all bring this world a little light<\/h6>\n<h6 style=\"text-align: right; font-weight: 400;\">You keep all of us strong<\/h6>\n<h6 style=\"text-align: right; font-weight: 400;\">We can\u2019t even think about giving up<\/h6>\n<h6 style=\"text-align: right; font-weight: 400;\">Trying is what got us to where we are<\/h6>\n<h6 style=\"text-align: right; font-weight: 400;\">We all need to continue stand up<\/h6>\n<h6 style=\"text-align: right; font-weight: 400;\">And fight because this world is too bizarre<\/h6>\n<h6 style=\"text-align: right; font-weight: 400;\">Under all of this pressure we continue to rise<\/h6>\n<h6 style=\"text-align: right; font-weight: 400;\">Until one day they can only look with big bulging eyes<\/h6>\n[\/vc_column_text][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;20px&#8221;][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1639583329577{background-color: #ffffff !important;}&#8221;][vc_column_inner][vc_single_image image=&#8221;3461&#8243; img_size=&#8221;full&#8221;][vc_single_image image=&#8221;3443&#8243; img_size=&#8221;full&#8221; onclick=&#8221;custom_link&#8221; link=&#8221;https:\/\/movimientoafrolatino.org\/en\/projects\/connecting-more\/por-nuani\/&#8221;][vc_single_image image=&#8221;3436&#8243; img_size=&#8221;full&#8221; onclick=&#8221;custom_link&#8221; link=&#8221;https:\/\/movimientoafrolatino.org\/en\/projects\/connecting-more\/por-nadine\/&#8221;][vc_single_image image=&#8221;3448&#8243; img_size=&#8221;full&#8221; onclick=&#8221;custom_link&#8221; link=&#8221;https:\/\/movimientoafrolatino.org\/en\/projects\/connecting-more\/por-pedro\/&#8221;][vc_single_image image=&#8221;3423&#8243; img_size=&#8221;full&#8221; onclick=&#8221;custom_link&#8221; link=&#8221;https:\/\/movimientoafrolatino.org\/en\/projects\/connecting-more\/por-carmela\/&#8221;][vc_single_image image=&#8221;3491&#8243; img_size=&#8221;full&#8221; onclick=&#8221;custom_link&#8221; link=&#8221;https:\/\/movimientoafrolatino.org\/en\/projects\/connecting-more\/por-alek\/&#8221;][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][\/vc_section][vc_row][vc_column width=&#8221;1\/4&#8243;][vc_single_image image=&#8221;3375&#8243; alignment=&#8221;center&#8221; style=&#8221;vc_box_circle_2&#8243; onclick=&#8221;custom_link&#8221; link=&#8221;https:\/\/movimientoafrolatino.org\/en\/projects\/connecting-more\/malaya-santiago\/&#8221;][\/vc_column][vc_column width=&#8221;1\/4&#8243;][vc_column_text]My name is Malaya Santiago and I was born and raised in Seattle, Washington. I am the oldest of 4 sisters&#8230; <a href=\"\/en\/?page_id=3575\">More<\/a>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[vc_section][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=&#8221;3431&#8243; img_size=&#8221;full&#8221; onclick=&#8221;custom_link&#8221; link=&#8221;https:\/\/movimientoafrolatino.org\/en\/projects\/connecting-more\/&#8221;][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=&#8221;2\/3&#8243;][vc_column_text]Youngest of 5 siblings and born in Lima, Per\u00fa, M\u00f3nica Rojas is an anthropologist who seeks to spread the presence of the afro-latino community with her dance as well as her performances with the caj\u00f3n. M\u00f3nica is actually one of the founders of MAS and has been successful in connecting [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"parent":3788,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-3587","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/movimientoafrolatino.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3587","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/movimientoafrolatino.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/movimientoafrolatino.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movimientoafrolatino.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movimientoafrolatino.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3587"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/movimientoafrolatino.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3587\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4096,"href":"https:\/\/movimientoafrolatino.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3587\/revisions\/4096"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movimientoafrolatino.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3788"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/movimientoafrolatino.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3587"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}