FLAWA: ¡Aquí Estamos! We Are Here!

What does it mean to be a Latin American woman in London? What issues arise from being labelled as Latinas? Drawing inspiration from oral traditions, performance art, storytelling, and live music, this performance aims to challenge and transform the conventional narratives about women from the Abya Yala, and redefine how we relate to and identify within the city of London.

This event gives a platform to the often unseen and underrepresented creativity that begins in the streets of this busy city, with drumming and spoken work from Las Witchas!, and dance from Somos Chibchas Arts.

Schedule
Dance class with Somos Chibchas: 1pm – 3pm
DJ KIRA: 3pm – 5pm
Las Witchas!: 5pm – 6pm

Somos Chibchas Arts is a Colombian folk dance school preserving, showcasing and sharing Colombia’s rich culture through ancestral traditions, interwoven with Indigenous and African roots. Their activities are designed to benefit the entire community of Colombians and Latin Americans in the UK, from the first generations to their extended relationships in this country, contributing to a more inclusive and enriching social fabric for all.

Kira’s journey into the world of DJing was a natural evolution of her deep-rooted connection to electronic dance music. Raised in Colombia’s rich musical tapestry and drawing inspiration from Latin and Afro-Caribbean sounds and Africa’s rhythmic traditions, Kira weaves together an eclectic array of genres. Resident DJ at Costeño Beach and Baile Sagrado festival since 2021, Kira regularly lights up dance floors in Colombia. Kira’s sets are a fusion of deep, tropical and hard-hitting sonic delights.

Las Witchas! is a music and multidisciplinary arts collective based in London. Created by migrant women from Latin America, Las Witchas! fuse Afro-Latin rhythms with poetry, dance and performance to create and experiment with new sounds. They use memories, personal experiences, shared traditions and ancestral knowledge to create a platform to express and share urgent political and social issues as well as to honour the cultural keepers of our territories.

Curated in collaboration with FLAWA, this weekend showcases the diversity of the Latin American artistic community through music, performances and new proposals, inviting audiences to engage with this versatile culture.

FLAWA is an organisation that works to give visibility to and celebrate art created by women (cisgender, queer, non binary). They strive to create multidisciplinary events for anyone interested in the many angles and trajectories of Latin American culture.

This summer, we’re collaborating with a range of London-based collectives and organisations to curate the Riverside Terrace stage in response to the theme of our season, You Belong Here, enabling these collaborators to welcome different audiences and recognise how they want and choose to belong here at the Southbank Centre.