Summer for the City: San Juan Procession

Join Lincoln Center for a unique celebration of the Afro-Venezuelan tradition of honoring San Juan through a “walking procession”: the collaborative ritual of dancing and singing to the beat of drums. The Festival of San Juan was originally a communal practice by enslaved people in the cocoa and coffee plantations in the Caribbean coasts of Venezuela. Though it has been celebrated in Venezuela for hundreds of years and celebrates the summer solstice and the birth of Saint John the Baptist, modern participation in San Juan often acts as a statement of self and pride. This recentering of San Juan in New York City is led by Willie Quintana, director of the Brooklyn musical collective Tambor y Caña. By bringing together historical touchstones, national affiliation, and personal identity, Tambor y Caña acts as a catalyst for a meaningful appreciation of and fresh engagement with Afro-Venezuelan culture.