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Expressing Diversity and Art in Ways

We Haven’t Imagined

Some places start from scratch or from an idea. Michael Esposito helped build the foundation for Raices Culturales Latinoamericanas with bricks that never quite came together before. After nearly 10 years of being exposed to different Latino American folklore groups, “Raices” was born.

The founder and board president received his bachelor’s degree in international relations at St. Joseph’s and received the Fulbright grant to study in Columbia in 1981. Over the course of the year, Esposito was exposed to various types of music and was fascinated by the diversity within the culture in Colombia. He came back to Philadelphia and saw much of the same cultural differences within the local Latin American community.

“In the late '80s I started realizing there were a bunch of little groups that were trying to perform different parts of the folklore,” Esposito said. “I was really surprised with the number of countries represented here in Philadelphia,”

Many of the groups in the community did not have a lot of staying power and were barely promoted. Recognizing the problem, Esposito helped form a coalition with the groups to try to establish some structure. This is what led to the formation of Raices Culturales Latinoamericanas in 1991 and the organization continues to help small group today. Local performance groups receive assistance from “Raices” on little things such as writing narratives or advice on how to get a project or performance on the right track. Raices also gets groups their 501(c)(3) status, which allows groups to be recognized by the IRS as a charitable, non-profit organization.

With the community in mind, Esposito recognized the need for understanding the culture. There is a heavy emphasis on narration during the performance and sometimes it isn’t enough to explain what is going on in the show.

Michael Esposito in front of one of the many reasons to smile in Hartranft

“Our mission is to increase public awareness of the beauty and diversity inherent in Latin American traditional culture through music and dance performances and educational programs,” says Esposito as he recites Raices Culturales’ mission statement.

The idea is to have the performance art and cultural education go hand in hand. Many times people will come see a program and the performance alone will barely scratch the surface.

“We’d always have some sort of narrative or explanation as to what they were doing, that’s always been something that we believed in,” he adds. “You don’t just throw stuff out there without any kind of explanation.”

Because there is only so much time for the presentations, many will walk away with an impression of the piece but desire to learn more. Esposito says Raices needs “to have more to offer them if they come to you.”

Because there is only so much time for the presentations, many will walk away with an impression of the piece but desire to learn more. Esposito says Raices needs “to have more to offer them if they come to you.”

Programs are offered at Raices and at various Latino schools within the community. Esposito pointed out that Yolanda Alcorta, executive director and board member of Raíces Culturales Latinoamericanas, uses hands-on activities for the students to help them learn as well as experience their culture first hand.

But education isn’t just for the students. Esposito travels the world to see and experience the many different cultures up close. He recently returned from Trinidad which hosted the Ninth Caribbean Festival of Arts (CARIFESTA IX), a festival that, as he puts it, “there so many things going on, it’d be impossible to keep up with them.” He also frequently visits Colombia and travels to Spain and other countries to learn more.

The art on the wall represents the harmony between music and dance

“For us, it’s important to learn how people practice their traditions nowadays,” he says in reference to how some things within separate cultures may have changed with the times.

Esposito also benefits from a personal standpoint with the learning experience because he feels it equips him “to acquire more concepts and more information; learn more that I can share with other people.” This will help enable him to be more effective to the mission of promoting art and enlightening people of new possibilities.

Raíces Culturales Latinoamericanas stands for “Latin American Cultural Roots.” Esposito’s experience has helped make the local Latino American community in Philadelphia have a stronger bond with each other and those roots. He continues to work behind the scenes to develop ideas to showcase the culture in better and more vibrant ways.