Afro-Latin Festival: A Homecoming in Cali

Imagine a place where the rhythm of drums echoes across generations, where melanin shines in every hue, and where culture, memory, and tradition are celebrated with unbridled passion. This is the El Petronio Álvarez Festival, the largest Afro-Latin music festival in the Spanish-speaking world, and for writer Kayla Zapata Fory, it became the backdrop for a profound homecoming.

A Journey Back to Roots

This year, Fory attended the festival in Cali, Colombia, with her father, marking their first return to his hometown together in over two decades. For Fory, an avid traveler, this trip was more than just another stamp in her passport; it was a chance to guide her father back to the place he left behind when he immigrated to the U.S. in the 1980s. She described the experience as a homecoming, taking on the role of guide for the man who had always guided her.

For her father, the visit was a cherished opportunity to reconnect with his siblings and his past. It wasn’t about revisiting old wounds, but simply about being present and enjoying the freedom of being a tourist in his own city. Simple joys like savoring aborrajados (fried sweet plantain stuffed with cheese) and getting massages became meaningful moments, a rare gift after years of distance. Fory felt immense gratitude for the chance to give back to the father who worked tirelessly to provide her with the life she now leads.

Bridging Generations and Experiences

Fory contrasted her life, built around joy and saying ‘yes’ to experiences, with her father’s journey, which was marked by hard work and sacrifice. Walking through Cali and Santander de Quilichao with him, she saw his origin story unfold. He showed her the soccer fields where he played, the coaches who influenced him, and the farm where his work ethic was forged—an ethic that eventually allowed her to grow up in the tech-centric Bay Area.

The contrast was stark: her father faced limited opportunities and instability in Cali during the rise of drug cartels, while she grew up in the prosperous Bay Area. Her own career in tech often placed her in rooms where she was the only Black or Latina person, fueling her passion to amplify creators of color and address the lack of representation for the Black Colombian experience.

Resilience, Joy, and Defiance

The El Petronio Festival itself symbolized progress and resilience. Fory noted that a quarter of a million people gathered safely, a stark contrast to the conflict-ridden times her father experienced. The festival celebrated the enduring spirit of Africa, carried through music and dance. The ‘fuga,’ a dance whose name references fugitives, was highlighted as a powerful example. Its movements, once used by enslaved people to escape undetected, are now a dance of survival and defiance, transforming the circle into a shield and a stage.

This collective celebration mirrored the healing Fory witnessed within her own family. Sharing moments of joy, laughter, and dance with her father and his sister, Tía Betty, brought a deep sense of healing after years of separation. Seeing her father embrace joy and celebration after decades of hard work was, for Fory, its own form of homecoming.