30th Annual Arturo Schomburg Symposium
We Will Not Hide: Spirituality as Resilience and Resistance
Feb. 27: Reception | 5:30PM - 8PM
at the African American Museum | Pay what you wish
Feb. 28: Symposium | 9AM - 5PM
at Taller Puertorriqueño | $10
The 30th Annual Arturo Schomburg Symposium traces how African-descended peoples, both enslaved and free, have sustained cultures and liberation struggles through rich, dynamic, spiritual, and religious expressions.
As the United States commemorates the Semiquincentennial in 2026, Taller Puertorriqueño’s guiding theme, “We Will Not Hide,” draws inspiration from the 1976 “Sin Colonias March” in Philadelphia—also called the “People’s Bicentennial”—which united over 40,000 African Americans, Indigenous activists, Puerto Ricans, and allies in a powerful demonstration of solidarity and resistance to a narrative that ignores their presence, needs, and contributions. This historic coalition serves as a touchstone for the symposium’s commitment to visibility, dignity, and self-determination. The Schomburg Symposium will kick off this year’s programming.
The Schomburg Symposium has, for the past 29 years, presented critical, celebratory, and reflective perspectives from the Latine, Latin American, African American, and AfroLatine communities, featuring leading scholars, activists, artists, and community voices.
This event will be live streamed for free. Sign up to receive a link on the day of the event.
Programming Schedule
Opening Event: February 27 | 5:30pm - 8pm at the African American Museum
This event is pay what you wish
6:00PM Capoeira Demonstration & Workshop with Mestre Cobra Mansa
Symposium Schedule: February 28 | 9am - 5pm at taller puertorriqueño
$10 Ticket entry
9:00am Light Breakfast and Coffee
9:30am Introductions, Libations & Welcome
9:45am Presentation: Mestre Cobra Mansa - Master of Capoeira Angola
Cinézio Feliciano Peçanha is a master of capoeira Angola, graduated by Mestre Moraes (1986). He graduated in Physical Education from the Catholic University of Salvador (1993) and holds a PhD from the multidisciplinary Postgrad programme of Knowledge Dissemination at the Federal University of Bahia (DMMDC/UFBA, 2019), with the thesis Gingando on the Kalunga line: Capoeira Angola, Engolo and building of ancestrality.
Master Cobra Mansa, or Cobrinha, as he is also called, is a researcher in African martial arts and musical bows, Bantu culture, Bakongo cosmology, identity and ancestry. In addition to his experience in capoeira Angola, he works in the areas of agroecology, permaculture, bioconstruction, agroforestry and community organization. He currently promotes Permangola, an event that combines his interests in permaculture and capoeira.
10:25am
Presentation: Alexandra St. Tellien - Manbó & PhD Student of African American Studies at Emory University
Alexandra St Tellien is a Haitian PhD student of African American Studies at Emory University and is both a Woodruff Fellow and Centennial Scholar. She is from Gonaïves, Haiti and a Manbo (Vodou priestess) in northern Vodou’s Tcha-Tcha/Deka Lineage. With a B.A. in Linguistics from the University of Florida and an M.A. in Anthropology (linguistic) from Georgia State University, her areas of interest are Indigenous African and African heritage religious traditions at the intersection of language, culture, and semiotics and African derived ritual and sacred languages and communications as a body of knowledge. Alexandra’s doctoral research, supported by the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow Program (NSF GRFP), investigates Langaj (Haitian Vodou ritual language) as a language of devotion that connects Vodouvi (devotees) to various West and Central African communities and lineages in deep and meaningful ways. Her work aims to powerfully narrate the African legacies and cultures rooted in Vodou and charge the African Diaspora with the mission of Sankɔfa.
Between 2021-2022, Alexandra was a Fulbright U.S. Student in Grand-Bassam, Côte d’Ivoire. Alexandra also served as a Curatorial Research Assistant Intern at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. She currently serves as a Junior Council Member for KOSANBA, the Scholarly Association for the Study of Haitian Vodou, and a Fulbright U.S. Student Alumni Ambassador.
11:10am
Presentation: Rene González - Ifa Priest, Sworn Omo Aña, & Omo Odu
Rene Gonzalez is an Ifa priest, consecrated in Marianao, Cuba in 2011, and a consecrated son of Shango. He is also a sworn Omo Aña (sacred drummer of the Aña brotherhood) and an Omo Odu (the highest rank in the Lukumi Ifa religion). In 2026, he will celebrate 15 years of Ifa consecration and dedicated study of the religion, including more than 12 trips to Cuba for fieldwork and ritual research, as well as YouTube interviews with renowned Ifa priests such as Antonio Sevilla and Lazaro Cuestas, among others. He is currently the founder of the important WhatsApp discussion group, “Universidad de Ifa” (University of Ifa), which brings together more than 173 Babalawos from across the Americas and several European countries.
Additionally, Rene Gonzalez holds a Bachelor of Laws degree and a Master of Arts degree in Political Science and International Relations from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He is the son of renowned musician/guitarist/cuatro player Jose Gonzalez and has had a musical career performing with artists such as Grammy winners Giovanni Hidalgo, William Cepeda, Jorge Gomez (Tiempo Libre), Jason Miles, Bill Harley, singer Ray de La Paz, Domingo Quiñones, cuatro prodigy Claudio, Antonio Caban Vale (El Topo), Roy Brown, Tito Auger, Cultura Profetica, among others.
In addition to his formal work with Ifa and music, Rene Gonzalez creates content on his YouTube and TikTok channels about Ifa, informally sharing his opinions on various topics related to Afro-descendant religions, and works as a social worker with senior citizens for a non-profit agency in Springfield, MA.
12:10am
Orisha / Santos – An Artistic Interpretation of the Seven African Powers gallery visit with artist Jorge Luis Rodríguez
Jorge Luis Rodriguez brings back an immersive investigation and recreation of a seminal installation first presented at the Museum of Contemporary Hispanic Art (MoCHA) in 1985. Rodriguez (b. 1944, Puerto Rico) explored the spiritual and cultural intersections of Afro-Caribbean traditions in Orisha/Santos: An Artistic Interpretation of the Seven African Powers (Orisha/Santos). Groundbreaking at the time of its creation, the installation emerged from a collaborative effort between Charles Abramson (d. 1988) and Rodriguez, two artists working at the forefront of the installation and land art movements of the 1970s.
1:25pm Lunch break
Attendants will be able to take a break to eat provided lunch.
2:15pm
Q&A Session with Morning Presenters
3:00pm
Afternoon Panel Discussion with Jorge Luis Rodríguez, Yoanny Aldaya, Andrés Cisneros, Rev. Roberto Luis Lugo, & Nilda Mercedes Peraza
Jorge Luis Rodríguez - Featured Artist
Jorge Luis Rodriguez (b. 1944, San Juan, Puerto Rico) is a pioneering multidisciplinary artist whose career bridges minimalism, site-specific installation, and Afro-Caribbean cultural expression. After moving to New York in 1963, Rodriguez absorbed the city’s emerging art movements—minimalism, optical art, and later, environmental art—before “abandoning the canvas” to pursue sculpture in the 1970s.
Yoanny Aldaya - Visual Artist
Aldaya’s practice melds religious iconography, both formally and metaphorically, with an affinity for theatricality and self-hybridization. His art ultimately positions the body as a contested site where individual, social, political, and cultural identities are forged.
Andrés Cisneros - Acclaimed Percussionist
Andrés is a professional musician and Teaching Artist specializing in Afro-Caribbean and South American hand percussion. Born and raised in Caracas, Venezuela, he began his lifelong musical journey after immigrating to the U.S., connecting deeply with his African roots.
After completing his studies in Puerto Rico, he moved to Philadelphia in 2008 and co-founded the Latin Jazz percussion duo TIMBALONA, collaborating with diverse artists and expanding Latin American rhythmic traditions.
Today, Andrés balances performing with full-time music education. He founded and developed the K–6 World Music and Arts curriculum at Independence Charter School West and works as a freelance percussionist and educator, leading workshops and creating programs for organizations across the Philadelphia area.
Rev. Roberto Luis Lugo-Morciglio
Rev. Robertoluis Lugo-Morciglio was born in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico. In 1974 he emigrated to New York City. In 1975 he began his university studies at the Eugenio Maria de Hostos Community College (CUNY). There, he was an active part of the student movement and directed for two years the college newspaper (ECO de Hostos). He continues his studies at Lehman University. In 1989 he finished his degree in Theology and Political Science at Nayck College, NY. In 1993 he moved to the city of Philadelphia to continue his graduate studies at the Eastern Baptist Seminary (today Palmer Seminary) where he completed a master’s degree in Theology and Pastoral Care. In 1999 he began his doctoral studies at the Centro de Estudios Graduados de Puerto Rico y el Caribe and 2005 completed his postgraduate courses. In 2001 he was ordained to the Christian ministry. In August 2018, Kyrios University (Buenos Aires, Argentina) awarded him a doctoral degree in theology and history. Rev. Dr. Lugo is currently part of the academic faculty of Didaque Institute, based in Buenos Aires. Currently, he is the President of the National Puerto Rican Agenda, Pennsylvania chapter. He is also pastoring a Christian group, Comunidad del Reino de Dios, and is a recognized community leader in the city of Philadelphia. Rev. Dr. Lugo has a solid 35-year marriage with Nydia Lugo, who also is a recognized servant for the Latino community in Philadelphia.
Nilda Mercedes Peraza - Cultural Professional in the Arts & Museum Management
Nilda Mercedes Peraza is a cultural leader with over 35 years of experience in arts and museum management in New York City and Puerto Rico.
She began her career in the Bronx in the 1970s and went on to co-found and later direct Cayman Gallery (1976), the first SoHo space dedicated to Puerto Rican artists. She expanded its mission to include Latin American artists, supporting over 300 creatives and advancing multicultural representation in the arts. In 1985, she transformed the gallery into the Museum of Contemporary Hispanic Art (MoCHA), a pioneering institution highlighting Hispanic artists in the U.S.
Peraza has curated and collaborated on major exhibitions, including The Decade Show in New York, and represented the U.S. in international biennials. After returning to Puerto Rico in 1993, she held leadership roles at the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture and developed initiatives focused on African heritage and Puerto Rican identity. She now resides in Central Florida.
3:40pm
Q&A Session with Panelists
4:00pm
Closing Performance
Moderators
Evelyne Laurent-Perrault - PhD, UCSB History Department, Retired
Currently an Assistant Professor at University of California in Santa Barbara, Evelyne is well-known to this symposium as a founder, and an Afro-Latina activist and scholar, born and raised in Venezuela from Haitian and Venezuelan parents. She has studied, lived, and traveled through Europe, Africa, Latin America, North America, and the Caribbean. She has a Licenciatura (Licentiate) Degree in Biology from the Central de Venezuela, her PhD from the History Department, New York University’s (NYU) African Diaspora program in Latin America and the Caribbean. She has presented at various universities and conferences in the United States and abroad, and has been the recipient of several fellowships. While on staff at Taller Puertorriqueño, Evelyne conceived the Annual Arturo Schomburg Symposium. Currently she is an Executive Board Member of the Association for the Study of the Worldwide African Diaspora (ASWAD).
Alba Natalia Seda Morales - Faculty of UAGM, Doctor of Physical Therapy Program
Born in Caguas, Puerto Rico. The daughter of a percussionist and a history teacher. Graduate from the Sports Specialized School at the Olympic Training Center in Salinas, Puerto Rico. Completed a BS in General Sciences from University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Campus in 2005 and a Doctorate in Physical Therapy from Temple University in 2010. Worked at Moss Rehab Amputation and Prosthetics Program in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania until 2024. Now Dr. Seda is part of the Core Faculty of UAGM Doctor of Physical Therapy Program in San Juan Puerto Rico. Alba has been part of the Arturo Schoburg organizing committee since 2016.
The opening event on Friday February 27 is pay what you wish. The Symposium on Saturday February 28 is $10 for entry online or at the door
