The V Afrobrix, the first Italian festival dedicated to people of African descent, will be held in Brescia from September 6 to 8 and from November 15 to 17
On December 23, 2013, the United Nations General Assembly approved by resolution 68/237 the International Decade for People of African Descent (2015-2024) with the theme “People of African Descent: Recognition, Justice and Development”, with which the UN sought recognize that “people of African descent represent a specific group whose human rights must be promoted and protected.” In this context, the first edition of the Afrobrix festival was held in 2019, whose mission is “on the one hand, to develop multiculturalism, understood as multiple cultural and identity belonging and, on the other, to promote inclusion and interaction between second-class communities.” generation and the citizens of Brescia. From this festival, in 2021 the Afrobrix Center was born, an “Afro-European Intercultural Laboratory” that constitutes a completely new experience in Italy in which production, research, design and meeting of people and ideas are integrated, in short, ” a place of experimentation that encourages artistic, creative and cultural contamination.
Now, in 2024, the Afrobrix festival celebrates five years. Organized by the Comboni Missionaries-Nigrizia Foundation in collaboration with multiple civil society organizations and public institutions, it is divided into two parts. The first, which will take place between September 6 and 8, will be dedicated primarily to the musical section. The second, scheduled between November 15 and 17, will focus on cinema, theater and art. The objective is, therefore, to “value all Afro-descendant and Afro-European realities based on the sociocultural context in which they live”, while expressing “the beauty and importance of Afro-descendence as a heterogeneous, multiform and complex social component.” , as a force capable of enriching and transforming culture, art and societies as a whole.
The festival, which will open its doors every day at 6:30 p.m. with DJ Eddy and will close daily with a jam sessionwill feature the first performance on September 6 at 8:30 p.m. by Big Boa, an Italian rapper born in Palermo. After her performance, Samia, a Roman artist who has already sung in several European cities, will take the stage. To end the first day, Trio Brazuka, made up of Brazilian and Congolese artists, will propose a mix of styles from both continents.
On September 7, there will be four artists who will take the stage starting at 8:30 p.m.: Thoé, Em, Yusbwoi and Epoque. From hip hop, through afrobeatuntil the R’N’B soul, You will hear songs that, in some cases, add up to half a million views on music platforms. And finally, on Sunday, September 8, there will be three more artists who will share styles as diverse as beat electronic, melodic pop and moroccan’roll with roots in the musical tradition of the Gnawa of Morocco. The group Bantukemistry, the Egyptian singer Nasser and the Jedbalak group will be in charge of all this.
In addition to the musical proposal, during the three days of Afrobrix there will also be numerous food and wine stalls with locally grown African agricultural products. Among others, there will be typical cuisine from Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso and Ghana. Along with the gastronomic offer, various accessories will be available such as clothing, shoes, bags with typical African fabrics, essential oils, shea butter, coconut oil and cocoa butter. In short, Afrobrix will seek to celebrate during these three days in the city of Brescia the diversity and richness of African culture in Europe, mainly through second-generation Afro-descendant artists. This initiative is also a way to address the three pillars of the UN decade of African descent. It is about recognizing the cultural presence of African heritage, doing justice to the importance of these contributions to our society, and being a support in the development of these cultural proposals for a richer and more diverse Europe.
