Alfred University students and professor attend ‘Cumbre Afro 2022’ in Puerto Rico
Two Alfred University students and Dr. Marissel Hernández Romero, professor of Spanish, attended Cumbre Afro 2022, an international summit for Afro-diasporic educators, activists, and artists from around the world.
Two Alfred University students and Dr. Marissel Hernández Romero, professor of Spanish, attended Cumbre Afro 2022, an international summit for Afro-diasporic educators, activists, and artists from around the world.
“The event gathers together experts including scholars, activists, public figures, writers, and politicians to share their knowledge and experience as Black or Afrodescendant,” Hernández Romero explained. She accompanied seniors Lorraine Cueba Gomez and Franklin Perez to Cumbre Afro, held March 21-27 in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Their attendance was underwritten by the Bernstein Fund for Faculty and Student Development, a program supported by Alfred University alumni, Trustee Gene Bernstein ’69 and Pamela Bernstein ’71.
Organizers characterize Cumbre Afro as “a unifying event which aspires to become an international meeting point for the creation of alliances, to share Afro knowledge in the Spanish-speaking Afro-diasporic world.” Cumbre Afro 2022 served to inaugurate the recently established program on Afrodescendant and Racialization Studies at the University of Puerto Rico’s Rio Piedras Campus. Organizers describe the mission of the event as creating a “transition from denouncing racism to repairing racism” through education.
Activities at Cumbre Afro featured various forums, workshops and presentations, on topics including race, cinema, entrepreneurship, music, poetry and writing, and the arts.
Gomez and Perez are both Alfred University seniors who were born in the Dominican Republic. Gomez double-majors in criminal justice and sociology and minors in Spanish; Perez is a business administration major with a minor in marketing.
Gomez said she and Perez spent time volunteering at Cumbre Afro, helping coordinators with setting up stages used for events and activities; and providing directions for visitors and panelists. “The event was held at a Puerto Rican university, so we were able to learn about the university’s history and students,” she said.
“We helped with the organization of the event,” Perez added. “For me this was an amazing experience because I had never seen such a united community and how much they were all willing to give to see a change in the world and to stop racism.”
Hernández Romero participated in a presentation with Edna Lilliano Valencia Murillo, a Colombian journalist/activist who served as a consultant for the Disney movie “Encanto.”
The group from Alfred University had a chance to sightsee in San Juan and the surrounding area. One highlight was meeting and visiting with Epsy Campbell Barr, the first Black female vice-president of Costa Rica and just the second in the Americas (after Viola Burnham, late vice president of Guyana).
Gomez said the group attended a concert performed by Peruvian singer-songwriter Susana Baca. “We visited Old San Juan and saw the San Felipe del Morro Castle,” she said, adding that they visited local restaurants—including the iconic La Casita Blanca—and were able to compare the Puerto Rican cuisine to that from her and Perez’s native Dominican Republic. “It gave us a decent insight on the Puerto Rican culture and its people.”
“I personally fell in love with this event and if I’m ever given a chance of attending another Cumbre Afro, I wouldn’t think twice,” Perez added.
Shown in photo above: Dr. Marissel Hernández Romero, professor of Spanish (center), with students Franklin Perez and Lorraine Cueba Gomez outside La Casita Blanca restaurant in San Juan, Puerto Rico.