Latinx Arts Festival & Book Fair 2024

The inaugural Cuentos de Triadas, Latinx Arts Festival and Book Fair, themed “Empowered,” captivated attendees with a three-day immersive Latinx/Hispanic/Afro-Latinx artistic experience. A collaboration of Cuentos de Triadas Inc., LA CASA at Nassau Community College, the Nassau County Office of Hispanic Affairs, Westbury Memorial Public Library, Mujeres que Se Atreven and LILTA, the festival celebrated Latinx culture through vibrant works of local authors, visual artists, musicians, and performers with an enriched program curated by author and educator Adriana Devers.

Three days of programming

The inauguration ceremony took place on Thursday, October 10 at the Westbury Memorial Public Library from 6:00–8:30 PM, where literature, visual arts, music and folklore took the audience through different corners of Latin America and the Caribbean.

Friday, October 11 brought an exclusive student-oriented educational fair at Nassau Community College, serving half a dozen Long Island school districts with interactive workshops and educational activities.

Saturday, October 12, the Arts Festival and Book Fair opened to the public from 10 AM–4 PM at the Nassau Community College CCB building, offering an immersive cultural experience for the whole family.

Guests and program

Renowned guests included author and illustrator Paul Rodriguez, bilingual children's book author Luz Maria Mack, and journalists Eliecer Marte and Deyanira Martinez. A pop-up art exhibit featured works by Long Island artists sharing their perspective of what it means to be “empowered,” among them Clemente Ettrick and Sueey Gutierrez, and Levittown's Salsa Sensation Dance Academy put the body into motion with a dance workshop.

LiberArte's Artist-in-Residence, international Afro-Colombian ensemble Tambacum, was one of the featured guests on Saturday, October 12 at Nassau Community College, followed by a special screening of the film “Afrolatinos, the Untaught Story” by Renzo Devia and Jorge Cano-Moreno highlighting Afro-Latin roots.

The program also included author talks, an art exhibit, a spoken word open mic hosted by Nassau County Poet Laureate Paula Curci and journalist Angie Hernandez, and the closing presentation of NYSCA's grant-funded program “Bearing in Mind, Poems and Vignettes of an Afro-Latina on Long Island” by Devers and musician Juan Uribe.

“Our programming aims to foster artistic expression and provide an educational opportunity that highlights the contributions of Hispanic artists on Long Island, celebrating our cultural traditions, while uplifting our diverse voices,” said Devers.