“People of all Colors: Four Colombian Regions,” will include Colombian folkloric dances rooted in Indigenous, African, and Spanish traditions. The event commemorates Delia Zapata Olivella, who founded the Fundación Delia Zapata Olivella Palenque in the 1940s. Delia studied under Katherine Dunham in the US. Her troupe traveled the world visiting Peking, Paris, Moscow spreading the knowledge of Colombia’s African and Indigenous popular culture through its music and dance traditions. Her school of dance has been internationally recognized for researching and teaching these traditions in Colombia and the world. Her daughter, Edelmira Massa Zapata, now directs the Fundación Delia Zapata Olivella and is commemorating her mother and her global legacy.

Vanderbilt University‘s Library now hosts the Delia Zapata Olivella archives, a diverse collection that has been preserved and recently digitized and made openly accessible. It includes her personal papers, scrapbooks of worldwide travels, manuscripts of dance steps, interviews, and audio-visual materials. In an effort to share this remarkable Afro-Colombian and indigenous collection, Vanderbilt CLACX supports visiting researchers from Colombia and elsewhere. These resources have served as a basis for the Foundation’s creative works, costumes, and interpretations and while at Vanderbilt the group will explore and help curate the materials in the archive in Special Collections.

The company will also visit the National Museum of African American Music (thank you, Vanderbilt Local!), conduct a master class at the Global Education Center (Tuesday, March 26 at 7 p.m.), and provide presentations to students, faculty, and the Vanderbilt University Libraries before traveling to IU Indianapolis for additional performances.

These events and cultural exchanges offer Vanderbilt University a special opportunity to experience Colombian traditions and appreciate the cultural richness of Colombia!

Tickets are recommended but not mandatory for entry. Free parking is available at the Vanderbilt West Parking Garage located at 24th Ave. South.