Read the full article by Marie-Elena Schembri at RAM’s New Times Magazine
Latin music and incense welcomed attendees to the Washington Neighborhood Center, where the second annual Chicha Fest was held on March 28 and 29. Inside, people danced, sang and socialized while sipping chicha de maíz, a sweet corn-based South American beverage from totumas (small fruit-shell cups).
For co-organizer Lorena Rodriguez, a Colombian artist, actor and cultural practitioner, the two-day Chicha Fest was more than a celebration of fermented beverages; it was a way to honor community, diversity and resist the historical persecution of indigenous traditions like chicha-making.
Chicha, made from diverse recipes including corn, rice or yucca, is common across South and Central America where it has indigenous roots. Sarawi Andrango, an Ecuadorian Kayambi poet and writer — and mentor to Rodriguez — spoke at the festival about chicha’s long history of persecution and the importance of sustaining indigenous cultural practices.