Event: Joe Bataan, the Afro-Filipino King of Latin Soul

“Latin soul comes straight from the streets of Harlem. It’s a cha-cha backbeat with English lyrics and a pulsating rhythm that makes your feet come alive.”
— Joe Bataan

Come learn about the power of music to move people—to get us on our feet and across borders of race, geography, class, language, and culture. The intersecting lines of heritage in Joe Bataan’s music and identity offer a unique entry point into the lives and community commitments of the civil rights movement and a deeper understanding of the American experience. Born and raised in Spanish Harlem to a Filipino father and an African American mother, Joe Bataan symbolizes the dynamic intersections between Afro-Asian-Latino histories and cultural forms.

Join us for a public discussion featuring Joe Bataan, activist and performer Nobuko Miyamoto, and African American Studies scholar Dr. Jeffrey O.G. Ogbar. With them we revisit the political and cultural ferment and collaboration of the late 1960s and 1970s in New York City when groups such as the Black Panther Party, the Young Lords Party, Asian Americans for Action, and El Comité contributed to dynamic social justice movements, catalyzed largely by young people, which inspired cultural pride, creativity, and activism. Miguel “Mickey” Melendez, author and former member of the Young Lords, will moderate the discussion.

Related Links

• 10/19/12 – Huffington Post Latino Voices: Joe Bataan, Boogaloo Legend, To Perform At Smithsonian
• 10/17/12 - Nobuko Miyamoto in Smithsonian Magazine by Joann Stevens: Arts Righting History
• 10/09/12 – Official Smithsonian Press Release
• Download the PDF flyer
• Download a high-res version of the image
• Video: Joe Bataan Live at CBE Cologne
• Video: Drawing the Line – Nobuko Miyamoto (by the Watase Media Arts Center at the Japanese American National Museum)
• Video: Jeffrey O.G. Ogbar on the art of hip-hop

Parking info:
Please click here to download a PDF for more details on where to park at the Smithsonian.

Funding for this program is provided by the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Program, Smithsonian Latino Center, National Museum of African American History and Culture, Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, Americans All: The Immigration/Migration Initiative at the Smithsonian, Smithsonian Consortium for Understanding the American Experience, and the Smithsonian Asian-Latino Project of the Smithsonian Latino Initiatives Pool.