Fatou Kamara and her parents, from Gambia and Senegal, were the only Black family in a small mountain town in Catalonia, Spain. She recalls feeling “isolated” because no other family resembled hers.
So when she moved to Madrid and experienced her first Conciencia Afro festival, she said, “Wow.”
“I saw that there were people doing this kind of festival and making connections between us, between the community,” said Kamara, smiling. “I think it’s very interesting and enriching,” That’s one of the reasons why Conciencia Afro was founded in 2016 — to create and celebrate community for the 700,000 to 1.3 million Black people in Spain, according to a 2021 report by the Spanish Ministry of Equality.
Conciencia Afro is one of the biggest Afro cultural organizations in Madrid. In 2022, the organization, which is funded by member donations, opened a permanent center in the Arganzuela district to recognize Afro-Spanish communities. The center hosts activities such as political seminars, cultural workshops and kizomba dance classes.
The free festival. which lasts two days, is Conciencia Afro’s most popular event.
“A dream would be that this festival expands to wherever there is a large Afro population,” said director and co-founder, Yeison García López, of Colombian descent. “There should not only be a festival in Madrid, but in Murcia, Almeria and Bilbao.”
At this year’s celebration, held in October, 16 vendors sold hair products, art pieces, jewelry, and traditional West African garments. About 7,000 people attended, said López.
Dendê Crafts is a handmade brand created by Denise Fontoura, a Brazilian business owner who lives in Estonia. She makes T-shirts, bags and art pieces that represent diverse Afro-Brazilian cultures. Fontoura traveled across Europe to participate as a vendor at this year’s celebration. “For the things that I do, this is the perfect audience, and this experience is something that I have been missing a lot,” she said.
During the festival, the Nigerian Women’s Association performed a traditional dance using the sekere, a musical instrument made out of a gourd covered in dried beads. Various workshops about hair and the history of African and Black European diasporas were organized.
“They are teaching us how to take care of our hair, but also how it is important to love ourselves and the way our hair grows,” said Fontoura. “It’s not that easy still for many kids.”
Connecting through history
According to the Organization of Cultural Diplomacy, the African Diaspora includes Afro-Caribbeans, Afro-Latinos, and African Americans, and other groups who are descendants of enslaved West and Central Africans.
Marina Gomes Gutierrez started going to the festival about seven years ago after being informed by a book club vendor. She looked at her mom and told her, “Wow, this is so cool.”
The festival allowed her to connect with known Black activists such as Moha Gerehou, Lucía Mbomio, and Rubén H. Bermúdez (co-founder of Consciencia Afro), whom she admired.
“I was excited to have a festival for Black people; that never happened in Spain as I know of,” said Gutierrez.
Five years later, Gutierrez launched her own handmade clothing brand, Nanke, which transformed her relationship with Conciencia Afro.
“It’s a great way to showcase my brand and what I do,” said Gutierrez as rhythmic Afro beats music played in the background by DJ Oumoukala, of Mauritian descent. “I feel so grateful to have the opportunity to present my pieces.”
Guirirrez draws inspiration from traditional Guinea Bissau culture, such as the carnival. She mainly sews and crochets her pieces, with prices ranging from 15 to 400 euros. Her designs are a modern take on traditional African patterns and colors from the country.
“As a mixed person who was born and raised in Spain with a father from Guinea-Bissau, I have to honor that,” she said. That’s my blood, heritage, and story too.”
Zira Rivera started her journey with Conciencia Afro by volunteering as a content creator last year. “I am from Puerto Rico, and finding an Afro community here has been amazing,” said Rivera. “It gives me a sense of belonging seeing people that look like me enjoy diversity inside cultures.”
This year, Rivera is the new community manager for the organization. “The people that came last year are still coming — from Valencia, Barcelona and a lot of places.”
This growth reached the Black and African Student Union at SLU-Madrid, which shared Conciencia Afro events with members. Pierrelza Jean Louis, a Haitian-American student studying psychology, attended the festival. “Being able to experience the Black culture here in Madrid is very rare,” said Louis. “And to see the diversity in that spot was great. It helped me with my projects and knowledge about Spanish and Afro-Spanish cultures.”
