Welcome to Spirit & Liberation, the podcast where we bridge the sacred and the political, where ancestral wisdom meets the frontlines of organized movement.
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Welcome to Spirit & Liberation, the podcast where we bridge the sacred and the political, where ancestral wisdom meets the frontlines of organized movement.
Bomba, Spiritism, and the Drums of Black Puerto Rican Resistance
Spirit and Liberation
42 minutes 8 seconds
1 month ago
Bomba, Spiritism, and the Drums of Black Puerto Rican Resistance
*English Below*
En el episodio de esta semana de Spirit & Liberation, la conductora Francisca Porchas-Coronado conversa con José Manuel Cepeda Martínez, historiador cultural, bailarín, músico y portador del legado de la Bomba puertorriqueña. Nacido en una familia afropuertorriqueña de artesanos, compositores, cantantes y bailarines, José es hijo de “El Tambor Mayor” Jesús Cepeda Brenes y Sonia Martínez, y nieto de “El Roble Mayor” Don Rafael Cepeda Atiles y Doña Caridad Brenes de Cepeda. Su linaje encarna más de un siglo de tradición ininterrumpida, manteniendo vivos los ritmos, historias y la memoria ancestral de la Bomba en Puerto Rico y su diáspora.
🪘La vida y el trabajo de José honran esta herencia. Desde impartir talleres de Bomba para niños puertorriqueños y dominicanos en St. Thomas, hasta participar en intercambios culturales como la gira Dos Alas junto a AfroCuba de Matanzas, y actualmente en su papel como historiador e investigador con la Sociedad Histórica de Villa Palmeras, José sigue elevando la historia de San Mateo de Cangrejos (Santurce) y su importancia para la identidad negra puertorriqueña.
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In this week’s episode of Spirit & Liberation, host Francisca Porchas-Coronado is joined by José Manuel Cepeda Martínez, a cultural historian, dancer, musician, and bearer of Puerto Rico’s Bomba legacy. Born into an Afro–Puerto Rican family of artisans, composers, singers, and dancers, José is the son of “El Tambor Mayor” Jesús Cepeda Brenes and Sonia Martínez, and the grandson of “El Roble Mayor” Don Rafael Cepeda Atiles and Doña Caridad Brenes de Cepeda. His lineage embodies more than a century of uninterrupted tradition, keeping alive the rhythms, stories, and ancestral memory of Bomba across Puerto Rico and the diaspora.
🪘José’s life work honors this inheritance. From teaching Bomba workshops for Puerto Rican and Dominican children in St. Thomas, to participating in cultural exchanges like the Dos Alas tour alongside AfroCuba de Matanzas, to his role as historian and researcher with the Villa Palmeras Historical Society, José continues to uplift the history of San Mateo de Cangrejos (Santurce) and its enduring significance for Black Puerto Rican identity.
Spirit and Liberation
Welcome to Spirit & Liberation, the podcast where we bridge the sacred and the political, where ancestral wisdom meets the frontlines of organized movement.
