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    Thursday, October 31, 2024

    Old Lyme church to celebrate Juneteenth with Afro-Cuban music

    Old Lyme ― The First Congregational Church of Old Lyme will celebrate Juneteenth with performances by the Román Díaz Rumba Ensemble, Lázaro Galarraga and Sandy Perez during its 10 a.m. worship service on Sunday.

    The public is invited to attend “Where the River Meets the Sound: A Celebration of Sacred Afro-Cuban Music in Old Lyme.”

    Senior Minister Steven Jungkeit said the event is meant to bring attention to Old Lyme’s connection to both the Caribbean and Africa from its earliest history.

    “Román, Lázaro and Sandy, together with the entire ensemble, can help us to imagine the rhythms, life patterns and divinities that may well have found a home in this place long ago, here where the Connecticut River meets the Long Island Sound,” he said.

    Román Díaz is a master percussionist, specializing in the Batá drums. He is a scholar of Cuban religious and folkloric music, as well as a composer and performer of contemporary Afro-Cuban and jazz music. The worldwide performer has appeared in the United States at venues including Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center and the Smithsonian Museum.

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