Silver Spring, MD (August 2, 2024) – After being told repeatedly that she didn’t look Puerto Rican, Dahlma Llanos-Figueroa committed to telling the stories of Africans and their descendants in Puerto Rico through historical fiction. VidaAfrolatina, an international women’s fund, will honor this award-winning, Afro-Puerto Rican author at the virtual fundraiser Celebrating Our Griots on August 3, 2024, at 2 pm Eastern.

Through meticulous research and captivating writing, Llanos-Figueroa recreates in vivid detail the realities of plantation life in Puerto Rico. Her novels lovingly venerate the collective pain and resilience of enslaved people. VidaAfrolatina is paying tribute to her because she champions the voices and lives of the ancestors whose legacy our grantee partners carry forward today.

“To understand the socio-economic realities of people of African descent today in Puerto Rico, and by extension all of the Americas, we must face the brutal history of slavery. It’s where the roots of today’s intersectional, systemic racial and gender discrimination lay,” says VidaAfrolatina Executive Director Lori Robinson. 

“In the tradition of the greatest artists, Dahlma Llanos-Figueroa unleashes uncomfortable truths. Her work guides our contemporary journeys toward wholeness and transformation,” Robinson says. “Dahlma must be recognized as a treasure not only of Puerto Rico, but of the entire African and Latin American diasporas.”

At Celebrating Our Griots, Llanos-Figueroa will read from her latest novel, “A Woman of Endurance” and dialogue about her craft. VidaAfrolatina’s grantee partner in Puerto Rico, Colectivo Ilé, will present a tribute. La Escuelita Bombera De Corazón will share the rhythms of bomba, Puerto Rica’s African-heritage music created in the 17th century. In addition, attendees will learn about the work of VidaAfrolatina’s grantee partners. 

For more information, visit VidaAfrolatina’s event website. To attend Celebrating Our Griots, reserve a space at our event registration page.