we believe in a life of freedom, joy, light and good dancing but most of all we believe you deserve to dance and express yourself unapologetically!
In 2017 Angelica and Jahaira co-founded In Lak’ech Dance Academy. The first Queer, Trans, and Ally, Salsa & Bachata dance school in the United States. It did not take long before the students at In Lak’ech started to ask for a Latin dance festival that would center Queer & Trans dancers.
The Queer Afro Latin Dance Festival was born to create inclusion in the Latin Dance world, where heteronormative ideology and patterns are overwhelmingly dominant.
Together, with the help of an incredible team, we decided to create the 1st ever Queer Afro Latin Dance Festival in the US, in June of 2018, in Oakland CA. Since then we continue to grow and get more and more creative in our goal to make Afro-Latin dance more inclusive and inviting to the Queer & Trans community.
After the pandemic we made the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel in San Jose CA, our new home, and in 2022 we celebrated our 4th Annual event with nearly 1000 attendees.
The Story
about the founders
We are Angelica Medina and Jahaira Fajardo, Co-founders and Artistic Directors of the Queer Afro-Latin Dance Festival. Just like you, we love the joy we get from Music & Dance. To us it's sacred and we use it to heal and to practice self-care.
Our goal has always been to create an affirming environment where Queer & Trans people can come together and not only be themselves but also celebrate unapologetically who they are, through Afro-Latin music and dance.
We always give tribute to our Queer and Trans ancestors who gave so much of their lives so that we can live ours fully and unabashedly. We want to further their work and dedication, by producing an experience for our attendees where they can meet new people, try new things and most importantly celebrate ourselves in unity.
We can’t wait to share space with you all.
We are gearing up to bring you an event of a lifetime.
a word from the co-founders
Hello party people!
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