Check out our first vlog from Capital Pride 2010!

We performed 16 shows on our second national tour – from Philadelphia down to New Orleans, out west to San Francisco, and stopping in Chicago along the way back east to our final stop in Hartford. Each show offered something unique and special, making this year’s tour something to remember.

Whether dancing, singing, cheering or sharing praises after a show, audiences everywhere we stopped gave us so much energy and love. Of course some days we arrived at shows exhausted after driving sometimes over 10 hours to our destination. But the energy of our audiences fed us, allowing us to share our art with all we have to give, and by the end of the night we would be riding high on the spirit of the show.

We were also inspired by the amazing art and organizing we had the opportunity to witness around the country, from Second Line in New Orleans to Taala Hooghan in Flagstaff to Chuco’s Justice Center in LA to El Batey Urbano and the Puerto Rican Cultural Center in Chicago. We arrived home filled with an affirmation that there is hope for a more loving and just world.

As always we were also inspired by all of the amazing natural sites we witnessed while traveling across the country. We loved looking out the window of our van to see the landscape transform from place to place. We also made some great stops for hiking and swimming like the beaches of Galveston, TX and our all time favorite, the Redwoods of northern California.

We are so grateful to everyone who collaborated with us to make this tour the amazing adventure it was. We are so thankful to everyone who shared the stage with us including Monica McIntyre, Latin at Heart, Proyecto Nuevaluz, Joshua Collier, Summit Dub Squad,Shining Soul, Guerilla Queens, Sherman Austin, In Lak Ech, Let the World Die, Cihuatl-Ce, Tezozomoc, Danza Mexica by Kalpulli Tlaltekuhtli, Lila Rose, The Genie, Pasa Kruda, Tansy & Tarweed, Candread & the Rizing Rezistance and Ara Cruz. We are also very thankful to everyone who collaborated with us in setting up the shows including Daniel Flaumenhaft and Crossroads Music, Evan Edwards and the Firestorm Cafe, Rene Broussard and Zeitgeist Multi- Disciplinary Arts Center, Brandon Badillo and Bemba Ent., Thora Oniel, April Goltz, the Santa Fe Brewing Co., Klee Benaly and the Taala Hooghan Collective, Sammie Ardito, Xultizin and Chuco’s Justice Center, Cinthya Munoz,Cafe Du Nord, Brenna Sahatjian and In Other Words Books, Candread, Henry and the Reef, Nick, Lora and the Underground Coffeehouse at Western Washington University, Eric Ross and Naropa University, Ben Yager and the Gypsy House Cafe, Isaac Graves, the Rock & Soul Cafe, Michael Reyes and El Batey Urbano, Matt McLaughlin, Workers’ Solidarity Alliance and Queers Without Borders, Naima Penniman, Evan Greer, and Bear Campo and Tracy Christopher of Evolution Talent Network. And finally, MUCH APPRECIATION to EVERYONE who spread the word about our shows, hosted us in your homes, or attended our shows!!

In Love and Rebellion,
Taina Asili y La Banda Rebelde

Check out more pictures of our War Cry Tour 2010 on Facebook

We had an amazing time at our March 27th CD release party at the Sanctuary for Independent Media in Troy, NY! In fact, it was more than we could have ever dreamed. It was such an emotional and exciting night. After many years of writing, rehearsing and recording we were so filled with joy to present our art, our prayer for the world, in such a beautiful setting. We had everyone we love piled in a room so tight it felt like the walls were going to burst. People came from all over the WORLD to attend this event, from NYC to AUSTRALIA, and of course plenty of our beautiful community from the Albany area.

The night would not have been quite as special without our phenomenal guest artists joining us on stage. DJ Trumastr opened up the night and set the mood for our reception while folks ate and mingled getting ready for the night to begin. Our first guest on stage was Lia Muniz, bass player Sean Muniz’s sister, who flew all the way from Australia to perform Brazilian samba dance for Verdade Vencera, decked out in a gorgeous sparkly traditional outfit. Leah Penniman joined us with a stunning silk trapeze performance whileAyana D, Taina’s sister, joined us singing vocals for Prison Break. Lisa Martinez danced powerful flamenco as an introduction to Mariposa del Fuego. Taina’s tias danced bomba to intro She Lives asNaima Penniman came onto the stage to join in on the song.Michael Reyes and Victorio Reyes (Taina’s Bro) even joined in for some reggaeton freestylin’! And finally, artist Marcus Kwame Anderson maintained the visual mood with live painting while the artists performed.

We are so excited to announce the release of Taina Asili y La Banda Rebelde’s debut album War Cry!

The album not only features the unique fusion of Afro-Caribbean, reggae, rock, and hip hop sounds and call to love and rebellion that make up the music of Taina Asili y La Banda Rebelde, but also features several incredible guest artists including Naima Penniman and Alixa Garcia of international renowned spoken word duo Climbing PoeTree, soul vocalist Ayana D, NYC based Brazilian samba percussionists Jessica Sarles and Matt Dinsick, Indian tabla percussionist Sadasat Simran Singh Khalsa, jazz cellist Monica Roach, and album artwork by Montreal painter Monk.e.

You can find the album on our Store page, or on the “MyStore” tab on Facebook!