The Rites of Spring Music Festival will host a weekend-long series of performances celebrating Latin American song and dance, from Sept. 11 through Sept. 13.
It’s “three days of community gatherings where participants can share arts, music, fashion, traditional dishes, economy and social practices,” according to Rites of Spring founder Paolo Bartolani. “Come relaxed, come curious, connect with the people around you, and experience the energy of the music.”
Pictured Above: Batala New York at Greenport’s 2025 Juneteenth Celebration
The weekend kicks off on Friday, Sept. 11 at 5 p.m. at the North Fork Flower Farm in Southold with the duo of Sami Merdinian on violin and Andrew Roitstein on double bass, playing a selection of Brazilian and Cuban classical music, and milongas by Astor Piazzolla. After the concert, attendees can enjoy a tour of the Flower Farm and refreshments. Admission is free, and you can register online here.
On Saturday, Sept. 12 from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., the festival collaborates with the Greenport Farmers Market in Mitchell Park for El Mercado de la Creatividad, a market where farmers, craft makers and nature product vendors will sell their goods, including crafts, food, and art. Find Out More.
The musical program continues with the Pedro Giraudo Tango Quartet on stage with tango dancers at the North Fork Arts Center on Saturday, Sept. 12 at 7 p.m.
Led by Argentine bassist and composer Pedro Giraudo, the group plays a pivotal role in the evolution of contemporary Argentine tango, according to Rites of Spring. “They bridge traditional roots (Orquesta típica) and the revolutionary “tango nuevo” of Astor Piazzolla with elements of European classical chamber music and American jazz.”
This program includes selections from great tango masters from the 1930s to the present: Alfredo Gobbi, Francisco Canaro, Osvaldo Pugliese, the revolutionary Astor Piazzolla and Pedro Giraudo.
“In this program, the ensemble offers the audience insight into how tango evolved from marginal venues to cafes and dance halls, and finally to prominent concert halls,” according to Rites of Spring. “The musical journey will be accompanied by short anecdotes about the main figures in the history of tango, as well as some explanation of the principal rhythms of the genre (milonga, waltz, and tango).”
The quartet includes Sami Merdinian on violin, Shinjoo Cho on bandoneón, Jun Cho on piano and Pedro Giraudo on bass. Dancers will be Mariana Parma and Leonardo Sardella. Tickets are $45 and are free for attendees under the age of 25, and are available online here.
On Sunday, Sept. 13, the Afro-Brazilian Percussion group Batalá New York and the Afro-Latin music and dance ensemble Sanctuario join together for an afternoon program in Greenport’s Mitchell Park, starting with a family percussion workshop from 4 to 5 p.m., followed by a performance at 5 p.m. All of Sunday’s events are free.
Batalá New York is part of a global community of bands playing Afro-Brazilian music under the name of Batalá. The Batalá bands principally play Samba Reggae, a world music that incorporates Brazilian Samba and Caribbean Reggae. Batalá New York is one of approximately four Batalá groups that are all women and women-led.
The group plays the compositions and arrangements of Mestre Giba Gonçalves, founder of Batalá, and other mestres on metal drums with polymer skins. Their music, instruments and costumes are primarily from Salvador da Bahia in the northeast of Brazil. All Batalá bands engage in fair trade and collaboration with the same drum makers, textile artists, printmakers, and other artisans in Salvador de Bahia.
Led by Mónica Ortiz Rossi, Sanctuario is an Afro-Latin music and dance ensemble based in Brooklyn. Sanctuario “was birthed during the NYC lockdown in 2021, out of the community and the desire to create spaces for joy and release,” according to the group.
For more details about the weekend’s festivities, visit Rites of Spring’s Energia Internacional page.
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