Yabás - A Celebration of Female Spirits

“Yabás” is word of Yoruban origin that roughly translates to “Mother Queens” and is used to refer to the mythological female spirits who are important cultural references for people of African descent across the Americas, especially in Brazil. The “Yabás” include Oxum or the Lady of the Waters (rivers, waterfalls, lakes), Iemanjá who is the Lady of the Sea, and Iansã, the Lady of the Winds. Each of these “Yabás” exemplify different feminine qualities such as love, beauty, and strength. In Brazil, the “Yabás” and their qualities are celebrated in songs & dances that also chronicle origin stories for the elements of nature to which they correspond.

Sponsored by Boston Harbor Islands' "Innovations Islands" grant program and organized by the creative venture A Trike Called Funk, whose community-based activations feature music genres & dance forms spanning the African diaspora in the Americas, “Yabás - A Celebration of Female Spirits” features an amazing line-up of local artists including Rixy Fernandez, an interdisciplinary Latinx street artist who will create a large scale work of art celebrating the Yabás, and the Afro-Brazilian dance artists Isaura Oliveira and her Power of Skirts Collective dance company, who will put on a performance celebrating the Yabás then invite people to learn some of their steps through a dance workshop.

To reserve your FREE ferry tickets for this FREE multi-disciplinary arts experience, please RSVP here then provide your name to ferry staff on the dock at Long Wharf. Plesae be sure to arrive early so you don't miss one of the two ferries going to and returning from Spectacle Island the day of the show. For more information on the ferry schedule and related logistical details, please visit https://www.bostonharborislands.org/ferryschedule/.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Spectacle Island, Spectacle Island, Quincy, United States