F.A.Q.s

We are excited to welcome you to our 2026 Afro-Latinx Festival on Sunday, February 22nd.

Important to note the following:

• The event is FREE to attend. Reservations are not required. Walk-ins are welcome.

• MOLAA parking will cost $15.00 per car on the day (Cash or Credit Card payment accepted).

• Backpacks and large bags are NOT allowed in the museum; please leave oversized items at home or in your vehicle (Limited small lockers available).

• Bike rack space available (limited): Skateboards, scooters, and roller skates are NOT allowed in the Museum, and storage is NOT available

Stage Performances

Puentes De Poder (Bridges of Power)

12:30PM - 1:15PM

Puentes De Poder (Bridges of Power) is a multicultural organization that promotes empowerment through music and celebrates Afro Indigenous traditions. Founded by Nakeiltha Campbell (Nikki) a multicultural percussionist from Colon, Panama and raised in Southern California with more than 15 years experience working in the global music genre. As an immigrant, drumming became a vehicle to reconnect with her roots and ancestral memories. Puentes De Poder has worked abroad in Panama, Costa Rica, at Music festivals, Educational facilities with various artist and local organizations to collaborate and support to inspire people of all ages, genders, and nationalities to explore and understand cultural traditions, as a form of identity, history and a vehicle for healing. 

Plenazo Tribe

2:00PM - 2:45PM

Afro Puerto Rican Music | Plena | Live Performance 

Plenazo Tribe is a Los Angeles based diverse collective dedicated to preserving, reimagining, and amplifying the tradition of plena, often called the periodico cantado of Puerto Rico. Led by singer, percussionist, and cultural ambassador Gabriel J. Montes, the group blends ancestral Afro Puerto Rican rhythms with contemporary sounds, dance, and storytelling to create an immersive, community driven live experience. Rooted in folkloric tradition yet unapologetically modern, Plenazo Tribe performances are interactive, joyful, and powerful, inviting audiences to sing, move, and connect across generations. Their work honors Afro Latinx identity, migration stories, resistance, and collective memory, transforming the stage into a space of celebration and reflection. 

Plenazo Tribe has performed across California and Puerto Rico at festivals, cultural institutions, theaters, and community spaces, and continues to expand plena reach through concerts, workshops, and multimedia projects. At the Afro Latinx Festival at MOLAA, Plenazo Tribe brings the heartbeat of Puerto Rico, rhythms of ancestry, resilience, and joy straight to the people. 

Kimbambula Cuban Dance & Music Ensemble

4:15PM - 5:00PM

Founded in 2017 by Cuban choreographer and educator Kati Hernandez, Kimbambula Cuban Dance & Music Ensemble is a Los Angeles-based dance and music company that preserves and promotes Cuban culture blending authentic traditions and forms with modern-day themes and representations. They aim to showcase the richness of Cuban culture through the intertwined relationship of dance and music, and uphold the deep traditions of Afro-Cuban heritage. Educating, uplifting and empowering communities through arts. The ensemble’s repertoire combines the magic and flavor of Cuban rumba, Oricha dances, Afro-Cuban Jazz and the graceful dance and sound of traditional Cuban Son, along with the funky groove of Timba Cuban Salsa and Reparto. 

Kimbambula has performed on prominent stages across California and at some of the most acclaimed institutes in Los Angeles, including 4th of July Block Party at Grand Park, opening exhibition of “The House was Too Small” for the Fowler Museum’s 60th Anniversary, Afro-Latinx Festival at MOLAA, “Cuba: Antes, Ahora / Then, Now” at The Music Center, Harvest Festival at Skirball Cultural Center, and alongside director Kati Hernandez at The Ford’s JAM Sessions in both 2018 and 2019. The company has also been featured in music videos including San Miguel Perez and Colin Hay’s “Un Poquito de Amor Everyday,”.Yosmel Montejo’s “La Caliente,” Iris Sandra Cepeda’s “Vete Por Donde Viniste,” and highlighted in Red Bull Music’s “Estados Unidos de Bass” live stream. 

At the heart of our company lies a deep commitment to preserving the deep legacy of Cuban dance. With each performance, we celebrate the richness of Cuban identity and affirm its place on the world stage. Our mission is not only to entertain, but to educate, uplift, and carry forward a culture born of resilience, rhythm, and ritual. Through our art we carry the soul of Cuban heritage into the future — and invite our audiences to feel its pulse.

Art Workshops and Presentations

11AM - 5PM GUYANA & HONDURAS: A CELEBRATION OF CULTURE & TRADITION: LBUSD Pathways Workshop (Outdoor Lot)

In partnership with the Long Beach Unified School District Pathways Program, MOLAA is proud to host onsite, work-based learning opportunities throughout the year. At this year’s Afro-Latinx Fest, our Winter Pathways interns will be presenting a brief history of Guyana & Honduras culture & heritage along with photos while introducing “Sal-Out,” an interactive, traditional Guyana game PLUS a hands-on art making community experience on Honduran culture. Brought to you by Jazlyn Dizon from Long Beach Polytechnic High School and Andre Grady from Millikan High School. #ProudtobeLBUSD

11AM - 5PM Meet the Artist: Lowrider's First Lady, Tina Blankenship-Early and her 1966 Chevrolet Caprice “Game Killa” (Inside Viva Center)

Mrs. Tina Early, mother of two, Domonique Ward and Nicole Early with her husband of 13 years, Rick Early, is the 1st Lady of Super Natural Lowrider. In 2012 she was the first woman inducted into National Low Rider Hall of Fame, and in 2023 she was inducted into Lowrider Magazine Hall of Fame. She’s owned 6 lowriders and 1 lowrod since becoming a member and in 2025, she was honored to be named Vice President of the Club. She has been a Career Class A commercial Driver for over 25 years. She is the youngest of 6 children to Bennie (deceased) and Earlene Blankenship of Los Angeles CA.

Awards and Publications: LOWRIDER MAGAZINE PETERSON AUTOMOTIVE MUSUEM STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON MARCH 7, 2024 VOLUME APRIL 29, 2024 TO MAY 7, 2025 SEPT. 2014; MUSIC VIDEO: OG Big Mama, Flat land Records "Put it in the Air" NLHOF: 1st Female Inductee Nov 7, 2012; MUSIC VIDEO: Natural Red,"On the West" Aug 22, 2013; MOVIE: Straight Out of Compton Sept. 2014; Documentary: Street Talk interview Jun. 12, 2015 ; MAGAZINE: Swagg Magazine Vol.9 Aug. 27, 2017; MAGAZINE: "38 Times" Japanese Lowrider Magazine Oct. 11, 2017 PHOTO SHOOT: JR Cruise Rapper "SEEDS", "Ball all summer" 2019 TV NEWS: Spectrum News 1 interview W/ Zarina Khairzada Jan. 24, 2019 Video: Power Pleasent feat. G Perico "Can't Fucc wit it" Aug. 14, 2019 MERCH: Released 1st batch 2020 MUSIC VIDEO: Tiffany Haddish "Get yo Baby Daddy" April 1,2020 PODCAST: Caliboy "What's in your garage Season 3 Jun.12,2020 MAGAZINE: Chigon the magazine Feat. July 13, 2020 PODCAST: SedTV 101 Interview Aug. 30,2020 REPAINT & PINSTRIPE GAMEKILLA JULY 26,2021PODCAST: 1st Female of "The King of Chevys Presents" Sept. 28,2021 VIDEO SHOOT: "1stlady" Nostalgic Visions Jan. 27, 2022 PHOTO SHOOT: GAMEKILLA, Lowrider Today Magazine Feb. 2,2022 SUPER BOWL VIDEO: GAMEKILLA Feat. on jumbo tron at Sofi "Super Bowl 56" Feb. 17,2022 MAGAZINE: LA Raised Magazine GAMEKILLA June 19,2022 SPECIAL INVITES: LA Auto show LA Convention Center Nov 11, 2022 / Nov 12, 2023 MUSIC VIDEO: DaRohn McDowell "One Day with the Queen" Dedicated to (Thee 1stlady) LOWRIDER: LRMHOF Inductee 1st female, 1stlady of Lowrider Magazine Sept,29,2023 NEWSPAPER: GAMEKILLA Featured in The Wall Street Journal Dec. 1,2023 NEWSPAPER: GAMEKILLA Add named as one of the top 10 rides of 2023 in WSJ Jan. 3,2024TV NEWS: Black History Month Feat. GAMEKILLA With FOX 11 News Christina Gonzales Feb. 11, 2024 LOWRIDER MAGAZINE: 6 Page write up and photo spread in Lowrider Magazine released March 7,2024 MAGAZINE: Blavity Magazine feature March 13,2024 SOCIAL PLATFORMS: Modelo USA march 15,2024 MAGAZINE: Essence Magazine feature March 23,2024 MAGAZINE: Mario Heller Berlin Photographer Sept. 10, 2024 MUSIC VIDEO: "Return of the Westcoast" GAMEKILLA cameo shot Cube,Snoop & Scarface Nov. 28,2024ART GALLERY: CSUN Bajitas & Suavecitas Art Exhibit Featured Thee 1stlady & Gamekilla Jan. 21,2025 to March 15, 2025

11:00AM - 5:00PM Art Presentation by The Garifuna Museum of Los Angeles (INDOORS VIVA)

As the pioneering institution for Garifuna culture in the Northern Hemisphere, GAMOLA offers an unparalleled look into a unique global heritage. Our museum provides a comprehensive educational experience, showcasing the Garifuna people's traditional medicine, religious practices, and artistic brilliance through a diverse array of historical artifacts and contemporary art.

3Pm - 4:30PM Leveraging Our Multicultural Identities in Leadership Workshop Led by Cristina Garcia of Liberation Leadership (Lecture Hall)

Afro Latinx leaders, artists, and cultural workers carry layered histories, aesthetics, and ways of knowing that hold immense leadership power. Our multicultural identities are not just personal stories—they are sources of strategy, creativity, and collective vision.

This interactive workshop invites participants to explore how culture, art, memory, and lived experience shape the way we lead, create, and move through the world. Together, we’ll look at how our rhythms, languages, traditions, and artistic expressions can inform more expansive, authentic, and impactful leadership.

Through guided reflection, storytelling, and creative prompts, participants will:

• Reconnect with the cultural and artistic influences that shape their leadership style

• Identify the strengths that come from navigating multiple identities and communities

• Translate their personal and cultural experiences into leadership vision and direction

• Leave with one clear action to lead with greater clarity, conviction, and cultural grounding

This is a space to honor our complexity, celebrate our creativity, and reclaim our leadership as an expression of who we are—rooted in culture, shaped by art, and guided by vision.

Community Partners

African American Cultural Center of Long Beach

Arts Council of Long Beach

Garifuna Museum of LA

Musical Theater West

Gastronomy

MOLAA Bar and Refreshments

LaQuitta “Lala” Robinson is a licensed bartender and skilled mixologist with a passion for crafting exceptional cocktails. Lala is the owner of On Her Tip mixology where she prides herself in having all the ingredients you need to shake up a great event! With 12 years of experience behind the bar, she has mastered the art of mixology, blending classic techniques with innovative flavors to deliver unforgettable drinks. Known for her fun, energetic, friendly personality, and keen attention to detail, Lala thrives in fast-paced environments, ensuring every guest enjoys a top-tier experience. This Compton native is dedicated to serving her community by hosting juice bars at the local parks and sponsoring many local events. Whether they’re ordering mocktails, a simple whiskey neat or a complex craft cocktail she takes pride in building relationships with regulars and newcomers alike, offering personalized recommendations and a warm, engaging presence. Lala is proud to be a MOLAA Bar Bartender where she serves up culturally relevant drinks at special events and festivals.

FESTIVAL SPONSORS