A Journey of Ancestral Connection, Community & Living Tradition

Join us for a series of sacred community Watekes and an immersive Ancestral Retreat in the Dominican Republic – where remembrance, celebration, and spiritual connection with our roots bring us back to our origins and more importantly, unity.
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What Are the Community Watekes?

Rumbo al Festival

The Community Watekes are open gatherings that prepare mind, body and soul for the Festival. They are moments of remembrance, celebration, and connection where we come together in community to build the collective energy that sustains us throughout the festival journey.

Each Wateke honors ancestral wisdom through ceremony, music, dialogue, and shared presence, creating a living bridge between tradition and community.

View upcoming watekes
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Community Watekes

Community Watekes Schedule

MARCH

05

OPENING WATEKE

  • Thursday, March 5 | 7:00 PM
  • Perpetual Lab | Zona Colonial, Santo Domingo
  • Free entry until capacity is reached
  • Talk with Dr. Margarita Rosa (@margaritalilarosa) and Prof. Alfonso “From the Cacicazgo to the Maniel: Rebellions and Emancipation of Indigenous and Maroon Peoples in the Caribbean.”
  • Stories of resistance from the traditional peoples of Jamaica, Kubanakán (Cuba), Ayití (DR–Haiti), and Borikén (Puerto Rico).

MARCH

06

KARIBE ANCESTRAL CONCERT & CELEBRATION

MARCH

07

OPENING AREYTO OF THE ARAWAK FESTIVAL

  • Saturday, March 7 | 2:00 PM – 5:30 PM
  • Taíno Ceremonial Plaza, San Juan de la Maguana
  • Free entry

MARCH

12

INDIGENOUS SONG CIRLCE with Prem Tárika

MARCH

12

DOCUMENTARY FILM SCREENING OF “COBRA CANOA” & DIALOGUE WITH KASIKE ÁLVARO TUKANO

  • Synopsis of Cobra Canoa:
  • Doéthiro Álvaro Tukano returns to the Upper Rio Negro in the Amazon after 40 years, searching for the traditions of his ancestors that were once forbidden by Salesian priests. In his struggle for land and cultural rights he was persecuted, and now returns to reclaim what time has not been able to erase.

MARCH

14-15

TRADITIONAL MEDICINE WEEKEND GATHERING

  • Saturday, March 14 & Sunday, March 15
  • Bayacanes, La Vega
  • A gathering for purification and community strengthening, preparing for the arrival of the Spring Equinox.

MARCH

14

RAPÉ PREPARATION WORKSHOP

MARCH

14

AMAZONIAN TRADITIONAL MEDICINE CEREMONY

MARCH

15

PAQARINA: ANDEAN MEDICINAL NATIVE SAUNA (TEMAZCAL)

MARCH

16

DOCUMENTARY FILM SCREENING OF “COBRA CANOA” & DIALOGUE WITH KASIKE ÁLVARO TUKANO

MARCH

22

CLOSING AREYTO

The Retreat

The ancestral immersion retreat

Our annual Ancestral Immersion Retreat is a sacred space for deep learning, reflection, and connection to our origins. This immersive experience invites participants to step fully into ancestral traditions as living participants through direct experience and community building.
Traditional leaders and guardians sustain the sacred container with ceremony, teachings, and communal practices. This is where ancestral knowledge becomes embodied experience, guiding personal transformation and collective healing.
SAVE YOUR SPOT

WAIBÁ

Whether you join us for a Community Wateke, the full Immersion Retreat, or both, you are invited into a living tradition rooted in connection, remembrance, and collective care. This is a gathering of unity honoring our roots as a Caribbean family.
REGISTER HERE