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Performances
“…the high energy of the band is simply impossible to ignore. The exotic, incessant rhythms reel you in, and the stabbing horns, hypnotic bass and Asili’s urgent voice draw you closer.”
Taína Asili is a New York-based Puerto Rican singer, composer, educator, interdisciplinary artist, and activist carrying on the tradition of her ancestors, fusing past and present struggles into one soulful and defiant voice. For over 20 years she has brought the music of love and liberation to venues across the globe – From the Women’s March on Washington to Carnegie Hall to the main stage of San Francisco Pride. Taína Asili combines powerful vocals and an energetic multi-genre fusion – confidently weaving between salsa, rock, reggae, cumbia, reggaeton, and hip hop – with multilingual songs that beat with the heart of social change. Her performances vary to accommodate a variety of venues and settings, from being accompanied by her incredibly talented 6-8 piece band – which may include live guitar, bass, drums, congas, horns and backing vocalists – to solo performances accompanied by dynamic backing tracks. Taína’s performances exude strength of Spirit, inspiring audiences to dance to the rhythm of rebellion!
Watch Taína Asili perform live!
Taína Asili is now introducing the world to Fever Pitch, a groundbreaking multimedia show rooted Taína Asili’s prolific two-decade artistic journey creating music that addresses the intersectional issues related to the urgency of climate change. Fever Pitch seeks to use Asili’s original body of work to inspire climate justice action on local, national, and global scales. Learn more about Fever Pitch.
For booking inquiries email info[at]tainaasili.com
Go to: Performances | Speaking | Workshops | Youth Presentations
PUBLIC SPEAKING
Keynotes • Lectures • Panels • Class Visits
Taína Asili not only brings truth, hope and inspiration through her singing voice, but also as a speaker at conferences, colleges, and community events throughout the nation, including: TEDx Greenville; UC Berkeley’s Empowering Womxn of Color Conference; San Francisco State University’s Women’s Conference; Columbia University Beyond the Bars Conference; Connecticut SERC Dismantling Systemic Racism Conference; and NYC Pride Human Rights Conference. See a full list of past presentations. Asili creatively weaves together teachings she has gathered from over 20 years of experience as a professional artist, educator and community activist. Taína is dedicated to using her art as a tool for personal and social transformation. The liberation themes in Taína’s writing are based in her activism in racial, gender, and climate justice movements. She has received numerous awards for her artivist work, including the Leeway Foundation’s Transformation Award, In Our Own Voices LGBT Community Advocacy Award, Citizen Action NY’s Jimmy Perry Progressive Leadership Award, and an award from the City of Albany’s Commission on Human Rights.
The following are examples of keynotes she offers, however, keynotes can be tailored to your conference or event’s theme:
Somos Semillas / We Are Seeds
Using the metaphor of seeds, this keynote shares the wisdom Taína Asili has learned from her Puerto Rican Ancestors, as well as her own artistic journey, about the role of music and art to help us to reclaim our humanity in the face of inhumanity, to ignite and inspire movements for social change, and to help us plant seeds of change for future generations.
Rhapsodies of Radical Imagination
This keynote explores the ways that music helps us to access the radical imagination, using our creativity to envision and then work towards a world that embraces liberatory possibilities, and values people and the planet in sustainable and healthy ways.
The Rhythm of Rebellion
Taína Asili tells the story of her two decades long career as a singer and songwriter for social change. She will discuss the ways she has overcome obstacles she has experienced as a queer woman of color committed to making art for love and liberation, and the wisdom and tools she has gathered along the way.
To invite Taína Asili to speak in-person or online email info[at]tainaasili.com
Go to: Performances | Speaking | Workshops | Youth Presentations
WORKSHOPS
Taína Asili offers creative and engaging workshops pulling from her decades long history as a social change songwriter and community organizer. For over 20 years Taína has offered a variety of workshops at high schools, colleges, and conferences. She has experience working with both children and adults, and with marginalized populations, including incarcerated women and refugees. Taína Asili has a Bachelor’s of Arts Degree in Women’s Studies from Binghamton University, and a Master’s of Arts Degree in Transformative Language Arts from Goddard College. At Goddard she began the development of her original social justice arts curriculum. Today she offers several different workshop options, which can be presented in-person or online. See a full list of past presentations.
To book a workshop email info[at]tainaasili.com
Reclaim the Thunder: Songs For Social Change Workshop
This interactive workshop shares methods Taína Asili has gathered from her long history writing poems and songs that seek to reclaim power, break barriers, inspire, and unite. The workshop begins by looking at historical and contemporary examples of social change songs and songwriters. She then guides participants in a hands-on songwriting exercise, first turning our ideas into lyrics, and later, bringing these words to the music. This workshop is open to people of all ages and artistic levels, from beginner poets to experienced emcees and singers. Join us in this interactive radical music jam to reinvent our world! Approximate time is 1-2 hrs.
Songs For Social Change Series
This curriculum expands on the singular Reclaim the Thunder workshop to be six 1-2 hour classes that can be presented over the course of a week or an academic year. This series has been taught in a variety of settings, from college students at Rutgers University, to 9-12 grade students at Brattleboro High School, to community members at Albany Public Library.
Rise Up: Gender Justice Workshop
Taína Asili has supported and collaborated with numerous gender justice organizations and initiatives, from The Women’s March on Washington, to NYC Pride Rally and Human Rights Conference. In 2019, she wrote the anthem for One Billion Rising, a global nonprofit to end gender based violence. The anthem, “We Are Rising,” has been used in artist uprisings around the world. This workshop uses music and documentaries Asili has created to address gender injustice as a catalyst for us to explore how engaging with art can help us imagine new and creative possibilities for gender justice in our communities and in our world. Approximate time is 1 – 2 hrs.
We Are Nature: Climate Justice Workshop
This workshop will explore how engaging with music and other art forms can help us imagine new and creative possibilities for climate justice in our communities and in our world. Taína Asili started her climate justice artivism as a high school student and today she continues to grow life-giving food, eat a vegan diet, and write songs as contributions to our climate justice movements. She has performed to support organizations and initiatives such as UPROSE in Brooklyn, NY and The California Environmental Justice Alliance (CEJA). She has also written and released several songs on climate justice, including “And We Walk,” a music video which premiered in YES! Magazine in 2014. Taína Asili is also Board Chair of Soul Fire Farm, a food justice farm in her community that works to uproot injustice and seed sovereignty in the food system. In 2019 Taína released her award-winning music video documentary Plant the Seed, which centers around the story of Soul Fire Farm’s co-founder, Leah Penniman. That same yearshe wrote the theme song for Climate Curious, a web series by The Solutions Project. Most recently Taína released the song and music video “Nature,” a climate justice musical manifesto created during her ’21-22 residency with The Social Justice Portal Project. This workshop will discuss Taína’s work, the movements that inspire her, and what she has learned about the power of art to move us to manifest change. Approximate time is 1 – 2 hrs.
Resiliencia: Film Screening & Conversation
Resiliencia is a 30-minute music video documentary that follows Taína Asili as she travels across Puerto Rico four months after Hurricanes Irma and Maria landed to have intimate conversations with four women artists and activists – Dylcia Pagan (artist and former political prisoner), Yasmin Hernandez (painter, author, and founder of Rematriating Borikén), Marta Rodriguez (singer and community organizer), and Esperanza Martell (artist, organizer, and co-founder of Casa Atabex Ache). The film documents the natural and unnatural devastation to Puerto Rico, while lifting up the resilience, creativity, and strength of the Puerto Rican nation and the human spirit. The film is a part of Asili’s music video documentary series about women and resilience, produced in conjunction with her album Resiliencia. It won Best Documentary at The International Puerto Rican Heritage Film Festival and was an Official Selection at The Global Peace Film Festival and The Workers Unite Film Festival. The screening will include a pre and post conversation on Puerto Rico, colonialism and climate change. Approximate time is 1.5 – 2 hrs
Go to: Performances | Speaking | Workshops | Youth Presentations
YOUTH PRESENTATIONS
Taína Asili’s dynamic and engaging performances can be tailored for all ages, and they can be combined with the talks and workshops listed below. She has offered numerous presentations for elementary, middle, and high schools, as well as youth programs and conferences. See a full list of past presentations.
Grades 5-12
Somos Semillas / We Are Seeds Presentation
Through an interactive blend of music and speaking, Taína shares the wisdom she has learned from her Puerto Rican Ancestors, as well as her own artistic journey, about the role of music and art to help us to reclaim our humanity in the face of inhumanity, to ignite and inspire movements for social change, and to help us plant seeds of change for future generations. She will also share ways that young people are using music to bring positive change into the world today. Approximate time is 30 min – 1 hr.
Reclaim the Thunder: Songs For Social Change Workshop
This workshop shares methods Taína Asili has gathered from her long history writing poems and songs that seek to reclaim power, break barriers, inspire, and unite. The workshop begins by looking at historical and contemporary examples of social change songs and songwriters. She then guides participants in a hands-on songwriting exercise, first turning our ideas into lyrics, and later, bringing these words to the music. Join us in this interactive radical music jam to reinvent our world! Approximate time is 1 – 2 hrs
Grades K-5
Somos Semillas / We Are Seeds Presentation
This K-5 version of Taína Asili’s presentation uses the metaphor of seeds to talk about how music can be a tool for kids to help foster a kinder and healthier world. Through an interactive blend of music and speaking, Taína will share what it was like growing up in an artistic Puerto Rican family with a singer and drummer father, a mother who was a dancer, and a grandmother who was a poet and cook. Taína will discuss what her family and culture taught her and her sister about the power of music to help us move through challenges and find our joy, and what harmony can teach us about bringing our unique voices together into one unified and beautiful song. She will also share ways that young people are using music to bring positive change into the world today. Approximate time is 20 – 40 min.
Taína Asili has been a beacon in my equity work bringing solid information through engaging workshops and uplift through her music. I am happy to say that Taína has worked with us almost every year for the past seven years. She has offered both in person and virtual programming. Our community has been pleased with the results of her work with our students and staff. Taína is an asset to any community of educators. I highly recommend her as an invaluable source of knowledge, and experience. She is collaborative and always willing to adapt to meet the needs of our students and other learners.”
– Mikaela Simms, Windham Southeast East Supervisory Union Director of the Office of Diversity, Equity and Social Justice
In March of 2020, soon after schools were shut down due to the pandemic, Taína led an online workshop for my theater students. Her workshop came at a time when there was much fear and we were collectively feeling the initial impacts of isolation due to the pandemic. She led her Somos Semillas / We Are Seeds Presentation. In a time where zoom was new to our world, Taína was able to inspire students to not only participate in thoughtful conversation, but also to engage in creating and sharing new songs. It was clear that the workshop reached us in a way that was crucial. Taína is incredibly gifted in guiding students through transformative artistic experiences.”
– Noelle Gentile, Albany High School Drama Teacher