In the Dominican Republic, as early as 1512, African slaves escaped from Spanish plantations and lived with the island’s Taíno Indians or on their own in mountainous jungles in the remote frontier land of Hispaniola. These people who were known as “cimarrones,” meaning “maroons,” created their own independent communities that have survived for centuries and until recently remained isolated from mainstream Dominican society.  This documentary examines cimarrón syncretic cultural celebrations and beliefs that are full of magic, fantasy and popular religiosity.

Houston: Feb. 9 & 10. Details here.