I’ve a deep craving for uniting individuals. I consider that considered one of my functions on this life is to deliver individuals collectively in a method that transcends standing, class, and occupation, creating an area the place everybody feels really united and understood. That is why in 2022, I made a decision to launch my first El Teteo get together in Los Angeles, pushed by a eager for one thing that jogged my memory of my dwelling in NYC.
I used to be feeling homesick and wanted to really feel related to my roots and my group. El Teteo serves as an extension of what I used to be taught: to search out moments of pleasure via ache, troubles, and onerous work. For me, group is about gathering with the individuals you’re keen on and look after, regardless of the place you’re — whether or not that is getting along with seashore chairs in entrance of a constructing or plastic chairs at a park below a bridge. Teteo, which is a Dominican slang phrase for partying and gathering wherever, means that in relation to group, all you want is sweet music, good firm, and a few beers — and, in some circumstances, meals. It is all about sharing moments that are not assured tomorrow, and it is one thing that is very a lot embedded in Latine tradition.
As a New Yorker, I discovered myself lacking my metropolis and its vibrant membership scenes and dance events. At virtually each get together and membership I might been to in Los Angeles, individuals stood round with a drink in hand as a substitute of getting on the dance ground. By means of El Teteo, I wished to deliver the East Coast vibe to the West Coast, increase consciousness about Latine Caribbean tradition, and foster group. As New Yorkers, we expertise totally different cultures like a melting pot. Not solely do I get to share different individuals’s cultures, however I additionally introduce others to mine.
As an unapologetically proud Dominican American, I yearned for our presence to be felt right here in Los Angeles, the place it felt like there weren’t many people. Transferring to LA made me conscious about the shortage of illustration of Dominicans and Caribbean Latines. It was a tradition shock. Individuals had been usually shocked after I spoke in Spanish. Not many of us in Los Angeles had been accustomed to the Dominican group or Dominican tradition general.
So I kicked off my first El Teteo get together on February 26, 2022, to rejoice Dominican Independence Day in Los Angeles. I partnered with Angela Carrasco, a Dominican American realtor in Los Angeles, and Dominican American actress and host Katherine Castro, who each had ties to a venue. Our occasion reached new heights of success as 600 individuals gathered to take part. Individuals even traveled from New York to be a part of the unforgettable expertise.
These events have been greater than only a large enjoyable occasion; they’ve turn into a spot for Latine creatives, significantly these in media and leisure, to community and construct group. The success of the events is measured by the enjoyment and connection they carry. It is a area the place Latindad seems to be totally different from what the West Coast is used to.
As a Dominican American, I’ve confronted challenges in auditions as a result of Hollywood usually expects Latinas to be light-skinned mestizas with straight darkish hair, overlooking the variety inside our group. Afro-Latina Caribbeans are nonetheless thought-about “different” or “not Latina sufficient” in Hollywood. However these occasions characteristic Dominican music, artists, and cultural components like hookah, making a cultural hub in LA that showcases our wealthy heritage and fosters illustration in a metropolis that always overlooks us.
On the first Teteo, we had Latines in leisure from TV exhibits like “Insecure,” “On My Block,” “Gentefied,” “Station 19 “and “How I Met Your Father” attend. It was a dream come true as a result of individuals who appear like us do not transfer to Hollywood usually, and for Latines, being engaged in group performs an enormous half in relation to our psychological well being. I usually hear tales of Caribbean actors, administrators, producers, and screenwriters who go away Los Angeles as a result of they can not discover group. I wished to bridge that hole throughout the Latine diaspora, from Mexicans to Dominicans. My purpose was to foster the illustration missing in Hollywood, making our voices heard within the precise metropolis of Hollywood.
The ache of Hollywood has been continually making an attempt to suit right into a mildew that asks you to erase components of your self, solely to be rejected. Regardless of this ache and uncertainty, one factor they can not take away from me is pleasure. That is why Teteo was born, out of a need to problem the narrative that we do not exist and to rejoice each aspect of who we’re, together with our humanity and the present of life. Dominican tradition is commonly celebrated with out correct recognition, from viral dembow songs to James Bond being impressed by Porfirio Rubirosa, to bachata being sung in several languages throughout the globe. But, regardless of these cultural contributions, we are sometimes ignored within the bigger Latine dialog. Executives usually do not put money into us as a result of they do not consider we exist. Nonetheless, seeing various crowds at Juan Luis Guerra and Romeo Santos concert events made me query why we aren’t a part of the broader dialog.
I see El Teteo as a second and a motion that has impressed a brand new Caribbean ecosystem in LA. It places Caribbean and Afro-Latino tradition on the forefront with out counting on executives and traders who aren’t excited by us. I wished to create an area the place our presence and tradition is acknowledged and celebrated. El Teteo has carved its path by spreading pleasure and consciousness of our vibrant tradition, created by us for all to get pleasure from.
This summer season, I am impressed to deliver El Teteo to NYC and make it a worldwide occasion in an effort to raise Latine tradition and put Dominicans on the map worldwide. I additionally wished to make use of El Teteo as a possibility to offer again to the Dominican group. We’re partnering with the Dream Project to assist instructional alternatives for Dominican youth. It was vital for us to create one thing that not solely brings pleasure but in addition offers again to individuals in want.
The Dominican spirit is extra than simply NYC and my island. It is a lifestyle and a subculture celebrated by many. It is about taking the optimistic components of my tradition and sharing them with the world. Like my father says, you by no means know when God will name you, so benefit from the life you will have in the present day. My hope is to deliver this pleasure worldwide via my tradition, to raise and rejoice the group, and to create the illustration we’re not seeing — all via group gatherings.
Sasha Merci is a first-generation Dominican American actor, comic, and viral digital creator. She showcases over a decade of various expertise in leisure with roles in movies like “Righteous Thieves” and “De Lo Mio,” together with collaborations with famend manufacturers reminiscent of Goal and Bumble. She shares her Bronx roots and fervour for Latine tradition by being vocal about psychological well being and navigating comedy.
