A film by Anula Shetty and Michael Kuetemeyer
Created in collaboration with Scribe Video Center and MiND TV,
Villa Africana Colobó, African Garden is a documentary about the creation of a cultural garden in a Latino neighborhood in North Philadelphia. In the early ’90s a group of Puerto Rican women in a Latino neighborhood in North Philadelphia decided to get together and do something for themselves and their neighborhood. They were tired of the drug dealings, abandoned houses, and vacant lots. At first, the women would get together to cook and sew, to chat about their families. They then started cleaning the abandoned lots and creating community gardens. They called themselves Grupo Motivos. In the film, Iris Brown tells us a story about her light-skinned granddaughter Ariel, who would only play with white dolls. Once when Iris made her a black doll, she refused to play with it. Iris then explained to her that being African was part of their culture. Incidents like this led Iris Brown and the women of Grupo Motivos to envision a new garden that would celebrate African culture and bring together the Latino and African American residents of the neighborhood.
Through music, poetry, food, and dance, the garden celebrates African roots and African heritage in Puerto Rico, the U.S. and Africa. We hear stories of migration, color prejudice, and reclaiming heritage. By sharing these stories, the film builds bridges across generations and across cultures.