Progreso Latino Fund

Experience ¡Taíno Vive! at the Peabody Museum with the Progreso Latino Fund (RECAP)

Date

Apr 30, 2026

Time

6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Location

Yale Peabody Museum, 170 Whitney Ave., New Haven, CT 

Presenter(s)

Stephanie Bailey and Luis Sanakori Ramos, exhibit collaborators and members of AraYeke Yukayek

A collage of five photos showing diverse people at a museum event: visitors viewing exhibits, a woman speaking on stage, a man with a feathered rattle, smiling attendees, and a woman with a child holding a red Progressa Latinos Fund bag.
Judy Sirota Rosenthal

“Many people wanted us to think that we were extinct, but we're not. We're still here,” said Luis Sanakori Ramos.

Ramos was speaking with Stephanie Bailey, a fellow collaborator on the exhibit ¡TAÍNO VIVE! at Yale Peabody Museum, which examines the history of resistance and survival in the Caribbean and explores the current Taíno movement in the United States. Both are members of AraYeke Yukayek, a New York-based Taíno community dedicated to preserving and strengthening Taíno culture.

Ramos and Bailey shared their discoveries of ancestral Taíno knowledge and traditions at a special presentation of ¡TAÍNO VIVE! at the Peabody hosted by the Progreso Latino Foundation. In a conversation hosted by former Progreso Latino Fund Co-Chair Tara Davila, the two emphasized the resilience and visibility of Taíno culture, despite historical erasure. They also explored what it looks like to grieve this erasure.

A group of people sit and stand in a large museum hall with dinosaur skeletons overhead, listening to a speaker at the front. The hall has tall windows, arched doorways, and display cases along the walls.
Judy Sirota Rosenthal

“Allowing grief a place to land and be transmitted helps us integrate with it and move forward,” said Gypsy Garcia, PLF advisory board member. “Tonight, I'm excited to offer these feelings a place to land with a conversation that honors and celebrates what it means to find your power amidst its complexity. We're here to learn from our community members who are leading the work of bridging our ancestry and who we are now.”

More than 100 attendees gathered for the conversation and exhibit tour hosted in collaboration with Leaders for Educational Advocacy and Diversity (LEAD). The conversation was also facilitated by United in Solidarity for New Haven.

One of the evening’s raffle prizes included Taikaraya Conuco: a Caribbean Indigenous parody, a new book written by Bailey’s 6-year-old daughter, Malia Justina-Jeanne Belot, who was also in attendance. The book was inspired by Goodnight Moon, with its title translating to “goodnight land.”

“Some people think the Taíno people are not here anymore, and I want to teach them new Taíno words,” said Belot.

WITH THANKS TO OUR EVENT SPONSORS:


CO-HOSTS

Logo for Yale Peabody Museums LEAD program. On the left, colorful text says LEAD: Leaders for Educational Advocacy and Diversity with a blue figure and stars. On the right, text reads Yale Peabody Museum.
Black square with a white abstract design of three stylized people above the words United in Solidarity for New Haven. Below, in smaller text: Shared Humanity. Shared Liberation.

COMMUNITY PARTNER

CONTRIBUTING PARTNERS

A collage of six logos: ARTE Inc., BBB Attorneys & Counselors, Burgos-Crespo Family Fund, Maldonado SBC with a sun, P.R.U. with a flag, Siempre Pa’lante Fund, and Stepping Into Prosperity with a person and hearts.

With questions or to request an invitation to attend future events, please contact Carmen Burgos.