All Posts

This holiday season, and especially the month of December, we found ourselves surrounded by and reminded of our personal theme (JOY!). Joy sounds illogical right now, I know! I'll be honest—we didn't meet our program goals for the year. Those goals required funding that we simply weren't able to secure, and that reality has been difficult to accept. But here's what I've learned about joy: it doesn't always come from achieving what you set out to accomplish. Sometimes joy come

I won't hold you all—I know the holidays keep everyone busy! But I did want to pause and say that Thanksgiving Day serves as my annual reminder to practice gratitude, and this year especially, it's been transformative. When I lean into gratitude for all that I have, and all that APPP has, it transmutes all the negative we've encountered this year into something positive and meaningful. Being an executive director has been scary, new, and often discouraging—there have been mom

I want to be transparent with our community of friends and supporters--Alegria: Palenque Preservation Project had to temporarily close our doors due to funding challenges and some behind-the-scenes issues that needed our attention. The federal government shutdown made things even more difficult by halting applications for federal grants—grants we were counting on to begin and sustain our cultural preservation work. Like many of you navigating uncertain times, I also needed to

As we observe Hispanic Heritage Month, we want to take a moment to celebrate the profound and enduring contributions of Afro-Colombians...

Life has a way of throwing curveballs when you least expect them. Over the past few months, I've faced some personal challenges and...

At Alegria, we honor July as BIPOC Mental Health Awareness Month with deep reverence and reflection. In San Basilio de Palenque, the...

At Alegria, June brings us a special kind of joy: the opportunity to celebrate the fathers, grandfathers, uncles, brothers, sons, and...

May is a month full of joy and meaning for us at Alegria: Palenque Preservation Project. We proudly celebrated Afro-Colombian Day on May...

Grant proposal efforts during this year’s first quarter were unfruitful, prompting me to think outside the box for a better second...

During Women’s History Month, we celebrate the powerful legacies of Afro-Colombian women who have changed the course of history—none more...

Buen dia, friends! Black History Month is one of our favorite times of the year at APPP, especially because we partner with and support a...

To paraphrase a key takeaway from an episode of The CEO Series, “If you’re a CEO, the buck stops with you.  Everything that goes right or...

Happy New Year! I can't stress this enough--Alegria: Palenque Preservation Project wishes you all a year full of great health, wealth,...

Buenas, Friends! Happy First-Day-of-Winter! And just like that, the new year is upon us... Conversations with my team and this photo...

Hola, friends!!! This is Erin, founder of APPP, wishing you a blessed and safe start to your holiday season! Like many of you, I hoped...