Storytelling our Latinx Community and the Fandango de Durham (2025-2026)

This team examined how music, dance and storytelling help Durham’s Latinx communities maintain cultural connections while building new lives in North Carolina. Focusing on son jarocho, a folk music and dance tradition that originated in Veracruz, Mexico, the team explored how local artists, musicians and community members use cultural practices to preserve heritage, strengthen community ties and share stories that are often overlooked. 

The team participated in oral history training workshops with Iximché Media, conducted interviews with community members connected to the Fandango de Durham and broader Latinx artistic networks, and contributed to audiovisual documentation and archival research. Their work advanced the development of a digital oral history archive and an in-progress documentary film, Un Fandango en Carolina / A Fandango in Carolina, which highlights migration histories, cultural traditions and community-building practices rooted in son jarocho. Through fieldwork and collaborative storytelling, team members helped preserve and amplify local Latinx voices and experiences.

The team also played a central role in planning and producing the 2026 Fandango de Durham festival, supporting event logistics, outreach and community programming. The festival featured children’s activities, workshops on traditional music, foodways and weaving, and a local artisan market, drawing broad community participation. By connecting research with public engagement, the project created meaningful learning experiences for students while strengthening the visibility and appreciation of Latinx arts and culture in Durham.

Timing

Fall 2025 – Spring 2026

Team Outputs

Storytelling our Latinx Community and the Fandango de Durham (Interactive display at the Fortin Foundation Bass Connections Showcase, April 15, 2026)

2026 Fandango de Durham community festival

Community outreach and bilingual promotional materials for Fandango de Durham

Training workshops with Iximché Media

Interviews and audiovisual recordings with Durham-area community members and artists

Digital oral history archive documenting Latinx community life and son jarocho networks in North Carolina

Documentary film Un Fandango en Carolina / A Fandango in Carolina (in progress)

This Team in the News

Where Music Becomes Home: Fandango de Durham Connects Community, History and Tradition (Trinity Communications)

See related team, Storytelling our Latinx Community and the Fandango de Durham (2026-2027).

_{Image: Fandango de Durham poster from 2024}