Caribbean Connections

Join Van Cortlandt House Museum and Van Cortlandt Park Alliance for an afternoon that brings together history, music, and flavor. This unique program highlights the significant ties between early New York and the Caribbean and Latin America.

The afternoon begins with a teaching musical performance by Juan Usera and the Sambuco Tribe, who will share the rhythms, traditions, and history of Caribbean and Latin American music while inviting the audience to listen, learn, and participate.

From 1:30- 2:30 PM, guests will have the chance to sample Caribbean flavors—including sweet pineapple and other tastes that shaped New York’s history of trade and culture.

At 3 PM, join VCHM Site Historian Nick Dembowski for a special, focused guided tour* of Van Cortlandt House Museum on early New York’s ties to the Caribbean and Latin America. The tour will uncover how colonial trade, migration, and culture connected the Bronx to the wider Atlantic world.

Registration is not required, but is suggested. 

*Please note that the guided tour at 3 PM does have a capacity limit and will be on a first-come, first-served basis. We encourage you to join the tour right after the performance ends at 2:45 PM to ensure a spot on the tour.

Accessibility: This event will take place outdoors on the museum lawn, which is uneven in spots. Limited outdoor seating will be available. At this time, the historic house is accessed using stairs, and has three flights of stairs inside. Our Welcome Center is accessible via ramp, and a 360-degree tour of the historic house (general, not focused) is available on a tablet inside the Welcome Center.

Language: this program will be in both English and Spanish. The guided historic house tour will be delivered in English.

Getting here and parking:
Address for GPS: 6036 Broadway, Bronx, NY

Van Cortlandt House Museum is located inside Van Cortlandt Park at Broadway and West 246th Street in The Bronx. There is a paved tree-lined pedestrian path leading from Broadway to the museum.