FREE
The HOME Refugee Steering Committee at the Lynden Sculpture Garden invites you to observe World Refugee Day in a series of outdoor events and programs that celebrate Milwaukee’s refugee communities through art, food, fashion, and performance. Our theme for 2025 is Walking Together, Weaving the World.
From 11 am to 4 pm, the HOME Family Workshop Day will feature opportunities to learn or observe traditional crafts and their modern variants, explore Lynden’s landscape, and browse the craft market.
At 4 pm, we join Batey del Lago for a bombazo, a hands-on exploration of Puerto Rican bomba, an Afro-Indigenous musical tradition that is the oldest in Puerto Rico. Participants will have the opportunity to try traditional percussion instruments, learn bomba songs, and practice dance movements. No prior experience is necessary, just bring your energy and curiosity! Once you have a few moves under your belt, Batey del Lago will offer a lively bomba performance where you can practice what you have learned.
About Bomba
Bomba is Puerto Rico’s oldest musical tradition, still practiced today as a form of resistance and cultural identity. It dates back over 400 years ago from the colonial plantations where enslaved Africans and their descendants worked. Bomba has deep roots in South-Central Africa, and encompasses drumming, dance, and song, as well as food, community building, and oral history.
Bámbula is a musical genre that unites the Caribbean and other Afro-diasporic parts of the American continent. It was developed as a means to gather as a community while connecting with African ancestors and to the motherland or African continent. Bomba is Puerto Rico’s Bámbula.
About Batey del Lago
Batey del Lago is a Milwaukee-based Puerto Rican bomba group committed to preserving this Afro-Indigenous musical tradition. Through music, dance, and song, they honor the roots of bomba while embracing its contemporary expressions. The group’s members include musicians, educators, office workers, and artists, all united by a passion for sharing and reviving the rhythms, songs, and movements of Afro-Puerto Rican bomba. Batey del Lago
About HOME
HOME is the theme of our work with refugee community leaders, community members, Call & Response artists, and allies. The HOME Refugee Steering Committee is building a space of leading, coming together, and celebrating refugees. For all HOME 2025 programming, click here.
