Kaypi, Chaypi, Wakpi
Aquí, Ahí, Allá
Here, There, Over There
Sumaj Tusuy dance group was established in Miami over 20 years ago. The dance group has traveled to various places including Costa Rica, Mexico and Peru, to share dances and exchange cultures. We are an organization that seeks to promote the sense of a cultural community with an emphasizes on the acknowledgement of the arts. We believe that individuals in the performing arts have the ability to connect communities, while expressing love for their culture through their talents. Sumaj Tusuy provides dance classes, performances, and workshops to the Miami and South Florida community with tireless energy, love, and dedication since 2003.
Kuyayky is a musical ayllu and foundation native to Jauja, Peru that currently resides in Miami and has been performing on various stages around the world since 1993. Their origins date back to the Andean town of Jauja in the 1970s, where Edda Bonilla Peña, educator and first voice of the Ensemble Alma Jaujina met and collaborated with José Luís Hurtado Zamudio, an ethnomusicologist and sociologist in the creation and direction of the Casa de la Cultura City Choir. In 2003 the ayllu started the Kuyayky Foundation with the mission of researching, promoting and fostering the development of Andean culture in all its facets. As such, in 2015 they founded the Kuyayky Children’s and Youth Orchestra. Their work and performances have been recognized by the Inter-American Development Bank, the Smithsonian Institution and international media such as the BBC, NBC Universal, the Washington Post, among others.
The Quechua Project champions the intergenerational survival of Quechua language within the Bolivian diaspora community of the D.C. metro area. We envision a future where our younger generations have the spaces and encouragement to use Quechua. Two core ideas drive our work: first, because language is a powerful factor in identity, it is a key to a people’s survival; second, reversing a centuries-long pattern of indigenous language loss is a bold act of resistance against intentional Native erasure across the Americas.
BETTY CALORETTI
Sumaj Tusuy director Betty Caloretti focuses on Andean dances of Peru, her passion for Peruvian folklore developed at a young age in her native Ayacucho. She attended the Escuela Nacional del Magisterio, taught at the Pontificia Universidad Catolica del Peru, was a member of the dance group Centro Universitario Huancayo and later went on to form her own group Matices del Centro, she has a long history of teaching, and studying the Andean dances of Peru. After migrating to the United States, she continued teaching Andean dances in her community and at various venues in Miami-Dade County. She has worked with various community organizations and public institutions to teach and share her love of dance.
MONICA FLORES
Monica Flores is a proud descendant of Quechua speakers. She learned a few Quechua words from her mother, who inherited their native language from her grandmother. An awareness that Quechua was dying out in her family led her to commit to generating awareness of the importance of Quechua language revitalization. Monica is a founding member of The Quechua Project, an organization that champions the inter-generational survival of Quechua within the Bolivian diaspora community of the D.C. metro area.
Her short story, Wayra Chaki, was published in 2018 and she has developed it into a longer series of stories inspired by her early years in Cochabamba, Bolivia. As a student in George Mason University, she co-founded the Bolivian Cultural Association, danced with Tradiciones Bolivianas as its first Nusta, and supported community initiatives on indigenous rights. A commitment to cultural heritage and language has shaped Monica’s path, leading her to over 40 countries and landing her at the helm of cultural and educational programming at museums, universities, and nonprofits. She started her career at the Smithsonian Institution’s Division of Cultural History and now works for an international development company, where she serves on a working group on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. She remains engaged in the cultural sphere and public diplomacy sectors.
Monica holds a Master of Science in Conflict Analysis and Resolution from the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution and a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish Literature with minors in Dance and Latin American Studies, both from George Mason University. Additionally, in Berlin, Germany, and Budapest, Hungary, she earned international graduate certificates in cultural diplomacy and in mediation. Monica is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP), an Agile Certified Practitioner, (PMI-ACP), and has a Six Sigma Yellow Belt (CSSYB) in process improvement.
Shana Inofuentes (Aymara and Ashkenazi) is an Indigenous art activist reveling in communication for joy and justice. She is a proud daughter of the Bolivian immigrant community of metro Washington, D.C.-the largest Quechua and the largest Bolivian community in the U.S., with approximately 300,000 people. A communications strategist by profession, Shana recently launched and is Principal at Ch’ama: Native Americas, LLC, an Indigenous consulting and creative firm for responsible access to Indigenous communities, creative products, and translations. Ch’ama is forming a hub of art by Indigenous South American artists, tailored for the diaspora and global audiences. The film Shana is producing, Kutiy: Our Great Migration, will be featured on this hub.
She founded and is President of The Quechua Project, “a novel, 21st century approach to addressing linguistic oppression and Native erasure,” using social media activism for Quechua language revitalization among her diaspora community’s youth. Over the decades, Shana has held principal dancer and leadership roles in her community’s traditional organizations, which perpetuate culture through dance. She taught dance to hundreds of youth, showcased Native film with Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian, directed choreography and music, and holds 11 combined U.S. Bolivian diaspora national championships in dance and sports. After the passing of her Aymara-speaking grandmother in Bolivia, Shana became acutely aware of Indigenous language loss. Recognizing the potential for this same loss in her predominantly-Quechua community of the diaspora, she sought to turn the tide. Shana feels compelled to give back to her community by building a future where youth like her son, Amichai, can thrive without sacrificing identity, a luxury that their ancestors did not have.
Diana Larrea is a Peruvian award-winning documentary filmmaker, photographer, and visual artist based in Miami, FL, and Cusco, Perú. She is currently a resident artist at Oolite Arts and in pre-production for her short film “Hatun Sonqo,” a documentary dedicated to preserving indigenous languages and heritage in South Florida. Her latest experimental film, “Querido Pequeño Haiti”, premiered at this year’s Miami Film Festival, screening at the legendary Adrienne Arsht Center. “Monarcas”, her directorial debut, won best documentary at the Highland Park Independent Film Festival.
Diana has also lent her editing skills to various projects, including “Madame Pipi” (2021), “Birthright” (2021), and the Emmy-winning documentary, “Six Degrees of Immigration” (2019). Diana has collaborated with Miami artists throughout the past decade, capturing their essence through intimate portraits while documenting communities grappling with the effects of development and gentrification. With an Associate’s degree in Film Production from Miami-Dade College, she began her career as an editor for TV stations and institutions. Diana aims to portray and empower the immigrant experience through her work poetically.
