Party – Africa Lives

Party – Africa Lives at Casa África, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.

On May 25th, what we know today as the African Union was born, the only association to which all 55 States of the continent belong. This is why May 25th is considered Africa Day and is celebrated worldwide.

Around this day, Casa África has organized a good number of activities since its inception (exhibitions, workshops, gastronomy, fashion, music, sports, conferences, etc.) always in collaboration with the Federation of African Associations in the Canary Islands (FAAC), the Elder Museum of Science and Technology, the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (ULPGC), the African Film Festival of Tarifa/Tangier (FCAT) and with the support of Binter.

One more year, and with the same spirit of knowledge and sharing that always accompanies this celebration, we present the activities that make up the 2026 Africa Lives program and which we hope you will come and enjoy.

Africa Lives 2026 Program

• EXHIBITION BY VÉRONIQUE TADJO: “WHEN WORDS ARE TINGED WITH COLOR”
  • From April 28th to May 30th in the windows of Casa África's facade
  • More info
• CONFERENCE BY VÉRONIQUE TADJO: “FROM NARRATIVE TO MAGICAL IMAGE”
  • Tuesday, April 28th, at the Nelson Mandela Auditorium of Casa África, at 7:00 PM.
  • More info
• CONFERENCE “BEYOND BEAUTY. WHAT FABRICS TELL IN WEST AFRICA», BY LAURA DE LA CARRERA (MAMAH AFRICA)
  • Friday, May 8th, Nelson Mandela Auditorium of Casa África, 7:00 PM
  • More info
• NDYINGA: AFRICAN STORIES WITH DEBORAH EKOKA
  • Saturday, May 9th, central courtyard of Casa África, 10:00 AM
  • Ndyinga Stories is an oral storytelling show that brings the audience closer to the richness of African culture, promoting respect and appreciation for cultural diversity. Deborah Ekoka, with Equatorial Guinean roots, narrates tales from her ancestors, accompanied by music and movement, creating an auditory and sensory journey that transports both children and adults to the heart of Africa.
• AFRICAN FASHION SHOW AND MARKET PLACE
  • Saturday, May 9, Casa África courtyard, 6:00 p.m.
  • The African Fashion Runway and Market Place will transform Casa África's courtyard into a vibrant meeting point for creation, identity, and Afro-descendant entrepreneurship. Starting at 6:00 p.m., the public will be able to enjoy a fashion show that will display the aesthetic richness and diversity of languages of contemporary African fashion, through the proposals of African brands based in the Canary Islands whose collections dialogue between tradition and modernity, craftsmanship and current design. In parallel, the space will host a market place where attendees can get to know the work of these brands up close, acquire unique pieces, and establish direct contact with their creators, highlighting sustainable processes, artisanal work, and the stories behind each garment. The day will be accompanied by a DJ set, specializing in African music, which will bring rhythm and a festive atmosphere to an afternoon designed to celebrate the creativity, cultural diversity, and African and Afro-descendant talent present in the archipelago.
• Opening of the EXHIBITION «JOURNEYS. MIGRANT MINORS, THE LONG JOURNEY»
  • Monday, May 11, Casa África Courtyard, 7:00 p.m.
  • The exhibition can be visited until June 19
  • More info
• FILM SERIES “THIS IS NIGERIA!”
  • May 12 to 14, Elder Museum of Science and Technology Cinema, starting at 6:00 p.m. (free admission until full capacity)
  • More info
• AFRICAN GASTRONOMIC CORNER
  • Saturday, May 16, Casa África courtyard, from 1:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
  • One more year, Casa África, the Group of African Women Cooks and the Federation of African Associations in the Canary Islands (FAAC) launch the African Gastronomic Corner, an invitation to discover and savor some of the most representative dishes of the cuisine of Morocco, Senegal, Equatorial Guinea, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, and Mauritania. During this culinary encounter, a selection of African tapas will be offered to enjoy in the Casa África courtyard or at home, as a takeaway service will be available. The day will be accompanied by the music of a DJ specializing in African sounds, creating a festive and multicultural atmosphere.
• PODCAST RECORDING “THE WORLD ORDER OF THE 21ST CENTURY”
  • Wednesday, May 20, central courtyard of Casa África (time pending)
  • The World Order of the 21st Century, a media outlet for international information, produces podcasts as part of a series called “It's Not the End of the World,” with the aim of presenting the international situation in a didactic and understandable way. Within the framework of África Vive, we will host the recording of a chapter on African geopolitics in the Casa África courtyard. For Casa África, and within the framework of the África Vive program, this represents a highly visible action, very positive for generating reflection and knowledge about Africa's current role in a geopolitical context as complex as the present one.
• CI LA BOKK FESTIVAL: SABAR WORKSHOP AND EXHIBITION
  • Thursday, May 21, Casa África courtyard
  • CI LA BOKK is a multidisciplinary festival that takes place between the Canary Islands and Senegal and places interculturality at its center as a driver of social enrichment, dialogue, and coexistence, especially in territories united by geographical proximity and human ties. Within the framework of its 2026 edition, promoted by the Thioune Brothers, the Casa África courtyard will host a workshop and exhibition of Senegalese sabar, one of the most representative expressions of Wolof culture. Sabar is an artistic language that combines percussion, dance, and song, traditionally associated with community celebrations such as births, weddings, or social rituals, and is characterized by its energy, improvisation, and close communication between musicians and dancers. The activity will offer the public the opportunity to get to know this living tradition up close, participate in the workshop, and enjoy a demonstration that highlights cultural transmission, rhythm as an element of social cohesion, and the exchange between African and Canarian cultures.
• OPENING OF THE TEACH AFRICA EXHIBITION
  • Friday, May 22, Casa África courtyard and Sahel exhibition hall, from 10:00 to 13:00
  • The Teach Africa exhibition will open its doors at Casa África with a display of works created by students from the 78 centers that participated during the 2025-2026 academic year in the project of the same name. A representation of students and teachers participating in the project from different educational centers on various islands, as well as from the teaching unit of the Salto del Negro penitentiary center, will attend the exhibition opening, which will be held at Casa África in a playful atmosphere (African dance workshop) in commemoration of Africa Day. The project coordinators, Ezequiel Guerra and Beatriz Andreu, will participate.
• OYOFE URBAN DANCE WORKSHOP AND AFRICAN PARTY
  • Saturday, May 23, Casa África courtyard, from 10:00 to 12:00 (free admission until full capacity)
  • Casa África invites the public to immerse themselves in the vibrant energy, rhythm, and creativity of African urban dances, led by OYOFE, an international reference festival in this field. Conceived as an inclusive, community-based space open to all levels, the workshop proposes learning and experimenting with these styles from their cultural origin, valuing movement as a form of expression, connection, and collective celebration. A cultural event with master classes, battles, and performances, culminating in an African party that will bring the festive and multicultural spirit that defines OYOFE, a project that promotes cultural exchange and community creation through dance and music, to the Casa África courtyard.
• IV INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF YOUNG RESEARCHERS – BRIDGE TO AFRICA
  • Monday, May 25 (at 18:00), and Thursday, May 28 (9:30-18:00), Nelson Mandela Auditorium at Casa África
  • Within the framework of the Bridge to Africa initiative, Casa África collaborates in the IV International Congress of Young Researchers on Africa (CIJIA), organized by the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. Under the motto “Africa looking to the future. History, challenges and perspectives of African Studies,” the congress seeks to promote new generations of researchers and strengthen international knowledge networks. The 2026 edition will feature keynote lectures by Ndongo Samba Sylla and Rahmane Idrissa, as well as pre-doctoral workshops and an expert panel on the state of African studies in Spain.
  • Casa África will host on May 25 at 18:00 the lecture “Art and Restitution,” given by Elvira Dyangani Ose, director of MACBA and art curator. Likewise, on May 28, from 9:30 to 18:00, the institution will host a full day of the congress with workshops and lectures.
• AFRICAN LETTERS: BOOK PRESENTATION “BLACK CHOCOLATE”, BY ALFONSO MOLERA TERUEL
  • Wednesday, May 27. at 18:30, in the Nelson Mandela Auditorium at Casa África
  • Casa África hosts the presentation of Black Chocolate, by Alfonso Molera Teruel, a book that offers a journey through the history and contemporary reality of cocoa, with special attention to the role of the African continent. Based on his field experience and research work, the author analyzes the social, economic, and environmental dimensions that permeate cocoa production, highlighting the structural inequalities of the global system.
    The event will include a conversation with the author about the origin and evolution of cocoa cultivation, its impact in Africa —the world's main producing region— and current challenges related to sustainability, fair trade, and responsible consumption.
• AFRICAN LETTERS: DIALOGUE WITH THE WRITER ABDELLAH TAÏA
  • Tuesday, June 2, Nelson Mandela Auditorium at Casa África, at 6:30 PM
  • Within the framework of the African Letters series, Casa África welcomes Moroccan writer and filmmaker Abdellah Taia, one of the most unique voices in contemporary Francophone literature. He will converse with Lydia Vázquez Jiménez, Professor of French Philology at UPV/EHU and translator of a good part of his work —My Morocco (Cálamo prize), Le Rouge du tarbouche, The Salvation Army, An Arab Melancholy, The King's Day, and Infidels— to review his creative trajectory.
    Author of novels that address identity, displacement, and sexuality from a poetic and deeply personal perspective, Taia made the leap to cinema with L’Armée du salut, an adaptation of his own novel presented at the Venice Film Festival. His work, always at the intersection of literature and cinema, continues to grow, as demonstrated by the international premiere of his second feature film at the Karlovy Vary festival.
• FOOTBALL TOURNAMENT
  • (Month of June. Day, time, and place pending)
  • The África Vive football tournament will bring together teams formed by African countries and Canarian teams in a sporting event that promotes encounter, coexistence, and respect through sport. This tournament highlights football as a universal language capable of building bridges between cultures and communities. The initiative will have the support of the Unión Deportiva Las Palmas Foundation, reinforcing its inclusive nature and its connection with the social and sporting fabric of the archipelago, in an event that will combine competition, participation, and community spirit.