Ever since I saw a brief performance by the Peruvian dance troupe Afro conTempo the other week, I’ve been itching to know more about this group. I’d never heard of conTempo or Marcela Díaz before, yet here they were on stage, fully formed. I’d scoured the city for an Afro-Peruvian troupe last year — how could they have escaped my notice? Finally, I got the answer from Díaz, as she clued me in about her company’s upcoming “inauguration” party this Saturday. Turns out Díaz has lived in Miami since her family moved from her native Peru when she was 10 years old. She graduated from Florida International University dance program in April 2009, where she dedicated her thesis project to a fusion of Afro-Peruvian and modern dance. Then she flew down to Lima to collaborate with singers and dancers down there. That’s how I missed her!

But she came after six months. “Miami is my home,” Díaz explains to Knight Arts over the phone. She formed her company here last spring and has been performing at least once a month since March. That’s kept her so busy that she hasn’t been to officially inaugurate the company until this weekend, when she’ll host a party featuring excerpts from a number of her pieces as well as performances by other local artists who work in the Afro-Peruvian tradition.

“Because of the mixed culture that we have in Miami, I though that my fusion might be appealing to many people,” she says.

What appealed to her about fusing Afro-Peruvian and modern dance?

“A lot of people don’t even know that there were Blacks in Peru,” she points out. “Even though I’m not a black Peruvian, it is in my interest to get that message across and to interpret this culture though in a less traditional way. So far it’s always been presented through traditional folklore. I hope to reach new audiences with this fusion work and to hopefully inspire other choreographers in Peru to look into different ways to express this culture.”

Afro conTempo Dance Theater presents “Festejo a Mi Manera” (I Party My Way) at 8:30 pm on Saturday August 7 at Inkub8, 2021 NW 1st Place, Miami, FL 33127. Tickets cost $12 ahead and $15 at the door. Admission includes Peruvian buffet prepared by Las Cholitas restaurant. Call 786-444-6726 for reservations. www.afrocontempodancetheater.com