TOMÁS PEÑA: Welcome, Anani! Tell me about “Voice of the Water Lily, Our Stories” and how you present music and stories from a “Taina youth’s perspective.”
ANANI CENTENO: My father, Jose Centeno, and his family moved from Guanica, Puerto Rico, to New York (the Bronx) in the 1950s. In the 80s, he reconnected with his Taino roots. Everyone knew him as “Running Water.” He raised me and my brother, Hatuey, with the consciousness that we are of Taino, African, and European ancestry. He made sure that we were aware of our ancestry!
TP: Tell me about your brother.
AC: He is ten and named after the Taino Cacique Hatuey. His name means “Certainty of the sun.”
TP: In the book, “Taino Earthschooling in the Diaspora,” there’s a passage that describes your upbringing. “Our daughter, Anani Kaike, at eight years old, has a profound mind and spirit. She was born within the reclaiming of our Taino identity (Taino resurgence), and she was born with Ceremonies from when she was in the womb, to her birth, to her blessing Ceremony, and the planting of her placenta. She took her first steps in the Batey’s and Ceremonial Lands that her Elders caretake and represent a generation of children who no longer need to think of reclaiming but who take that ‘reclaiming’ to the new dimension of ’embodying.’ Her name is Taino and means ‘Flower of the Water who Nourishes the Earth.'”
AC: My father’s passing in 2019 gave me a sense of responsibility to create the blog and podcast. Also, I grew up in a musical environment. My parents didn’t expose me to mainstream music. They believed, “This is your cultural music. It’s what you should listen to.” I grew up listening to Ismael Rivera, Celia Cruz, Cheo Feliciano, Bomba, Plena, Patato y Totico, Latin jazz, and a wide variety of music. Also, my grandfather, who I never met, loved Jibaro (folkloric) music, Bobby Capo and Daniel Santos, which he instilled in my father. I am keeping the culture alive and honoring the ancestors. That’s what’s important to me!
TP: Tell me about your mother.
AC: My mother, Laura Centeno, was born in England and grew up in Pennsylvania. Her family moved to Pennsylvania when she was a baby. My mother never bought me fiction books. She bought biographies, which sparked my interest in people’s stories. My mother is so immersed in the Puerto Rican culture she surprises me. She’s an “Honorary Boricua!”
