Carlos Lezama Archives & Caribbean Center

09/19/2026

✨ Day 1 at CMA! ✨

From the moment we arrived, we were captivated by the beautiful ambiance, elegance, and style of the Day 1 Meet & Greet at NAPA. The music, décor, Caribbean theme—and the most delicious doubles—created an unforgettable experience!

It felt like we had stepped right into our own Bridgerton era, beautifully reimagined with Caribbean flair. We enjoyed seeing familiar faces and celebrating among celebrities, entertainers, and DJs, including Private Ryan, Kevin Crown, Major Hype, Vaughn, and so many others.

What a sophisticated and vibrant way to begin the CMA experience—Caribbean culture at its finest! 🌴✨🎶

09/18/2026

Passing the steel pan to the next generation is at the heart of CLACC-C’s mission. Through steel pan, cultural education, mentorship, and youth literacy initiatives, we are preserving our heritage while preparing young people for the future.

Learning steel pan supports literacy by strengthening focus, listening, memory, pattern recognition, sequencing, and the ability to read and interpret musical notation. Every note played builds confidence, discipline, teamwork, and a deeper connection to Caribbean history.

We are not only teaching music—we are nurturing stronger readers, creative thinkers, cultural ambassadors, and future leaders. 🥁📚✨

09/18/2026

What a beautiful Wednesday night of culture at the American Museum of Natural History! 🌴🎶

Carnival came alive through music by Young Chow and an inspiring Q&A with Machel Montano and Angela Yee. We are proud to be Caribbean and grateful to celebrate among family, friends, and our community.

Congratulations to Little Caribbean for its out-of-the-box thinking and for creating meaningful connections to the broader Carnival cultural experience. CLACC-C was proudly in the building, celebrating our culture, our people, and our legacy! ❤️🖤💚

09/17/2026

These babies are watching, learning, and dreaming—and one day, they will become the musicians and cultural leaders carrying our legacy forward. This is what YPF is all about! 🥁✨

CLACCC

09/16/2026

🎉 I earned the fan favorite badge this week, recognizing me for consistently having meaningful conversations with my fans while sharing unique, relatable content!

09/16/2026

09/15/2026

🎥✨ Celebrating Our Media and Production Team!

We extend our heartfelt gratitude to everyone who invested their time and talents before, during, and after the YPF to ensure that our youths were seen, heard, and celebrated around the world!

Our livestream coverage received more than 29,000 combined views on the CLACC-C YouTube channel, while our social platforms reached over 3 million views this month! These are big wins for our youths, community, and culture!

Special thanks to:

✨ Team Soca and Eric St. Bernard for the interview that launched our season
✨ Obed James and James Media for capturing our special moments
✨ GBS Production Sound for ensuring every performance was heard
✨ AVOR Educators for our PR and community engagement
✨ Spectrum and Cheryl Wills for featuring President and CEO Yolanda Lezama Clark
✨ Caribbean Life News and Nelson A. King for the pre- and post-event articles
✨ Tish of “I Am Living My Life” for covering and sharing our story
✨ WIADCA for its support throughout the Season of Our Culture
✨ Sesame Flyers International for Pan in Times Square
✨ USSA, our sponsors, media partners, and collaborating influencers, and photographers 📷

Together, you created a beautiful canvas showcasing our soloists and steel bands. To our camera-shy production crew—you know who you are ☺️—thank you!

Let’s continue to grow, collaborate, and share the beauty of our culture with the world! 🥁🌍❤️

09/15/2026

🥁🌟 CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL OUR YOUNG PERFORMERS! 🌟🥁

Words cannot fully express our gratitude and pride for every young performer who participated in CLACC-C’s 14th Annual Youth Pan Fest. You were all truly amazing!

Each soloist and steel orchestra brought talent, discipline, creativity, energy, and a genuine love for our culture to the stage. Every performance reminded us that the future of steel pan is bright and in very capable hands.

We congratulate each of you, and we proudly recognize PESO—our reigning YPF champions! 🏆🎶

As you begin another school year, take everything you have learned from playing this beautiful instrument with you—the discipline, patience, confidence, teamwork, perseverance, and pride in your culture. Let those lessons guide you in the classroom and throughout every part of your life.

Continue practicing, learning, and growing. We look forward to seeing all that you will accomplish. We'd also like to thank who closed our program for their noteworthy performance. 🎭

Have a safe, successful, and amazing school year. Keep reaching for excellence, and we will see you next summer! 💙

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09/15/2026

🚀🪐 STEEL SENSATION TOOK US INTO OUTER SPACE! 🪐🚀

Steel Sensation delivered an unforgettable, out-of-this-world performance at CLACC-C’s 14th Annual Youth Pan Fest!

From the creative space-themed costumes and exciting theatrics to the energy, musicianship, and unity of the players, the entire presentation captured the audience’s imagination. Their young performers did more than play the steel pan—they told a story and brought the stage to life!

We proudly recognize their talented soloist, Dimitri Lal from Trinidad and Tobago, whose performance of “Our Father” beautifully showcased his talent, confidence, and cultural pride.

Congratulations to all the players, soloists, arrangers, instructors, parents, and supporters of Steel Sensation. Your creativity and commitment to developing young musicians truly made this performance one to remember!

At the YPF, it is never only about competition—it is about artistry, growth, teamwork, cultural preservation, and giving our young performers the freedom to reach for the stars! 🌟🥁

Steel Sensation, your performance was truly out of this world!

SteelPan

09/15/2026

🎶💙 METRO STEEL ORCHESTRA — OUR YOUNG PLAYERS SHINED! 💙🎶

Today, we proudly highlight the talented young musicians of Metro Steel Orchestra for their outstanding performance at CLACC-C’s 14th Annual Youth Pan Fest!

From the first note to the final rhythm, these dedicated players displayed confidence, discipline, teamwork, and a true love for the steel pan. We also celebrate Metro’s talented soloists—Teon Lewis, Jeremy Greene, Ayana Chinapoo, and Calen for having the courage to step forward and showcase their individual gifts.

Metro continues to nurture young musicians, preserve our Caribbean culture, and strengthen the future of the steel pan movement. Congratulations to the players, arrangers, instructors, parents, and entire Metro family for your commitment to our youth and culture!

At the YPF, it is about more than competition—it is about growth, community, cultural pride, and giving every young musician a stage to shine. 🥁🌟

Metro Steel Orchestra, we see you, we appreciate you, and we celebrate you!

CaribbeanCulture