About Us

Fraternidad Folklórica Boliviana (FFB), is a registered non-profit organization founded in 1993 with the mission of promoting and preserving the traditions of Bolivian culture through folklore. Our group is compos= ed of dancers of different races, nationalities, and religious beliefs who, intri= gued by the magic of our beautiful traditions, have helped maintain our inherited culture alive. The dances and= music are positive activities that entertain the youth of our community. Our organization, aside from the cultural aspect, provides important opportunit= ies for these youths to not succumb to the negative influences commonly found, instead providing the children with values of respect, discipline and responsibility. FFB has stead= ily progressed thanks to the hard work and dedication of the volunteers who over the fifteen years have built the foundation on which our organization stands today.

The Fraternidad Folklórica Boliviana (FFB) was founded = for festivities in honor of the Virgin Mary of Urkupiña. In the past, these festivities were celebrated in houses and halls with religious ceremonies where the “pasantes” would make a promise of continuing this tradition th= e following year; that is how Liliana Tedesqui and her family brought from Bolivia the first image of the Virgin Mary of Urkupiña. In 1992, the “pasantes”= ;, Luis and Norma Rodriguez, invited for the first time a Caporales group from Virginia. These dancers were the motivation needed for Eduardo and Mi= reya Sandoval to start a similar dance group in Rhode Island seeing that they wo= uld be the next “pasantes” in Rhode Island in the year 1993. With the help of other families an= d with the direction of Peggy Sandoval, the preparations and the first dance pract= ices of the newly formed Rhode Island dance group were held soon after. Wi= th a lot of hard work and dedication, the dancers practiced during several months which led to a successful presentation at the festivities that year. These dancers established the first dance group called the “Caporales= de Rhode Island”. Soon enough, they were invited to many presentat= ions just as many new dancers were joining the group. While they practiced= in the St. Patrick’s gym, it was common to find the parents gathered whe= ther it be to adjust the dance outfits brought from B= olivia or to plan the future of this young organization. A few years later, Peggy left the = group and FFB welcomed Javier Calderon from Massachusetts with his effective meth= od of discipline and perfection. Each one of these coordinators, or captain= s, contributed with an important role in the development of our organization. Since then Jaime Mendoza has been able to successfully manage this numerous group to the point where the Capor= ales are now a large dance group known throughout our community. In 2004, FFB began a new phase in = the development of the organization that involved expanding the number of dance= s by adding Tinkus and Taquirari. Afterwards, Morenada, Tobas, Cueca, Diablada, and the folkloric musical group were added. From our organization, many leader= s have left in order to form other Bolivian dance groups of which we are very proud of. The past has given us many memorable moments full of excitement and satisfaction. The bonds form= ed within our organization when planning presentations, competitions, parties, picnics, parades, and trips are hard to forget. Seeing young kids grow into mature adults within our organization is the motivation and the fuel t= hat keeps us energized and ready to move forward, one day at a time.=