On Saturday December 8, artists and deejays threw a party in Astoria, Queens that featured music from all over the world. They called it Makossa and it attracted a crowd of young fun(k)-seekers. There was a guy dressed as Superman and a few Santas* came to spread some holiday cheer. There were dancers and live music fans and plenty of local color at this festive loft-party-haven from the cold New York City night.

Deejays like Small Change spun afro-beat, samba and salsa to keep the crowd happy and dancing. Later in the night, Amayo, from Antibalas, displayed a new type of afro-beat with his band called Fu Arkestra. The show was complete with sun-filled cello sounds and lots of drums. To complete the picture, there was a psychedelic slide show going on in the background and a fire dancer outside. The fire dancing was being performed and recorded and then simultaneously projected onto the wall in the party, which made for a very cool visual effect.

Later in the night, Capoeira dancers showed their moves while Grupo Brasil, a seven-piece band, heated up the musical flow with live samba. When the dance floor got too hot, caipirinhas and mojitos were served to cool off the thirsty crowd. There was a hookah burning in a side room as well - mmm…strawberry. It was a world-of-fun night!

To attend great events like Makossa, contact Small Change at www.djsmallchange.com, join his list serve, and serve yourself a big portion of New York Cool.

*Santacon is an event that happens every year around this time where fifty or so New Yorkers dress up as Santa Claus to run around the city drinking and being merry. Later, some of them end up at random parties throughout the city still dressed in their festive best.