Vol.1 
Vol.2
The Realization of the Bugiganga Tropical Collection
We proudly present a new edition of Bugiganga Tropical, a vinyl collection embodying the principles of Tropical Diaspora Records®. This project explores the cultural encounter between two displaced peoples: Africans forcibly brought across the Atlantic, the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, and their European colonizers—the architects of genocide. From this collision emerged new forms of expression—music, art, and resistance—reflecting both the horrors of colonialism and the resilience of survival.
Acknowledging the Paradox of Language and Power
We recognize that the tools we use—language, design, even the term "America"—are shaped by imperialist narratives. English, Spanish, Portuguese: these are the languages of colonizers, yet they are also our means of communication today. Silence is not an option. We choose to speak, to reclaim these channels, and to amplify voices that have been systematically erased.
Design as Political Statement
The artwork of Bugiganga Tropical is intentional. Each volume features plants—coffee, cacao, sugarcane, and cotton—symbolizing the forced labor of enslaved Africans and the displacement of Indigenous peoples. These crops built colonial empires on genocide, yet they also became sites of cultural fusion. The music within these records—Afro-Brazilian samba-rock, Andean protest folk, experimental forró-cumbia, and blues from Brazil and the U.S.—stands as testament to that survival.
The Roots of Tropical Diaspora Records®
The word "bugiganga" still echoes in my ears—a Portuguese term meaning trinkets or knick-knacks, spat contemptuously by wealthy Paulistanos to describe my Black grandmother’s few possessions as she worked in their homes. "Empregada doméstica" they called her—just another euphemism masking modern slavery.
These records grew from that injustice. What colonizers dismissed as worthless—the music, crafts, and cultural fragments preserved by the oppressed—became our most sacred treasures. The Bugiganga Tropical series honors this truth: what masters called "trash" was, in fact, the irreplaceable heritage of enslaved Africans and Indigenous peoples.
This is music as living history—not streaming data, but physical artifacts you must hold to truly know, just as my grandmother’s story must be held to be remembered.
The cotton plant embodies the bloodiest chapter of racial capitalism—the fabric of slavery that clothed the world while stripping Africans of their freedom.
"The ‘bugigangas’ of the oppressed outlast the gold of the oppressors.
This music is proof."
Questioning the Names We Inherit
Why "America"? A term derived from Amerigo Vespucci, imposed by European cartographers. Why not Abya Yala, the Guna people’s term for this land: "land of vital blood"? Our work challenges these colonial frameworks, insisting on a narrative that centers the oppressed.
Vinyl as Archive
The first four releases in our catalog are foundational. They trace the musical legacy of the transatlantic slave trade and Indigenous resistance. Vol. 1 (Coffee) connects to the labor behind Afro-South American rhythms. Vol. 2 (Cacao) honors Harald Weller’s handcrafted work in Berlin, printed on a 1950s Heidelberg press. Each record is a tactile rebellion—a refusal to let history be erased.
A Call to Listen Deeply
This is more than music. It is an act of memory, reclamation, and repair. We invite you to engage with these sounds, reflect on their histories, and question the narratives you’ve been taught.
Play these records. Hear the past. Resist the silence.
The Symbolism
VOL. 1: COFFEE (2015)
The coffee plant on the cover ties directly to enslaved African labor on Brazilian plantations, where the rhythms of samba, rock, and Latin sounds were forged in brutality.
VOL. 2: CACAO (2018)
Cacao represents the Indigenous and African bodies crushed in colonial mills, yet whose labor birthed chocolate—a global commodity.
VOL. 3: SUGARCANE (2020)
Sugarcane embodies the bloodiest chapter of colonial exploitation—the crop that sweetened Europe while cutting through generations of enslaved flesh.
VOL. 4: COTTON (2025)
Cotton personifies the most brutal chapter of racial capitalism—the fabric of slavery that clothed the world while stripping Africans of their freedom. Like the bugigangas of my grandmother’s life, cotton was deemed "worthless" in the fields but priceless in global trade.