Folklife Festival begins June 27
By hola | Published | No Comments
The annual Smithsonian Folklife Festival begins on the National Mall this Wednesday focusing this year on the cultures of the former Soviet republic of Armenia and the Spanish region of Catalonia.
All photos via the Folklife Festival (festival.si.edu)
The festival, produced each spring by the Smithsonian Institution’s Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, showcases artists, performers, musicians, craftspeople, cooks, and others, who entertain and educate the public about living cultural traditions and the people behind them. The Festival is a summertime tradition on The Mall, drawing hundreds of thousands of visitors annually. It has featured more than 90 nations and every region of the U.S. since it first began in 1967.
All of the performances, workshops and narrative sessions are free to the public, during the two week festival that overlaps with Immigrant Heritage Month, as well as the Fourth of July holiday. This intricate display of cultural riches is considered the largest annual cultural event in the U.S. capital. Beyond entertaining us, the festival, made possible through collaborations with other governments and cultural institutions, aims to inspire the conservation of the world’s cultural traditions. The Festival also has a marketplace, where the public can purchase variety of crafts by the artists and artisans participating this year.
Smithsonian Folklife Festival
June 27-July 1 & July 4-July 8
Catalonia: Tradition and Creativity from the Mediterranean
The Catalan events kick
off with a narrative session, A Tale of Two Colles: History of Human Towers, on June 27, and the Festival will be rounded out on July 8 with Sisterfire, two concerts that seek to put millennial “women artists on the road globally.” Co-produced with the Government of Catalonia’s Department of Popular Culture and Cultural Associations, the Institut Ramon Llull, and other Catalan institutions, the Catalonia segment was the result of a research trip made by Folklife officials on June of last year.
Program Coordinator Pablo Molinero-Martinez, along with the festival’s research team, conducted an open call, interviewing people from all over the country, and gathering ideas that eventually made it to this year’s festival. This year 75 Catalan artists, craftspeople, performers, and others will take part. Another 200 castellers (human tower building clubs), who keep the 18th century tradition from Catalonia and the Valencian community alive, are coming to build human towers. Castell (the Catalan word for castle) is an acrobatic art of religious origins that became popularized in the 1980s and is central to Catalan culture. This artform, made possible by its fearless participants, was classified by UNESCO as one of the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity in 2010.
Among this year’s highlights is a demonstration by master mosaic artist Lívia Garreta. Garreta earned degrees in fine art and art history in Barcelona and established her studio where she now paints with tiles, teaches her students the mosaic craft, and restores famous Catalan works. She incorporates an array of materials into her work, from marble to glass, and brings them to life by giving them striking colors and shapes. The Smithsonian Institution’s choice to feature Catalonia aims to celebrate, “their energy and creativity into strengthening their language,” despite decades of the criminalization of both the Catalan language and culture. Garreta’s demonstration is one of the many demonstrations to look forward to which embody that energy and creativity.
The Folklife Festival is an interactive place conducive of both celebration and discussion, so visitors are encouraged to join in and learn from cultural practitioners through dancing, singing, conversing, and eating with them.
Recommended performances and cultural demonstrations:
(All events highlighted in blue are events from Catalonia)
Mosaic Arts with Lívia Garreta (Demonstration)
Master mosaic artist, Lívia Garreta, will showcase her skills and demonstrate the process of molding the different materials that result in her vibrant creations.
Dates: Wed., June 27 at 1pm; Thur., June 28 at 1pm; Fri., June 29 at 3pm; Sat., June 30 at 2pm; Sun., July 1 at 1pm; Wed., July 4 at 4pm; Thur., July 5 at 3pm; Fri. July 6 at 3pm; Sat. July 7 at 2pm; and Sun., July 8 at 1pm
Parade: Giants & Big Heads (Performance)
Dancers in elaborately designed costumes up to thirteen-feet tall and giant papier-mâché heads will be representing traditional or historical figures.
Dates: Thur., June 28 at 2pm
Dance Class with Ivan Caro (Dance Workshop)
Dance instructor Ivan Caro will host a workshop and teach the audience traditional
Catalan dances.
Dates: Wed., June 27 at 2pm; Thur. June 28 at 12pm & 2pm; Fri., June 29 at 12pm & 3pm; Sat., June 30 at 12pm & 3pm; Sun., July 1 at 2pm; Wed., July 4 at 1pm & 4pm; Thur., July 5 at 1pm & 4pm; Fri., July 6 at 2pm & 4pm; Sat., July 7 at 2pm & 5pm; Sun.,
July 8 at 12pm & 2pm;
Power of Place: La Masia & La Barraca (Narrative Session)
The Power of Place is a session that will delve into Catalans’ deep sense of place and
appreciation for local building traditions like dry-stone masonry.
Dates: Sat., June 30 at 3pm; Wed., July 4 at 12pm
Choosing Language: Multilingualism as a Choice (Narrative Session)
This session will address themes of multilingualism, diversity and identity within and across Catalan culture.
Date: Sun., July 1 at 4pm
Traditional Catalan Music with Cobla Catalana del Sons Essencials (Performance)
This is an evening concert featuring the latest project of Catalan musician, composer, and educator Marcel Casellas. In Catalonia, a cobla is an 11-piece ensemble of both classical and traditional horns with a string bass that is known for accompanying the emblematic sardana dance.
Dates: Wed., June 27 at 12pm; Fri., June 29 at 12pm; Sat., June 30 at 12pm; Wed., July 4 at 3pm; Thur., July 5 at 1pm; Fri., July 6 at 12pm; and Sun., July 8 at 12pm
Cuban Connections: Rumba Workshops (Dance Workshop)
This Rumba workshop is a dance lesson that showcases Catalonia’s Cuban legacy.
Dates: Fri., July 6 at 12pm and Sat., July 7 at 1pm
Human Towers with Colla Joves Xiquets de Valls (Performance)
La Colla Joves Xiquets de Valls, a castellana vallenca group formed in 1813, will be building human towers.
Dates: Fri., July 6 at 1pm, 2pm & 4pm; Sat., July 7 at 1pm & 4pm; Sun., July 8 at 1pm,
2pm, 3pm & 4pm
The full festival schedule is online.
Festival Map is available here: https://festival.si.edu/map
-Delia Beristain Noriega
Recent Stories
