As part of ACTA’s ongoing Sounds of California initiative, ACTA is proud to be co-producing the Sounds of California program at the 2016 Smithsonian Folklife Festival on the National Mall in Washington D.C. on June 29-July 4 and July 7-July 10. This program is co-produced with the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, Radio Bilingüe, the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center, and the Smithsonian Latino Center.
This summer’s Sounds of California program will present a series of concerts, performances, and activities, offering an auditory journey about how musical culture mirrors the movements reshaping the state and the nation today. We will feature artists who contribute to the soundscapes of California, who demonstrate the social power of music and cultural heritage.
The range of expression by 60 artists – such as Marta and Stan Rodriguez, Preston and Helena Arrow-weed, FandangObon, and John Santos Sextet with Bobi Cespedes – represent a range of perspective regarding continuity and change in music and expressive sound within our state’s history as a site of migration and immigration. While rooted in the terrain of their communities, these artists work across borders—in many senses. They sustain traditions to bridge distant homelands to their present homes. They remix traditions to forge new variations and collaborations. They deploy traditions to engage and invite others to action.
Join us in recognizing the resilience of artists who cultivate community by both tending to and extending beyond what is near and familiar, who honor tradition while looking forward, and who contribute to creating a diverse, resonant landscape.
ACTA program staff Amy Kitchener, Lily Kharrazi, Russell Rodríguez, and Quetzal Flores will be at the Festival in D.C to participate in the Sounds of California program. A full schedule of activities can be found on the Festival’s website. We hope to see you on Facebook, Twitter (@CalTradArts), and at the hashtag #SoundsofCA!