I started learning when I was 8 years old and by the time I was 12 I already knew how to weave. I was taught by my parents and grandparents in my hometown called Teotitlán del Valle, in Oaxaca. This tradition has always been a family tradition and is very…
Dr. Ellorin is the leading expert on maritime Southeast Asian gong-chime music in Southern California. He is also a master of the Filipino banduria (a version of the Spanish bandurria, a plucked string instrument similar to the mandolin) and the associated rondalla music. He is versed in the percussion music…
A Lao culture dancer and singer, Choummaly dances in traditional, folk, old and modern styles. She has been dancing and singing since she was five years old. Choummaly was trained and taught by multiple teachers, but mostly taught by one of the last Lao royal dancers and teachers, named Chaiphet.
Berenice is a Spanish speaking Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, illustrator, muralist, and multimedia artist. She is an immigrant from Mexico and has found herself straddling intertwined cultural and subcultural identities her entire life. She illustrated an award-winning book “Am I Blue or am I Green?” that explores the identity…
Acacia is a cultural preservationist, traditional arts advocate/ musician and keeper of traditional histories. Through oral testimony and inclusive, cultural tourism, she brings together elders and youth alike to share in the oft overlooked and undertold stories of communities of color. She believes that community education is a must, and…
Fogo na Roupa, founded in 1989 is a Bay Area, award-winning, Grupo Carnavalesco and performing company which combines the community’s raw spirit with the technical expertise of its illustrious Founding Director, the late Mestre Carlos Aceituno. The name, which means “Clothes On Fire”, is symbolic of the hot energy generated by…
Kim Requesto is a Philippine born, Mission District raised Cultural Worker and Interdisciplinary Artist based in unceded Ramaytush Ohlone Territory also recognized as San Francisco, California. With an artistic foundation in Philippine folk dance, Requesto has dedicated herself to cultural expression and advocacy through movement, photography, and community outreach. Requesto…
I have worked in several different areas in my life. I have been a traditional storyteller, an Indigenous educator, an Indigenous monitor/consultant, a spiritual adviser, a traditional paddler and builder of Chumash canoes, a preschool teacher and a juvenile institution officer at the Kern County Juvenile Hall and the Kern…
Francis is a performer and educator from Ghana, West Africa. Born and raised in the melting pot neighborhood of New Town, Francis grew up in an environment bursting with the sights and sounds of Ghana’s many ethnic groups. During his almost two decades as an instructor at the University…
Terry Nguyen, known as “tsugaruterry,” is a musician and educator specializing in minyo (folk) and traditional music of Japan as performed on the Tsugaru shamisen and taiko drums. Terry began playing the Tsugaru shamisen in 2006. Initially self-taught, in 2010 she started her training with instructor Mitsuru Sasaki of the…
