Smithsonian Folklife Festival part I

Another Smithsonian Folklife Festival under my belt! One of the curious things about Folklife Festivals on the Mall is understanding what they're about! This year it has these odd themes: "Resilient Communities" "California Sounds" and "Basque Country". I couldn't figure out where the Resilient Communities fit in...and the only event that I found with music under the heading of California Sounds featured a Dobro player from Ohio, a classical violinist from Chicago, and Klezmer musician from New York! Not that it wasn't good...just confusing. The Basque Country portions were pure vintage Folklife--the way I like it.

In the California area there were only three things occurring. One was a discussion of population trends and migrations with lots of maps! The other was called "Cueva" and featured some artisans from Oaxaca, Mexico who displayed chaps and masks. The last one was a group of National Heritage Endowment winners who were musicians.

 Beautiful chaps!

 The artisan took down a mask and explained in great detail the craftspersonship and use of the object in celebrating local festivals.

 Nice to she that members of both tribes were clearly present.

There was only one musical performance and ironically none of the musicians were from California!

A snippet from the Dobro player from Ohio!  

Smithsonian Folklife Festival, part II

As a mentioned, the Basque Country section was more vintage Folklife the way I like it. Cultural performances, lots of Traditional Artisans, and open Kitchen with food demonstrations, interactive activities for children, a dance hall, food and lots of informational placards to educate and make sense of the lay of the land.

I know very little about Basque culture and so I also found it particularly enlightening. One thing I did notice--no women! I've never been to a festival where I didn't see any women in the role of artisans. Granted, there were two displays where no one was present, one was a pottery display and other featured a loom, so it's possible there were women, but they were on a break.

 What I didn't get a picture of here were the giant bells attached to the men's backs creating a cacophonous raucous as they marched.

 The entire costume was such a colorful and odd mix of components.

 The cooking display comes with an over surface mirror so you can watch the techniques. He was making a dish with squid and squid mushrooms.

 The format sometimes includes a translator like the gentleman on the right. Unfortunately, read the sign, you can't eat it.

 Amazing stone carver.

 CHEESE, Gromet!

 The artisan cheese-maker explains the process to his translator...

 These two had great chemistry.

 Then the translator explained the process to the guests.

 A large area dedicated to various aspects of shipbuilding.

 The craftsperson was willing to even give out his personal contact information to a local boat builder.

 Having the chance to interact with the artisans is a hallmark of the festival.

 Operating a trundle driven lathe.

 There were a lot of displays of local sports and traditional games.

 This structure was set up with a couple of sporting activities and the other side was a little arena for sport demonstrations.

A Bola-Jokoa rink.

Smithsonian Folklife Festival, part III

There was lots of food venders: Mexican, Thai, Classic American, etc. But seriously? BASQUE! :-) I had the Talo con Chistorra and Pantxineta with bottled water. The Talo con Chistorra is a mild pepperoni-like hotdog in a corn tortilla. The Pantxineta didn't look ANYTHING like the one on the placard, BUT is was delicious.

I had the Talo con Chistorra and Pantxineta with bottled water. The Talo con Chistorra is a mild pepperoni-like hotdog in a corn tortilla. The Pantxineta didn't look ANYTHING like the one on the placard, BUT is was delicious.

Smithsonian Folklife Festival, part IV

The Dogs of the Folklife Festival. It's not just for people anymore...

Smithsonian Folk Life 2015: Peru

Smithsonian Folk Life Festival 2015: Suckiest one ever. No fault of the subject; Peru, or the participants. It was just wildly truncated by a massive make-over of The Mall. The exhibits were extremely limited, the move to a new location was difficult to get to from the Metro. It was the most disappointing overall festival in the past 20 years. Sad. Having said that, here are some of my photos from today's visit.

 I suppose they were going to do something with this at point.  It wasn't clear and so it was just there.

 One musical performance.  I watched through two songs.  Never got info on what the music was about.  Usually there are 2 to three stages and dancing, too.

 Peruvian Artisan weaving a strip of fabric.

 Amazing ponchos.

 Design detail.

 Sources of dies.

 This is the number one die for all things red in the whole world. Artists have used it since the 19th century from Homer's watercolors to Van Gogh's oils. It makes red pop red and twizzlers, too! It's made from ground up beetles.

 Showing a young William Tell how to shoot an arrow?

 Ceramic arts and icons.

 An impromptu performance--again no context or description.

 I assume this placard is related to the structures below, but it wasn't clear.

 Another indigenous Peruvian artisan.

 Lovely moment, the two women on the right. One was blind and the other was describing the exhibits to her and guiding her to interact with them tactilely.

 There were three choices for food.  I chose Kikiriki because it was the most indigenous of the three.

 What would you choose?

I got the Papa Rellena and Inca Kola.  Delicious.