The Opening Ceremony features a sneak preview of festival highlights.
Lead organizer of the Opening Ceremony is Ernesto Torchia, a professional theater instructor, director and film, radio and television actor from Argentina. For Ernesto, "Theater is life. In an integral form: the actor and the Persona are the same thing, two faces of the same coin." This is Ernesto's third visit to Fresno to provide the artistic direction of the festival.
Conjunto de Arpa Grande Arpex
Merced-based musical group Arpex will be playing music from the hotlands of Michoacán as well as music that originates from the early stages of the Mariachi era. Arpex believes that through playing their music, they will be able to revive music that has been forgotten. The Smithsonian Folkways label selected Arpex to record traditional music from Tierra Caliente Michoacán.
Vendors will share the stories behind the ingredients cultural meaning of their cuisine. Festival attendees will delight their palate with the diverse tastes of new Central Valley cuisine. Coffee lovers will also enjoy international coffee flavors presented by Café Corazón.
Conjunto de Arpa Grande Arpex
Merced-based musical group Arpex will be playing music from the hotlands of Michoacán as well as music that originates from the early stages of the Mariachi era. Arpex believes that through playing their music, they will be able to revive music that has been forgotten. The Smithsonian Folkways label selected Arpex to record traditional music from Tierra Caliente Michoacán.
Through diverse art forms, artists participating in the fifth festival will tell stories of integration and cultural diversity. They will also narrate the social significance of their dances, chants and traditional instruments.
Lance Canales
A traditional story of a young woman who was lost from her tribe at a very young age. The story describes the path the young woman takes during her journey home. "Invisible Tear" will be acted out and accompanied by traditional flute music by Lance Canales. 30 minutes
The Mabuhay Dancers (15 minutes)
Danza de Los Rubios
Story and Performance by Alejandro Vera with Se'e Savi (TBD) 30 minutes
Willson Vang
Willson Vang and his students will present a traditional Hmong instrument, the qeej. The qeej is an important musical instrument used for different cultural events in the Hmong culture. The music played from the qeej is an artistic expression and form of communication.
Chia Lee Vang
Chia Lee Vang will be singing a traditional folk song about the Hmong history and their community's struggles. Traditional folk singing is very important in the Hmong culture as it is through this art form that stories about their life and people are told.
Traditional Iranian dance by Iranian Culture & Art Club Dance Group
Music by Farzad Mazlom
Ballet Afsaneh
The dances performed by the Bay Area dance troupe Ballet Afsaneh are from the present day countries of Iran and Tajikistan. All three dances originate in what is called the "greater Persian cultural zone" of Central Asia, just a sample of the wonderful diversity of cultures along the historic Silk Road. Through dance, Ballet Afsaneh honors the heritage of the diaspora communities from this region now living in California. Ballet Afsaneh is joined for this presentation by traditional Uzbek/Tajik percussionist Salokhiddin Fakhriev.
Conjunto de Arpa Grande Arpex and Lance Canales
Merced-based musical group Arpex will be playing music from the hotlands of Michoacán as well as music that originates from the early stages of the Mariachi era. Arpex believes that through playing their music, they will be able to revive music that has been forgotten. The Smithsonian Folkways label selected Arpex to record traditional music from Tierra Caliente Michoacán.
Lance Canales is a singer-song writer and accomplished recording artist. He is said to carry the deep soulful vocals of the ancestors in many of his songs, which are often accompanied by guitar, flute and various other percussion instruments. Lance is also an accomplished Native American Flute player and is known for bringing forth a different sound from the Native American wood flute and reed flute.
Sabreena da Witch is a Palestinian Hip Hop artist who speaks of the Israeli occupation and its connection to the rest of the world. She is also one of very few musicians who speak on the subject of honor killing against women.
ShadoKat will be performing various works of poetry acoustically. Spoken word is a tradition deeply rooted within the indigenous cultures in the West as well as in Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East. It stems primarily from the Griot tradition of story telling and oral history which uses song, chant, poetry and art to convey political and social ideas and to keep track of the history of people by telling the stories to those that follow in our footsteps.
Janett Lee's "Li Qub" is about the persecution of the Hmong-Lao people in the jungles of Laos. The song also calls attention to immigration and the reasons why people migrate. It was written to promote the awareness to terrorism, racism, and segregation of not only the Hmong people, but other ethnicities as well.
Featuring Maria Bauman and Bennalldra Williams of the Urban Bush Women.
Founded in 1984 by Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, Urban Bush Women is a performance ensemble dedicated to exploring the use of cultural expression as a catalyst for social change. UBW weaves contemporary dance, music, and text with the history, culture, and spiritual traditions of African Americans and the African Diaspora, exploring the transformation of struggle and suffering into the bittersweet joy of survival.
Rupa & The April Fishes
With musical influences that include French chanson, Gypsy swing, tango, Latin alternative, Indian music and beyond, Rupa & The April Fishes create music that is lively, romantic and instantaneously appealing. Based in San Francisco, the band's accessible and multicultural sound has earned them a reputation as one of the most exciting groups in the Bay Area alternative scene.
Through their musical performance, Rupa & The April Fishes share about themes surrounding Latino immigration to the United States including border crossing, health care, and legal representation.