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Festival Blog

Presenting at the Colombia Program: Contributing to Cultural Exchange/Presentar en el programa Colombia: Una contribución al intercambio cultural


Colombia: the Nature of Culture program was a wonderful space where people from different parts of Colombia had the opportunityRead More

December 19, 2011   No Comments

Malian Bogolan Online Exhibition


We have just added an online exhibition about Malian Bogolan (mud cloth) to the website of the Center for FolklifeRead More

September 9, 2011   2 Comments

Soul Train Dance Party in 90 Seconds


We are happy to share this wonderful video of the June 30 Soul Train Dance Party. This was shot byRead More

August 30, 2011   1 Comment

Swamp Dogg performs “Total Destruction to Your Mind”


Swamp Dogg and company perform “Total Destruction to Your Mind,” the title song of Swamp Dogg’s first LP from 1970. JerryRead More

August 8, 2011   No Comments

Reflections on the Colombia Program of the 2011 Smithsonian Folklife Festival/Reflexiones sobre el programa de Colombia del 2011 Smithsonian Folklife Festival


The Colombia program for the 2011 Smithsonian Folklife Festival was an incredible and dynamic success. By dividing the country intoRead More

August 5, 2011   1 Comment

Our Favorite 2011 Festival Flickr Images


After much deliberation, we’ve chosen seven of our favorite Flickr images of the 2011 Smithsonian Folklife Festival: one each fromRead More

August 4, 2011   No Comments

Migdonio Rivas Ríos, Colombian Percussion Instrument Maker


Migdonio Rivas Ríos from Colombia’s Pacific Coast constructs percussion instruments for chirimía ensembles using local materials and techniques. As syntheticRead More

August 3, 2011   3 Comments

Mi experiencia como presentadora del programa de Colombia/My Experience as a Colombia Program Presenter


Debo reconocer que el Festival del Smithsonian me dejó profundamente conmovida y asombrada. Cuando se hablaba de exposiciones de humanosRead More

August 2, 2011   2 Comments

Future Folklife Festival Program: Medical Traditions


On a warm day this past spring, curator Betty Belanus, researcher Sita Reddy, and I began a drive from Washington,Read More

August 1, 2011   1 Comment

Smithsonian Folkways Audio Streams


Check out these five audio streams of Smithsonian Folkways tracks related to the 2011 Festival programs. Music of Colombia featuresRead More

July 28, 2011   1 Comment