Visitors to the Smithsonian Folklife Festival had many purposes for attending and different reactions to Wednesday’s opening ceremonies at the Arts and Industries Building.
The festival, held at the National Mall through Monday, July 4 and re-starting July 7 through July 10, this year is a cultural event dedicated to preserving and showcasing the traditions of Basque, a small region straddling southern France and northern Spain.
“The festival’s only just started and I am already impressed with the outcome, and I love how many people have showed up,” said media director James Mayer. “Hopefully everyone enjoys this experience since a lot of work has been put into this festival.”
The sights are no exaggeration either–pieces of jewelry and miniature sculptures were in the gift shop, wide banners hung from the stands outside and hundreds of people in colorful clothing walked everywhere.
But, not everyone was as impressed.
Suzanne Wellington,57,
A traditional Mexican folk artist at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival Opening Ceremonies Wednesday, June 29.
said while she could see the work put into the event, she didn’t get the same flare she was looking for from a cultural festival.
Despite a few negative responses, the majority of attendees said they truly enjoyed their time spent at the festival, and that they couldn’t wait to see what’s in store next year.
Basque sign greeting people as they enter the festival on the National Mall. Photo credit Paige Goldstein.
This year’s Smithsonian Folklife Festival celebrates the cultures of the Basque people through dance performances, food tents and cultural exhibitions at the National Mall where visitors were greeted with an over-sized white sign during Wednesday’s opening ceremonies.
The Basque people are an indigenous ethnic group location on the border of Spain and France. The people call themselves the euskaldunak, literally meaning “the Basque person.”
“I think the festival represented our culture well,” said Daniel Roth, a citizen of the Basque community.
Currently, many controversial topics including Basque independence, have been discussed in the community and those who attended Wednesday’s opening ceremonies hoped the festival would bring more attention to what they consider crucial issues.
But despite the controversy, many attendees knew little or nothing about the issues impacting the Basque region and its people.
“I’ve never heard of them until I heard about the festival,” said Keani Solorzano, 18.
The Smithsonian Folklife Festival brings attention to this unique culture, as well as starting the conversation about a free Basque State.
The annual Smithsonian Folklife Festival was a great way for people to learn about new cultures.
Valerie Emerson, 58, said she was devoted to the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, held annually on the National Mall.
Monica Firestone, 30, said, “I just think it’s a great way to learn different cultures.”
This year’s focus in the Basque region of northern
Traditional Basque arts and items at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival. Photo credit Eli Siegman.
Spain and southern France. Past years the festival featured cultures including: Peruvian, Chinese, Scottish, Welsh and Bhutanese.
Around the National Mall on Wednesday during the opening ceremonies, people dressed in regional costume, dancers prepared on stages and local cuisine was readied.
Deb Ramsey-Moor, 32, believes the festival was a “wonderful” way to learn about cultures. She said that the festival “preserves culture.” Ramsey-Moor has visited the festival every year for the last 22 years and now works there.
Native Euskara speakers celebrate the Smithsonian Folklife Festival Opening Ceremonies on Wednesday, June 29. Photo by Hannah Seewald.
WASHINGTON–This year’s theme for the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington D.C. is “resilient communities,” one including the Basque region, in northern Spain and southwest France, where people have wanted independence for a very long time due to their cultural differences.
Euskara, the native language of the Basque people, is considered to be one of Europe’s oldest languages. It has been the subject of controversy because typically, Spanish and English have been taught in Basque schools, but Euskara is the traditional language of the area.
“Euskara is necessary for people to get jobs in Basque,” said Monica Salinas, 51, a Basque delegate who attended the festival to discuss policies.
Statistically, the Basque population density is above average for Spain and France. The Basque region has a population of 3 million people. Although it is a small area, there are many jobs due to the existence of industries including iron and construction. This is in contrast to many other areas of Spain that have high unemployment rates.
Another Basque native from the city of San Sebastian, Alex Vasquez, 26, said, “I think Euskara is better because we have different cultures and traditions.”
On the other side, Zed Burton, 60, an American visitor to the festival said, “In Basque, they should learn Spanish and English in school. What they do at home is their own business.They also shouldn’t be a separate country.”
Andrea Marzo, 15, a student in Lodosa, Spain, said, “I think that Euskara is good if you live in the Basque country, but if you don’t live there, Euskara doesn’t help you in anything. It has no function out of the Basque country.”
When asked if language is important to preserving a culture, Burton said “Language is number one. If you can maintain your language, you can maintain your culture. Language embodies the culture.”
While, Euskara is not used in areas other than the Basque country, it is important to the Basque people because it embodies their history and culture, and each year, there has been around a 2 percent increase in Euskara learners in the region.
“In Basque, it is good for students to learn both Euskara and Spanish, but the rest of Spain does not need to learn it,” said Marzo.
This year’s Smithsonian Folklife Festival on the National Mall celebrates Basque culture. Photo by Eli Siegman.
Hundreds of people gathered Wednesday to celebrate and learn more about the Basque region of France and Spain during the annual Smithsonian Folklife Festival on the National Mall.
Valerie Emerson, 58, visited the market place during Wednesday’s Opening Ceremonies at the Arts and Industries Building to buy products made in that region.
Emerson, who said she comes every year, is devoted to the Smithsonian and the event, which has been an annual tradition since 1967.
“The Folklife Festival is a good way to educate the public about other cultures,” Emerson said.
Outside the Arts and Industries Building, food vendors and dance stages were set up along the National Mall.
Visitors and staff expressed excitement about this year’s festival, which runs through July 4 then begins again July 7 and ends July 10.
Deb Ramsey-Moor, 32, one of the staffers at the market place, has been going to the festival for 22 years and now works there. Moor listed some of the past countries that have been celebrated including Peru, China, Kenya, Scotland, Wales and Bhutan.
“We can learn a great deal from each other,” Ramsey-Moor said.
At Wednesday morning’s opening ceremony, Basque music played, dancers warmed up and people dressed in festive local attire took photographs with strangers and visitors.
Monica Firestone, 30, came to the festival because she studied abroad in college in Spain. Firestone knew a little about Basque, but saw this as an opportunity to learn even more.
“The Folklife Festival is a great tradition in D.C. and the Smithsonian,” Firestone said.
The opening ceremony of the annual Smithsonian Folklife Festival on the National Mall commenced Wednesday to celebrate both Basque culture and the sounds of California.
The Folklife Festival showcases each year cultural identity from the featured locations including art, food, dance, clothing and games.
Jacob Jaureguy, 21, and Sebastian Caldoron, 22, are both from Spain’s Basque region but now reside in California and perform in Basque dance group called Gauden Bat. Both men explained t
Traditional Mexican dancers at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival Opening Ceremonies on Wednesday, June 29. Photo by Lauren Markwart.
hat many people from that northeastern part of Spain who move to the United States choose the West Coast as their home. They feel it is important for them to inform others about their culture through the performing arts.
“The basis of this is to get our name out there and show what we are about,” Jaureguy said.
Tradition is a major component of Basque culture. The people of the region have great pride in their language that predates both Spanish and French. Dancing in Basque has deep cultural roots and it is a, “mix between Irish and Ballet– but not at all,” Caldoron said.
The dancers also felt it was important to share their culture due to their country’s unique political situation.
Basque is a region officially described as an “autonomous” community sandwiched between Spain and France– both countries claim part of the region.
“At one point we were our own independent kingdom, but Spain took over and gave part of us to France,” Caldoron said.
Halfway around the world lies another culture featured in the Folklife Festival: California, and specifically, its music scene.
A music group from Southern California came to the festival to perform their traditional Mexican religious dance that has survived in the United States.
Diego Solano, 27, explained that when the Spanish came to his ancestors’ town of Santiago, in the Juxtlahuaca district in Southern Mexico, the foreigners did not understand their religion.
“When they came over to civilize everyone they turned our god to a devil,” said Solano, who held a devil mask as he spoke in the Smithsonian’s Arts and Industries building.
The men perform their religious dance called the “Dance of the Devil” as they dress in colorful costumes with masks made by Alex Vasquez, 28, an active member in the group who was born in Tecomaxtlahuaca, a town in Southern Mexico.
Similar to Basque culture, traditions are very important to the people of Mexico who have come to live in California. Vasquez has made decorative masks his whole life with his father. Each mask takes about two weeks to create due to the attention each one needs. The masks are made in vibrant hues of reds and oranges and have horns poking out of the top.
Regions are chosen for the Smithsonian Folklife Festival to, “show and honor all of the different cultures that have immigrated here,” said Caldoron.
