Smithsonian Folklife Festival records: 1993 Festival of American Folklife
odd: label: Introduction
content: The 1993 Festival of American Folklife was the 27th since the Smithsonian's annual living cultural exhibition began in 1967. In 1993, the Festival included programs on U.S.-Mexico borderlands, American social dance, music in the Washington Metropolitan area, and urban children's culture. All pointed to how people creatively use the resources of community culture to shape life experiences in ways that celebrate and affirm social values.

The Festival's featured program, U.S.-Mexico Borderlands, was the latest in a series developed for the Columbus Quincentenary which sought to expand public knowledge about the cultural history of our hemisphere and to fortify the Smithsonian's engagement of colleagues and communities in Latin America and the Caribbean. Those programs, including Creolization in the Caribbean, Land and Power in Native American Cultures, New Mexico, Maroons in the Americas, and American Indian Soundscapes, directly reached some five million Festival visitors. Brought to fruition with the cooperation of scores of academic, cultural, and educational institutions in 18 nations, those programs engaged the efforts of some 250 different scholars and over 1,000 exemplary culture bearers from across the Americas. They generated rich documentary archives, copies of which reside both at the Smithsonian and at collaborating institutions. Additionally, the programs generated two documentary films and several books, and even contributed to the passage of cultural legislation.

The 1993 Festival took place during a single five-day week (July 1-5) between Madison Drive and Jefferson Drive and between 10th Street and 13th Street, south of the National Museum of American History and the National Museum of Natural History (see site plan). 

The 1993 Program Book included schedules and participant lists for each program; essays provided background on the Festival and each of the four programs.

The Festival was co-presented by the Smithsonian Institution and National Park Service and organized by the Center for Folklife Programs & Cultural Studies.

Center for Folklife Programs & Cultural Studies

Richard Kurin, Director; Diana Parker, Festival Director; Anthony Seeger, Director, Smithsonian/Folkways Recordngs; Peter Seitel, Senior Folklorist; Thomas Vennum, Jr., Senior Ethnomusicologist; Olivia Cadaval, Director, Quincentenary Projects; Richard Kennedy, Program Analyst; Vivian Chen, Diana Baird N'Diaye, Amy Horowitz, Marjorie Hunt, Folklorists/Curators; Carla Borden, John Franklin, Program Managers; Arlene L. Reiniger, Program Specialist; Jeffrey Place, Archivist; Betty Belanus, Research Associate

Folklife Advisory Council

Roger Abrahams, Jacinto Arias, Jane Beck, Pat Jasper, Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett, Bernice Reagon, John Roberts, Carol Robertson, Gilbert Sprauve, Jack Tchen, Ricardo Trimillos, Carlos Vélez-Ibáñez

National Park Service

Roger Kennedy, Director; Robert G. Stanton, Regional Director, National Capital Region
label: Shared Stewardship of Collections
content: The Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage acknowledges and respects the right of artists, performers, Folklife Festival participants, community-based scholars, and knowledge-keepers to collaboratively steward representations of themselves and their intangible cultural heritage in media produced, curated, and distributed by the Center. Making this collection accessible to the public is an ongoing process grounded in the Center's commitment to connecting living people and cultures to the materials this collection represents. To view the Center's full shared stewardship policy, which defines our protocols for addressing collections-related inquiries and concerns, please visit https://doi.org/10.25573/data.21771155.
name: label: Creator
content: Smithsonian Institution. Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage
label: Names
content: Smithsonian Folklife Festival
topic: label: Topic
content: Folk music
label: Topic
content: Mexican-American Border Region
label: Topic
content: World music
label: Topic
content: Folklore
label: Topic
content: Food habits
label: Topic
content: arts and crafts
label: Topic
content: Folk festivals
label: Topic
content: Folk art
creator: label: Creator
content: Smithsonian Institution. Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage
setName: label: See more items in
content: Smithsonian Folklife Festival records: 1993 Festival of American Folklife
abstract: label: Summary
content: The Smithsonian Institution Festival of American Folklife, held annually since 1967 on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., was renamed the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in 1998. The materials collected here document the planning, production, and execution of the annual Festival, produced by the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage (1999-present) and its predecessor offices (1967-1999). An overview of the entire Festival records group is available here: Smithsonian Folklife Festival records.
bioghist: label: Historical note
content: The Festival of American Folklife, held annually since 1967 on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., was renamed the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in 1998. 

The 1993 Festival of American Folklife was produced by the Smithsonian Center for Folklife Programs and Cultural Studies and cosponsored by the National Park Service.

For more information, see Smithsonian Folklife Festival records.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 1 Cubic foot (approximate)
phystech: label: Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements note
content: The Rinzler Archives is continually engaged in digitization of archival materials to facilitate preservation and ready access by users. However, given the diversity of legacy formats of the originals, some older materials may not be available. Notably, certain older audio recordings cannot be played because of deterioration of the tape stock, and the Archives has no playback equipment for EIAJ-1 videoreels (1/2 inch) or multi-track audio recordings. Where listening or viewing copies are available, this is generally indicated for each item. Users are encouraged to contact Archives staff to verify that the materials of interest to them are already accessible, or to determine if they can be digitized as needed.
unitdate: label: Date
content: July 1-5, 1993
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections
identifier: label: Identifier
content: CFCH.SFF.1993
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Memorandums
label: Type
content: Audiocassettes
label: Type
content: Sound recordings
label: Type
content: Notes
label: Type
content: Slides (photographs)
label: Type
content: Negatives
label: Type
content: Plans (drawings)
label: Type
content: Audiotapes
label: Type
content: Videotapes
label: Type
content: Business records
label: Type
content: Digital images
label: Type
content: Photographic prints
label: Type
content: Video recordings
label: Type
content: Correspondence
label: Type
content: Contracts
arrangement: label: Arrangement note
content: Arranged in 5 series.

Series 1: Program Books, Festival Publications, and Ephemera

Series 2: American Social Dance

Series 3: Kids' Stuff

Series 4: Metro Music

Series 5: U.S.-Mexico Borderlands
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Memorandums
label: Genre/Form
content: Audiocassettes
label: Genre/Form
content: Sound recordings
label: Genre/Form
content: Notes
label: Genre/Form
content: Slides (photographs)
label: Genre/Form
content: Negatives
label: Genre/Form
content: Plans (drawings)
label: Genre/Form
content: Audiotapes
label: Genre/Form
content: Videotapes
label: Genre/Form
content: Business records
label: Genre/Form
content: Digital images
label: Genre/Form
content: Photographic prints
label: Genre/Form
content: Video recordings
label: Genre/Form
content: Correspondence
label: Genre/Form
content: Contracts
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents note
content: This collection documents the planning, production, and execution of the 1993 Festival of American Folklife. Materials may include photographs, audio recordings, motion picture film and video recordings, notes, production drawings, contracts, memoranda, correspondence, informational materials, publications, and ephemera. Such materials were created during the Festival on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., as well as in the featured communities, before or after the Festival itself.
relatedmaterial: label: Forms Part Of
content: Smithsonian Folklife Festival records: 1993 Festival of American Folklife forms part of the Smithsonian Folklife Festival records .

Smithsonian Folklife Festival records

Smithsonian Folklife Festival records: Papers

1967 Festival of American Folklife records - [Ongoing]
label: Related Archival Materials note
content: Within the Rinzler Archives, related materials may be found in various collections such as the Ralph Rinzler papers and recordings, the Lily Spandorf drawings, the Diana Davies photographs, the Robert Yellin photographs, and the Curatorial Research, Programs, and Projects collection. Additional relevant materials may also be found in the Smithsonian Institution Archives concerning the Division of Performing Arts (1966-1983), Folklife Program (1977-1980), Office of Folklife Programs (1980-1991), Center for Folklife Programs and Cultural Studies (1991-1999), Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage (1999-present), and collaborating Smithsonian units, as well as in the administrative papers of key figures such as the Secretary and respective deputies. Users are encouraged to consult relevant finding aids and to contact Archives staff for further information.