Sounds of California
odd: label: Introduction
content: Occupying a significant swath of the western edge of the United States, facing the Pacific, and emerging from a historically significant exchange with Latin America, California is a crossroads. It continues to be shaped by the conflict, creativity, and energy of people creating a home in a region whose cultural and social ground is as ever shifting as its geology.

Among the fifty states, California is the most populous and one of the most diverse, comprised of people who have emigrated from all parts of the globe. It is home to the largest Native American population, one of the largest populations of people who identify as mixed race, as well as people whose families migrated to the state generations ago. In 2016, at a time when public discussion around immigration is clamorous, one in four immigrants in the U.S. lives in California. No single racial or ethnic group forms a majority in the state, and foreign-born residents represent more than a quarter of California's total population.

At the 2016 Folklife Festival, Sounds of California presented a series of evening concerts as well as daytime performances and activities, offering a glimpse into how musical culture mirrors the movements reshaping the state and the nation today. We featured artists who contribute to the soundscapes of California, who demonstrate the social power of music and cultural heritage.

While rooted in the terrain of their communities, these artists work across borders - in many senses. They sustain traditions to bridge distant homelands to their present homes. They remix traditions to forge new variations and collaborations. They deploy traditions to engage and invite others to action. These resilient artists cultivate community by both tending to and extending beyond what is near and familiar, honor tradition while looking forward, and contribute to creating a diverse, resonant landscape.

The program's Curatorial Team included: Olivia Cadaval, James Deutsch, Quetzal Flores, Lily Kharrazi, Sojin Kim, Amy Kitchener, Adriel Luis, Samuel Orozco, Russell Rodríguez, and Ranald Woodaman.

The program was co-produced with the Alliance for California Traditional Arts, Radio Bilingüe, the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center, and the Smithsonian Latino Center. Presenting partners included the Aga Khan Music Initiative, Tumo Center for Creative Technologies, and My Armenia, a collaborative project between the people of Armenia, USAID, and the Smithsonian Institution. The program received Federal support from the Latino Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Latino Center, and the Asian Pacific American Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center. Other supporters included the Sakana Foundation and Smithsonian Grand Challenges Consortia for the Humanities.
label: Researchers and media producers
content: Betto Arcos, Akira Boch, Jon Ching, Elisa Hough, Amy Kitchener, Ara Madzounian, Deborah Wong
label: Presenters
content: Eduardo Díaz, Theodore Gonzalves, Lily Kharrazi, Amy Kitchener, Mary S. Linn, Adriel Luis, Hugo Morales, Carolyn Rapkievan, Russell Rodríguez, Daniel Sheehy, Zoe Tribur, Oliver Wang, Deborah Wong, Ranald Woodaman
label: Participants
content: BAY AREA

Meklit Ayelo Hadero, 1980-, singer-songwriter, San Francisco, California

Homayoun Sakhi, 1976-,  -- rubâb --  player, Fremont, California

John Santos Sextet with Bobi Céspedes  -- John Santos Sextet with Bobi CéspedesJohn Santos, 1955-, percussionist, band leader, Oakland, CaliforniaBobi Céspedes, 1946-, singer, percussionist, Oakland, CaliforniaJohn Calloway, 1959-, flute player, San Francisco, CaliforniaMarco Diaz, 1975-, pianist, trumpeter, Vallejo, CaliforniaDavid Flores, 1972-, drummer, Oakland, CaliforniaMelecio Magdaluyo, 1957-, saxophonist, San Francisco, CaliforniaSaul Sierra, 1968-, bassist, Palo Alto, California

Youth Speaks, poet, San Francisco, California  -- Youth Speaks, poet, San Francisco, CaliforniaAntique, poet, San Francisco, CaliforniaEbony Donnley, poet, San Francisco, Californiagabrielanthony, poet, San Francisco, CaliforniaNatasha Huey, poet, San Francisco, CaliforniaBenjamin Earl Turner, poet, San Francisco, CaliforniaTassiana Willis, poet, San Francisco, California

LOS ANGELES

Armenian Public Radio  -- Armenian Public RadioMher Ajamian, 1980-, guitarist, percussionist, North Hollywood, CaliforniaRyan Demirjian, 1985-, lead guitarist, Glendale, CaliforniaSaro Koujakian, 1980-, lead singer, guitarist, Los Angeles, California

Bambu, 1977-, MC, Oakland, California

DJ Phatrick, 1981-, DJ, Lomita, California

FandangObon  -- FandangObonGeorge Abe, 1944-, fue, shakuhachi, taiko player, Los Angeles, CaliforniaTylana Enomoto, 1977-, violinist, Los Angeles, CaliforniaQuetzal Flores, 1973-, jarana, requinto, guitar player, Pasadena, CaliforniaElaine Fukumoto, 1951-, dancer, dance instructor, Rosemead, CaliforniaMartha González, 1972-, singer, percussionist, Pasadena, CaliforniaSandino González-Flores, 2005-, singer, Alhambra, CaliforniaRamón Gutiérrez Hernández, 1967-, instrument maker, Xalapa, Veracruz, MexicoSean Miura, 1988-, shamisen player, Los Angeles, CaliforniaNobuko Miyamoto, 1939-, Great Leap director, singer, dancer, Los Angeles, CaliforniaJuan Pérez, 1975-, bassist, Los Angeles, CaliforniaNancy Sekizawa, 1953-, vocalist, Los Angeles, California

Low Leaf, 1987-, singer, songwriter, producer, Granada Hills, California

Salar Nader, tabla player, composer, Los Angeles, California

Quetzal  -- QuetzalQuetzal Flores, 1973-, jarana, requinto, guitar player, Pasadena, CaliforniaMartha González, 1972-, singer, percussionist, Pasadena, CaliforniaTylana Enomoto, 1977-, violinist, Los Angeles, CaliforniaEvan Greer, 1989-, percussionist, Inglewood, CaliforniaAlberto López, 1974-, percussionist, Los Angeles, CaliforniaJuan Pérez, 1975-, bassist, Los Angeles, California

SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY

Banda Brillo de San Miguel Cuevas  -- Banda Brillo de San Miguel CuevasEmiliano Flores, 1966-, bandleader, saxophonist, Fresno, CaliforniaEric Flores, 1994-, trombonist, Fresno, CaliforniaPedro Flores, 1991-, sousaphone player, Fresno, CaliforniaFelix Morales, 1968-, bass drummer, Fresno, CaliforniaJuan Carlos Morales, 2003-, timbales and snare drum player, Fresno, CaliforniaJosé Luis Ramos, 1990-, clarinetist, Ceres, CaliforniaRaúl López, 1979-, trumpeter, Fresno, California

Grupo Nuu Yuku de San Miguel Cuevas -- Grupo Nuu Yuku de San Miguel CuevasJorge Juárez, 1981-, dancer, co-director, Fresno, CaliforniaDiego Solano, 1988-, dancer, co-director, Fresno, CaliforniaAlex Vásquez, 1987-, dancer, mask maker, Los Banos, CaliforniaHeriberto Farias Jr., 1999-, dancer, Madera, CaliforniaNoel Gil, 2003-, dancer, Fresno, CaliforniaJoseph Zurita Gil, 2000-, dancer, Kerman, CaliforniaErgar Guzmán, 1999-, dancer, Fresno, CaliforniaRaymundo Guzmán Acevedo, 1991-, dancer, Fresno, CaliforniaJoari Solano, 2000-, dancer, Fresno, California

Radio Bilingüe  -- Radio BilingüeChelis López, 1969-, producer, San Francisco, CaliforniaHugo Morales, 1949-, executive director, Fresno, CaliforniaMichael Yoshida, 1953-, engineer, Oakland, California

SOUTHERN BORDER REGION

Helena Quintana Arrow-weed, 1942- Pueblo, artist, educator, environmentalist, Fort Yuma, California

Preston J. Arrow-weed, 1940-, Quechan-Kamya, tribal singer, language teacher, playwright, actor, environmentalist, Fort Yuma, California

Marta Rodriguez, 1978-, San José de la Zorra Kumeyaay Community, singer, dancer, basket weaver, potter, Santa Ysabel, California

Stan Rodriguez, 1958-, Santa Ysabel Band of the Iipay Nation, educator, language teacher, tribal singer, Santa Ysabel, California
name: label: Collection Creator
content: Smithsonian Institution. Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage
setName: label: See more items in
content: Smithsonian Folklife Festival records: 2016 Smithsonian Folklife Festival
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections
identifier: label: Identifier
content: CFCH.SFF.2016, Series 4
objectType: label: Type
content: Archival materials