FREE//GRATUITO
PUBLISHED BY ACCIÓN LATINA
Vol. 51 No. 19
Eva Moschitto
September 23-October 6, 2021
CELEBRATING CULTURE AND BREAKING THE MYTH OF THE LATINX MONOLITH CELEBRACIÓN DE LA CULTURA LATINX Y FIN DEL MITO MONOLÍTICO
del sur, centro y norte de América, marginando aún más a las comunidades indígenas y afro latinx. En un esfuerzo por reescribir esta narrativa, El Tecolote entrevistó a líderes de Chavalos Danzas por Nicaragua y el Centro Cultural Tradición Peruana, a la que pertenece el grupo folclórico Jaranón y Bochinche, dos organizaciones que participaron en Fiesta de las Américas, organizada por Calle 24 Distrito Cultural Latino. Al compartir sus historias, esperamos reconocer lo que las comunidades latinx siempre han sabido: sólo reconociendo la diferencia podemos lograr la unidad.
El Tecolote
Editor’s Note: Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs from Sept. 15-Oct. 15, was established by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1968 to celebrate the cultures and folks from Latin America. While progressive then, the recognition also imposed a damaging image of homogeneity onto a diverse group of South, Central, and North American Latinx peoples, further marginalizing Indigenous and Afro Latinx communities. In efforts to rewrite this narrative, El Tecolote interviewed leaders of Chavalos Danzas por Nicaragua and Centro Cultural Tradición Peruana, to which the folkloric group Jaranón y Bochinche belongs, two organizations who participated in Calle 24’s “Fiesta de las Américas.” In sharing their stories, we hope to recognize what Latinx communities have always known: only by recognizing difference can we achieve unity.
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Every time that I have gone or moved places, I have tried to look, as we always do… for community,” says Diana Aburto Ibarra, artistic director of Danzas por Nicaragua at Chavalos, an organization that promotes Nicaraguan cultural arts and provides humanitarian aid to transnational Nicaraguan communities. Ibarra danced folklore professionally in Nicaragua before immigrating to the United States and later moving to the Bay Area, where she began dancing with Chavalos in 2010. Ibarra describes dance as both “the highest expression of [Nicaraguan] culture” and “a form of community outreach.” “We try to stay as authentic as possible when it comes to all of our artistic expressions and representations,” Ibarra explains. To do this, Ibarra incorporates Nicaraguan paintings, drawings, and pottery into performances and coordinates artistic exchanges, inviting Nicaraguan artists living domestically and abroad to perform in San Francisco. This accuracy “creates that linkage to the audience…and has extended that community and that family,” Ibarra says. However, Chavalos’ work continues beyond its cultural programming. During COVID-19, Chavalos collaborated with Mission Meals to feed those most impacted by COVID-19. The Mission Meals and Chavalos team “were like líderes de campesinos that started feeding the community,” Ibarra remembers. “That was something quite beautiful…we kept everything safe, everybody fed, and everybody...culturally fed as well.” Holistic community care is central to Chavalos’ mission. Ibarra compares the organization’s outreach to a tree’s branches; equal importance is given to the creative and physical needs of the Nicaraguan community. During COVID-19, Ibarra says, “the artistic expressions and cultural events are what kept us together, are what allowed us to continue linking up, to continue making community.” Still, doing the work is difficult. Chavalos relied heavily on the generosity of volunteers to grow and gain sufficient visibility to receive grants and sponsorships. Yet, the passion of Chavalos’ members sustains the organization. Chavalos’ staff includes mituliracial Nicaraguans, those who immigrated from Nicaragua, and Nicaraguans who were born in the U.S., but “if there’s one thing in common that we all have,” Ibarra says, “it’s that love for Nicaragua…[that] is the reason why we do this.”
Participación del grupo nicaragüense Chavalos Danzas por Nicaragua, en Fiesta de las Américas, evento llevado a cabo en el Distrito Misión en San Francisco, el 18 de septiembre de 2021. The group Chavalos Danzas por Nicaragua performs at Fiesta de las Américas in San Francisco’s Mission District on Sept. 18, 2021. Photo: Katherine Castillo Because she loves her people and country, Ibarra must confront the reality that after 200 years of Nicaraguan independence, “the political crises that are happening in our country definitely do not represent anything that is [in line] with independence.” Nicaragua’s history of political instability and oppression of Indigenous peoples leads Ibarra to define independence in her own terms. “I came to the conclusion that freedom for us Nicaraguans exists within us right now. [Independence exists] if we can continue to celebrate who we are, in our heritage, in our background, and in what’s within us, not necessarily because we feel independent or because we are free.” Ibarra reminds her dancers that “this is the work that we do 365 days a year: celebrate our Latinidad. It’s not just this month.” However, she also urges the dancers to remember their histories: “The person who knows their past won’t repeat it.” “El que conoce su pasado no lo vuelve a repetir.” Ibarra’s own immigration story began with a mission: “to bring Nicaragua to wherever I will go and to whoever I will know.” While Chavalos remains one of few widely-known local organizations furthering Nicaraguan visibility, it hopes, through continuing cultural programming and humanitarian aid, to create space for future Nicaraguan cultural organizations. Juan de Dios Soto—co-director of Tradición Peruana, which promotes Peruvian culture locally through cajón and dance performances—also uses art to cultivate community. Cultural arts function “like a bridge for the community,” Soto explains. The Tradición Peruana “familia” incorporates Peruvian paintings, sculptures, and photography into exhibits in order to maintain authenticity. A recent event at the Mission See FIESTAS, page 11
Eva Moschitto
El Tecolote
Nota del editor: el mes de la Herencia Hispana, que comprende del 15 de septiembre al 15 de octubre, fue establecido en 1968 por el presidente Lyndon B. Johnson, para celebrar las culturas y a los habitantes de América Latina. Aunque progresivo entonces, el reconocimiento también impuso una imagen dañina de homogeneidad a un grupo diverso de pueblos latinx
Cada vez que me he mudado, he tratado de buscar, como siempre… la comunidad”, dice Diana Aburto Ibarra, directora artística de Chavalos Danzas por Nicaragua, una organización que promueve las artes culturales nicaragüenses y brinda ayuda humanitaria a las comunidades transnacionales nicaragüenses. Ella solía bailar folclor profesionalmente en Nicaragua antes de emigrar a los EEUU y luego, al mudarse al Área de la Bahía, comenzó a bailar con Chavalos en 2010. Aburto describe la danza como “la máxima expresión de la cultura [nicaragüense]” y como “una forma de acercamiento a la comunidad. Tratamos de mantenernos lo más auténticos posible cuando se trata de todas nuestras expresiones y representaciones artísticas”, explica. Para ello, incorpora pinturas, dibujos y alfarería nicaragüenses en las representaciones y coordina los intercambios artísticos, invitando a artistas nicaragüenses que viven en el país y en el extranjero a actuar en San Francisco. Esta precisión “crea ese vínculo con la audiencia y ha ampliado esa comunidad y esa familia”, afirma. Sin embargo, el trabajo de Chavalos continúa más allá de su programación cultural: durante la COVID-19, colaboraron con Mission Meals para alimentar a los más afectados por la pandemia. El equipo integrado por ambos “eran líderes campesinos que empezaron a alimentar Vea CULTURA, página 11
Miembros del grupo folclórico Jaranón y Bochinche del Centro Cultural Tradición Peruana, luego de su actuación en Fiesta de las Américas, el 18 de septiembre de 2021 en el Distrito Misión en San Francisco. Entre ellos, al centro, representando a Calle 24 Distrito Cultural Latino, Susana Rojas y Aura Barba, Directora Ejecutiva y Coordinadora de Marketing, respectivamente. Members of Tradición Peruana pose for a portrait after performing at Fiesta de las Américas in San Francisco’s Mission District on Sept. 18, 2021. Among them, at the center, representing Calle 24 Latino Cultural District, Susana Rojas and Aura Barba, Executive Director and Marketing Coordinator, respectively. Photo: Katherine Castillo