Our voices, our stories
Crossing cultural boundaries, the 5 annual Tamejavi Festival, “Our voices, Our stories: A Path to Inclusion,â€Â transformed Radio Park on Sept. 18 into a space where diverse cultures converge to express and share stories, music, food, traditions, and ways of interpreting the world.
The weather was warm, but festival attendees who mingled in the outdoor market hardly seemed to mind. They carried fans, umbrellas or waved their programs as makeshift devices to stay cool. Some enjoyed agues frescas, Spanish for “fresh water,â€Â drinks made from fruit or rice, or nieve, which is Mexican ice cream.
The diverse crowd sat beneath the shade of large trees on folding chairs and on the grass, where they enjoyed performances. Various languages greeted ears — Spanish, Hmong and Farsi, as well as multiple other languages, simultaneously.
One man explained to another, it̢۪s not the differences, but the similarities which bring us together. Another caucasian man fluently conversed with two Asian women in their native language.
The entire atmosphere seemed to be a silent plea for peace and equality. The Tamejavi Festival sought to expose people to other ethnic groups in hopes of bringing about cultural respect and understanding.
Approximately 33 booths surrounded the stage, each displaying a different aspect of culture. One group of booths in particular entitled “Our Voices, Our Stories,â€Â featured the Wukchumni Native American tribe as well as three regions in Oaxaca, Mexico: Triqui, Zapoteca and Mixteca. Oaxacan women demonstrated how to weaved bags, baskets, ponchos and mats out of heavy cloth.
The women also shared stories of Oaxaca and told of the city’s reliance on corn as a source of income. The Wukchumni taught people words from their language and sold colorful beaded jewelry.
Entertainment included a captivating story titled “The Invisible Tearâ€Â by Native American singer and musician Lance Caneles. The story told of a mother’s search for her lost daughter. Caneles also played a Native American flute to illustrate the story.
The words “Taj laj Tshav Puamâ€Â (Hmong), “mercadoâ€Â (Spanish), and “nunjaviâ€Â (Mixteco) were combined to form “Tamejavi.â€Â The interpretation of these words can be “market.â€Â Tamejavi was intended to be a sort of cultural market or gathering place for people of different ethnicities to meet and share in each other’s lives. “It’s a great project because so many can be involved,â€Â Pan Valley Institute’s office manager Jennifer Meinert said. “People learn from each other.â€Â
The Tamejavi Festival also featured artists and poets, in a film series produced by first generation Americans and Platicas, which gave people space to discuss current issues.
Poet Saadi’s words, displayed near the Persian booth, seemed to sum up the common feeling at the Tamejavi Festival: “All Adam’s race are member of one frame; Since all, at first, from the same essence came. When by hard fortune one limb is oppressed, the other members lose their wonted rest; If thou feelest not for others’ misery, A son of Adam is no name for thee (Saadi 1258 AD).â€Â