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  • 2024 Festival, Indigenous Voices of the Americas,

    Day Three: Top Ten Photos

    June 28, 2024 | Chloe E.W. Levine, Elisa Hough, Molly Szymanski | Comments

    As the sun shone down between the Washington Monument and the Capital Building in Washington, D.C., the Smithsonian Folklife Festival had a day full of activity, from arrows whirring past on the field during the Amondawa archery demonstrations, to kids tearing up the half-pipe at Imilla Skate’s skateboarding workshop, to hands clapping to the beat of el pulso universal, or the universal heartbeat, at Nadia Larcher’s intimate performance at the Folklife Studio.

    Two featured concerts closed our evening: Pasatono Orquesta in the Rasmuson Theater, and Waikil and Ketrafe, followed by Doc Native and Spencer Battiest at Four Directions Stage.

    Share your own Festival stories and photos on social media with the hashtag #2024Folklife. We can’t wait to see them!

    A child and young man sit on the ground on a stage, waving their arms as part of an Arctic dance routine. Behind them, more people are dancing.
    Arctic dance group Pamyua led a dance workshop on the stage at the Rasmuson Theater. As member Phillip Blanchett explained, their style of dance tells stories of life in the Arctic through their movements.
    Photo by Joshua Davis, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives
    A man wearing a gray shirt sits at a table weaving fibers, which are held down on the table with a small black iron.
    John Paul Darden is among the few weavers who carry the ancestral Chitimacha tradition of split-cane basketry today. Back home in Charenton, Louisiana, he works to restore the habitat of the river cane plant used in this art form.
    Photo by Julie Byrne, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives
    A man wearing a navy blue patterned shirt pours liquid plaster into a mold from a Tupperware container.
    Plaster artist Abel Aguilar Vásquez is at the Festival representing Heritage & Handicrafts: OAXACA, a community-based project at the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage that aims to deepen connections between culture bearers and with local and international markets.
    Photo by Julie Byrne, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives
    A man wearing a black T-shirt sits at a table cutting pieces of tissue paper for the brightly colored kite sitting in front of him.
    Artist Ubaldo Sánchez is a Folklife Festival alumnus many times over, although in the past he has always presented the Central American tradition of alfombra de aserrín, ceremonial sawdust carpets that adorn the ground. This year he adorns the sky, with hand-painted barriletes (giant kites).
    Photo by Daniel Martínez González, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives
    A woman wearing a white top and a long red skirt dances with a man wearing a blue shirt and gray shorts in front of a stage.
    Andean artists Nadia Larcher and Manu Sija danced to the beat of percussionist Pablo Marti Gonzalez’s bombo, an Andean drum made of goat skin. The trio led an interactive concert demonstration on three Quechua instruments: the bombo; tinya, a handheld drum; and the charango, a small, ten-stringed instrument.
    Photo by Daniel Martínez González, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives
    A man wearing a striped shirt and a baseball cap smiles as he prepares fried mushrooms at a green counter.
    Bradley James Dry’s unctuous fried wishi mushrooms—the Cherokee word for hen-of-the-woods or maitake—have converted even lifelong mushroom skeptics.
    Photo by Mark S. Roth, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives
    Five women wearing white regalia standing in front of a sign that reads hashtag folklife with a Smithsonian sunburst above it. Behind the sign sits the U.S. Capitol Building.
    The Native American Women Warriors took a moment for a photo op at our brand new #FOLKLIFE! marquee, completed by our technical crew late Thursday night.
    Photo by Sonya Pencheva, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives
    A woman wearing a white top and a long black, white, and red skirt skateboards on a half-pipe.
    Di’orr Greenwood’s skirt billowed behind her as she showed off her skills on the half-pipe during an afternoon skate jam. Her designs for skateboards, sneakers, wearable art, and more are inspired by Indigenous culture, including her own Diné heritage.
    Photo by Sonya Pencheva, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives
    A person wearing a white fringed top and a long tan skirt holds their arms out while singing. Behind them, people sit in chairs playing violins, guitars, and a bajo quinto, a small Mexican stringed instrument.
    In their featured concert in the Rasmuson Theater, vocalist Rodrigo Pereyra Cruz and Pasatono Orquesta brought the audience to a standing ovation.
    Photo by Joshua Davis, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives
    A person wearing multicolored regalia and a white feathered headdress dances on a platform. Behind him on stage, two men perform a hip-hop song.
    The Festival’s first after-hours concert on the Four Directions Stage was “First Beats: Indigenous Hip-Hop.” Brothers Doc Native and Spencer Battiest of the Seminole Tribe of Florida surprised the audience with guest dancers in full regalia.
    Photo by James Dacey, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives

    Join us for the first weekend day of the Festival, on Saturday, June 29, to learn how to make a mole verde with Chef Bricia Lopez, watch Pamyua perform Inuit dance and Sara Curruchich sing in Kaqchikel at featured concerts, see the barrilete (kite) made by Guate-Maya DC fly on the National Mall, and so much more.

    Molly Szymanski is a media intern with the 2024 Folklife Festival. They are from Baltimore and currently live in College Park, Maryland. Elisa Hough is the editor and web content manager for the Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage. Chloe E.W. Levine is the social media coordinator for the 2024 Folklife Festival. The city she has most recently called home is Somerville, Massachusetts.

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