Crowds were welcomed to experience both underwater sea life and the traditional African dance and music at the African-American cultural festival in the Aquarium of the Pacific.
This past weekend the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach hosted its 14th annual African-American festival. The festival included many avenues of entertainment such as West African dances and music, art and ethnic food.
Baba the Storyteller is a travelling musician who has utilized the traditional art of West African storytelling in order to reach out to his audiences for twenty-two years.
“I practice an ancient oral tradition called Jaliyaa which is the [West African] craft of the oral historian,” Baba said. “There’s a different approach to history with the indigenous peoples; history is not only told but sung. The craft of Jaliyaa involves a lot of learning of language, music and history. My work here is to sort of act as a bridge, to introduce cultures to the culture of my ancestors.”
Another group that presented was music and dance company Dembrebrah, who are based out of the Homeland Cultural Center in Long Beach. The company has been performing traditional West African drumming and dancing for over twenty years.
“We have a mission statement to practice, promote, preserve and pass on the culture. That is what we do as a collective,” said Baba John, drummer for Dembrebrah.
Baba John further explained the importance of remembering their culture and spreading that knowledge.
“We try to give people a glimpse of what was going on in our culture before slavery. Part of the healing, we believe, is when we look back and practice our culture, learn our culture, and reconnect with ourselves with them, that is part of our view. We believe this is part of the healing of our community,” Baba John said.
Ndella Davis-Diassy, artistic director of Dembrebrah stated that, “[They] try keep everything traditional, from the clothes to the instruments and dance.”
Afterward, the Mardi Gras Second Line dancers performed an interactive dance circle with the crowd. The dance performed was a traditional dance that is native to New Orleans. The dance is usually performed by people who dance behind a band during parades or funerals.
Peter Martineau, the marketing events manager of the aquarium, said that this is only one of many cultural events that the Aquarium of the Pacific hosts.
“Our mission is to take care of the ocean at the aquarium and our vision is about how we do that, and it is through our connection with people,” Martineau said. “Our cultural festivals introduce a diversity to come and experience the aquarium, learn about the ocean and learn about each other’s culture.”
Martineau explains how important it is to help protect the ocean but also the understanding and learning of other cultures.
“It encourages celebration of diversity. We are trying to outreach to the community to not experience the aquarium but also the festivals. This event is multicultural; it’s for all people to come celebrate African and African-American culture,” Martineau said.
The festival offered an opportunity for local artists from the Long Beach area to showcase their artwork, music and dance.
The next cultural festival planned at the Aquarium of the Pacific is the Baja Splash festival on September 24 and 25.