Video directed and edited by Albert Tong; produced by Albert Tong and Charlie Weber For fifty years, the Folklife Festival has been creating once-in-a-lifetime experiences with our participants and visitors. Through music, dance, food, crafts, and stories, we learn about other cultures, about each other, … Continue reading Celebrate 50 Years of Folklife, Support 50 More
Editor’s note: In honor of National American Indian Heritage Month in November, we are sharing excerpts from Rayna Green’s chapter on Native American food in the Smithsonian Folklife Cookbook. The book was published by the Smithsonian in 1991 and is now out of print. To talk of … Continue reading Native Foodways: Roast Salmon on Sticks
The smell of chorizo and roasting peppers. The sound of pil-pil sauce bubbling. The sight of pintxos lined up waiting to be eaten. Basque chefs Igor Ozamiz Goiriena and Igor Cantabrana argue that the first thing we do is eat with our eyes, and the … Continue reading Cooking Up Excellence: Tradition Meets Innovation in Basque Gastronomy
At Basque festivals, sporting events, and other ceremonial gatherings, it is traditional to invite bertsolariak to the stage to sing a greeting in rhymed verse. The opening ceremony of the 2016 Folklife Festival was no different, with short songs by Martin Goicoechea, Irati Anda, and Xabier Paya. … Continue reading The Basque Bertsolariak: Festival Welcome
Pintxos are small snacks made of high-quality food mixed in creative ways. In Basque bars, you can pick out a few pintxos that catch your eye and a drink for a few euros. This practice is called pintxo pote. Chef Igor Cantabrana explained in the … Continue reading Basque Recipe: The Ubiquitous Pintxo
No, these aren’t hula hoops. They are symbols of the seasons, the cardinal directions, and the diversity of our nation’s people. They can signify a soaring eagle or a nest to call home. They can tell a story—as long as they’re in the hands of … Continue reading Kevin Locke: Native Hoop Dance
Where do you call home? How many times have you moved? What languages do you use in your household? What languages do you use outside of home? At the 2016 Folklife Festival’s On the Move: Migration and Immigration Today tent, volunteers asked visitors these questions … Continue reading On the Move: Mapping Migration
Although they were relocated indoors due to the hot summer storm ensuing outside, there couldn’t have been a better venue to hear the rich harmonies of NOKA and Mikel Markez. As drenched visitors packed into the East Wing of the Arts and Industries Building, the … Continue reading NOKA and Mikel Markez: “Saldu Nenduen”
