By
Emily Severson
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Drums Across Cultures holds fifth annual event on UA Mall
Students and cultural organizations performed various percussion music on the UA Mall yesterday for the fifth annual Drums Across Cultures event.
The purpose of the event was to celebrate commonalties, said Sofia Ramos, the event chair and program coordinator from Chicano/Hispano Student Affairs.
"Drums are a universal language that unite across cultures," Ramos said.
She added that she tried to include as many student organizations as possible to reach out to more students.
"When I looked around at the crowd, I noticed that almost every nationality was represented," Ramos said.
The songs performed to start the event were mostly celebratory or social songs, said Mike Olson, a representative from Rhythm of Life, a Tucson drumming group.
Members of Rhythm of Life playing on Djenbe - goblet-shaped hand drums - and three dancers performing a song used by various African tribes to supervise flirtatious dancing between young children, Olson said.
Rhythm of Life urged members in the audience to sing or dance with them in the next few songs.
Taiko Drum Group and Danza Mexica also played at the event, which was held from noon to 3 p.m.
Along with the music, a fair was held to provide University of Arizona students with the opportunity to learn about various student organizations on campus and programs available through the department of Multi-Cultural Programs and Services.
Some of the student groups who had tables at the fair were African-American, Asian Pacific, Chicano/Hispano and Native-American student affairs.
Some groups held interactive activities, such as the African-American Student Affairs table, where students could get their hair braided. At the Chicano/ Hispano Student Affairs table, students could participate in tortilla art.
Alex Wright, associate director of UA Multi-Cultural Programs and director of African-American Studies, played the Shekere at the event, a kind of hand-held instrument similar to a large maraca.
Although Wright had previous been trained on the flute, he said he learned how to play the Shekere because he liked the rhythm. He added that he thought the event was a good way to educate people about diversity.
"Music is a universal language, everybody likes music," Wright said. "There should be more events that focus on campus diversity."
Wright added that he thought the next diversity event his department organized should be held on the UA Mall.
"It is always good to get a bunch of different groups to work together because usually creative ideas are found that way," Wright said.
Brian Hewlett, a sociology graduate student, said he was walking by the Mall when he heard the drums and decided to stop and listen.
"The music is pretty good compared to what I have heard," Hewlett said. "They should have more events like this on campus."
He added that the music initially attracted him to the event but once he stopped, he visited some of the booths.
"It was awesome to be able to hear about the origins of the different drums," said Josh Heller, a political science senior. "The event had a cross-cultural flavor."
