Note from the Field

In the surreal and liminal reality of the early months of the 2020 global pandemic, I had just moved on from my 19-year tenure as the Virginia State Folklorist to start my own cultural nonprofit, the Center for Cultural Vibrancy. While I felt blessed and enjoyed my...
Embracing the Choque

Embracing the Choque

  Un choque. Choque pi ta pom ta ria. Choque pom. Pi ta. Pi pi pi ta. Ta ria. Choque pom. Ta ria ria pi ta ria ria pi ta ria ria pi ta choque pom. Pom pom. The onomatopoeia of the castañuelas speaks out. They are the disruptive force in the colonially induced quiet of...

Hearing Home Through a Podcast of Asian American Tales

As folklorists and colleagues working inside and beyond academia, we are dedicated to building the field of Asian American folklore. In late 2021, we launched “Yellow and Brown Tales: Asian American Folklife Today,” a podcast that highlights the...

From the Printed Page to the Concert Stage

Following a 2019 performance in Sweden, the singer and musician Maja Heurling was approached by an audience member and recent migrant. “This is the first time I’ve heard a Swede telling the story that I carry inside,” they told her (Heurling 2022). The Swede who...

Blues People, Music, and Folklore

Jack Dappa Blues Heritage Preservation Foundation (JDBHPF) is a nonprofit organization based in Bowling Green, Kentucky. It was established in 2011, officially becoming a 501(c)3 in 2016 to create public programs that raise cultural and ethnic awareness of Black...