Old Town School – On The Road

Dispatches from the road from our wayfaring travelers.

Lani and the Coconut Drums of México and Hawaiʻi

Yesterday we visited an incredible school called El Centro Cultural Ollin Yoliztli with our guide Felipe, who is a teacher at the school. The school teaches music to students from the the ages of five years to 15 or 16. One of the central points of the school is that students study a kind of “general music” with specific material for their instrument for two years. It’s only after the second year that students decided if they want to study música folklórico or música classica. At El Centro Cultural Ollin Yoliztli both paths are given equal weight. Awesome!

But more about that later. Right now I want to write about one of the unexpected benefits of this trip.

I introduce you to Lanialoha Lee. She teaches music and dance of the Pacific Islands and she is an incredible musician. Before this trip, we knew of each other but we didn’t really know each other. Well, let me tell you it has been a sincere pleasure talking about music and culture and teachings and life with her.

Lani is VERY dedicated to sharing the culture of the indigenous people of the Pacific Islands. I can’t believe how much I’ve learned about Hawai’i, just hanging around México City for two days. Lani is constantly pointing out parallels or differences between the cultures here.

Here is an example which I found very interesting. Lani and the Coconut Drums of México and Hawaiʻi This was recorded on our trip to El Centro Cultural Ollin Yoliztli with Lani, Anacron, Shana and myself crammed in the back of Felipe’s hatchback. In this recording, which is roughly 4 minutes long, Lani describes an encounter we had with a gentleman with a drum made from a coconut tree. We met him in the Zocalo on our first afternoon in México, D.F.

Filed under: Mexico,Notes from Jason by Jason | January 23, 2009 | Comments (0)


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