- Sophia Cabreara, Stephanye Moreno, Josephine Dominguez, Angel Diaz performing at the Gene Autry Museum
Pukúu Cultural Community Services, through the Department of Cultural Affairs and Disney, was able to host MusicLA classes for the children of the San Fernando Valley for free! This is the second year that Pukúu Cultural Community Services has hosted MusicLA and we have had a great turn out of eager children this year. Thirty kids ranging from 3 to 17 years old participated in this year’s program, nearly tripling our size from last year.
Our classes began in November of 2009 and went all the way through February 2010, for a total of 10 Saturdays at Rudy Ortega Sr. Park in San Fernando. The park was a great place to have our rehearsals thanks to an amphitheater and a tea house that held a large capacity. Our children were eager to attend classes and even came to class on rainy days, which showed their dedication.
- Instructor from the California Sumumi Drummers Dennis Garcia, MusicLA students Miguel Sandoval, with Spencer and Alex Horn
Thanks to our dedicated MusicLA instructors, this year’s program was a success. We had the privilege of having Mark Villasenor from the Fernandeño/Tataviam Band of Mission Indians who taught traditional birdsongs and dances. We also had the privilege to have Dennis Garcia and Paul Sanchez from the California Sumumi Drummers, who taught their native Chumash songs and dances.
Our MusicLA Concert was held at the Gene Aurty Museum on February 20th. Pukuu’s MusicLA’s students did a fantastic job at the concert. The concert will be televised on channel 35 during their “LA this Week” segment.
Pukúu is proud of every student that particpated in this year’s sessions. More than half of our dedicated kids were non-native and lived in the San Fernando Valley. We are proud to have the songs and dances of the Fernandeño/Tataviam Band of Mission Indians and Chumash carried on through our MusicLA students. Pukúu is dedicated to spreading cultural awareness through the MusicLA program and we look foward to the upcoming MusicLA classes this year!