Flushing Town Hall hosts magical night featuring Global Mashup
PAMELA APPEA
Flushing Town Hall hosted a Global Mashup musical and dance event on Friday, November 21st. The evening performance featured the Portland, Oregon-based group Seffarine including Moroccan singer Lamiae Naki and flamenco guitarist Nat Hulskamp and other members.
Martín Vejarano of the NYC-based La Cumbiamba e NeYé, a Colombian music group, performed alongside several group members. The group’s music featured the indigenous gaita and other flutes, drums, vocals and dance.
“By blending the soulful sounds of Morocco and Spain with the vibrant songs of Colombia’s Caribbean region, we gather to celebrate long-standing traditions while kicking up our heels!” said Ellen Kodadek, Executive and Artistic Director of Flushing Town Hall.
“Flushing Town Hall’s Global Mashups highlight the distinctions and commonalities between cultures, artists, and audiences,” she said. The night’s performances feature the music and culture of the African Diaspora and South American, European and Indigenous influences.
The event kicked off with a group music dance lesson and teaching demonstration, then a performance of Seffarine, followed by a La Cumbiamba e NeYé.
The evening culminated in a mashup when both Seffarine and La Cumbiamba e NeYé performed together on stage. Members of the audience were free to get up and dance alongside the professional musical artists.
“I was born and raised in Africa. My connection to African music started at a young age. But coming to the U.S. opened up my eyes to other genres of music and the benefits of intercultural musical exchange. I am still learning. I will immerse myself in the journey of African music, Diaspora jazz music and so many other genres,” said Lamiae Naki, the lead vocalist of Seffarine.
“Music and intercultural artistic events are so important for art and music,” Naki said. “Whether you are coming from Morocco in Africa or any continent or country, it is important for you to represent your culture and your music in the way that it is intended to be represented. It is so important. We need to connect [and have global music] more than ever.”
Naki pointed out the benefits of intercultural music community performances. “Working together will make us all thrive, not the opposite.” she said.
Seffarine’s performance consisted of a medley of traditional songs and original compositions. Along with the flamenco guitar and flamenco dance representing Spanish and Andalusian culture, Seffarine group members played the Qraqeb or Krakeb, an iron castanet-like musical hand instruments and the oud, a traditional North African/Arab Diaspora instruments.
Seffarine’s flamenco guitarist Nat Hulskamp, an ethno-musicologist and university professor, has a multicultural and multiethnic family background with a significant connection to the African Diaspora as well.
According to personal family genealogical research, a recent ancestor from his paternal side was originally from Elmina, Ghana. He was captured in Ghana, enslaved by the Dutch and eventually ended up in Indonesia in the 1800s. During the Transatlantic Slave Trade a number of people from the then Gold Coast (present day Ghana) were enslaved by the Dutch.
La Cumbiamba e NeYé group members are a multicultural and multiethnic group playing Colombian music weaving in African Diaspora and Indigenous music and musical traditions as well.
Group members who performed at Flushing Town Hall include Martin Vejarano – gaita and compositions; David Amézquita -gaita & maraca; Morris Cañate – percussion; Jonathan Martínez – percussion; Carlos Rienzo – percussion & vocals and Lorena Ayub – dancer.
Flushing Town Hall (FTH) presents multi-disciplinary global arts that work to engage and educate the global communities of Queens and New York City in order to foster mutual appreciation.
It is a not for profit organization and receives major support from the National Endowment for the Arts; New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature; New York State Assembly Member Ron Kim.
Others are the City of New York, Mayor Eric Adams; New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, Commissioner Laurie Cumbo; Queens Borough President Donovan Richards; The New York City Council, Speaker Adrienne E. Adams and a host of other local council members and supporting organizations.