This is what the Harvard Foundation describes this event: “Each year the Harvard Foundation sponsors a cultural festival which involves some thirty student groups of different cultural and ethnic backgrounds and which celebrates Harvard’s cultural diversity through student performances and ethno-cultural cuisine. This event is attended by over two thousand students. Each year the students and faculty of the Harvard Foundation select a distinguished performing artist as Artist of the Year. The 2008 Harvard Foundation Artist of the Year has not yet been announced.”
harvardfoundation.org/cr2009

As for me, when I think about cultural rhythms, I think of my first performance with the mariachi. I was the new guy and I’ve said this before in other places, but I was really nervous. I was nervous because I hadn’t performed in almost 2 years. (I stopped playing violin after coming to Harvard.) and I wanted to do well so that the rest of the mariachi could see that I was able to contribute to the group.

Maybe it’s because of the events of today or just because I was thinking about the direction that my life is heading or the lack of direction, this post will seem very sappy, dripping with emotion, angsty, etc.

As a second semester junior, (I can only image how the seniors feel), I realize that my time at Harvard is quickly coming to a close. Of the things that I think i will remember most about Harvard, mariachi will be one of the two. The other is my conversion to Christianity. Because religion is always a difficult topic, I won’t write about it here.

That’s it pretty much it I think about it. Why do I spend so much time with this website, videos and pictures? It’s because doing these things makes me happy. In many ways, mariachi is the only place that I feel like I belong. I don’t feel like I belong at Harvard. I’m studying a major that I’m feeling more and more is not what I want to do. I love dinosaurs but it isn’t where my heart is. What brings me peace is being able to organize some mariachi pictures or put together some video clips.

I’m too emotional. I cling on. I give my heart too easily. All those things I know. But when I listen to mariachi songs, I, a Chinese-American who knows nothing about Mexican culture, speaks no words of Spanish, can feel it pull at my heart. How can I not help but fall in love?

It’s sad to know that after I graduate, I most likely will never play mariachi again. Where and how could I? So maybe some of the people in the group understand my feelings or maybe not, but I’m doing these things so that after I’m out of Harvard, I can look back at these pictures, read these posts and watch these videos as a reminder of a life that I once led. And hopefully, just maybe, someone in the group will continue with it so that when I visit the website, see the new faces, hear the new songs, see the new videos, I can feel like I’m still part of the group.

Simply put, I love mariachi. I love mariachi veritas. I love the members. And it’s sometimes hard to express the feelings that I have when I look around and see everyone in their trajes and we’re just playing our hearts out.

___
lue