The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

17| W aterloo C hronicle | T hursday,July 12,2018 w aterloochronicle.ca ...from community developments to a look at rising stars on the local business, dining, sports and entertainment scenes.We're proud to introduce you to the people & businesses that make up the community of Waterloo! GET A LOCAL PERSPECTIVE ON SHOPS & SERVICES To advertise in the Waterloo Chronicle call 519.579.0301 The behind the scenes work for a festival like Kul- trún is frantic with logis- tics like working out where the bands will park and off- load for the world music festival heading into its fifth year July 14-15 at Vic- toria Park. The goal is to keep the music and the vibe going without interruption, and to have the huge audience expected entertained and engaged at all times. The calm at the centre of that storm is artistic direc- tor of Neruda Arts and Kul- trún, Isabel Cisterna, who works hard to make it all look seamless while deliv- ering acts the area might not ever see otherwise. For instance, did you know that there are throat sing- ers in Korea, and that art form has a long tradition that mirrors that of Cana- da's north? "This is the first time we've had an international Korean band," said Cister- na. "They're doing through singing which is very spe- cial, and people might hear links to the art form of Innu artists." The group called Jeong ga ak hoe from Korea will be on hand to explore those parallels and open local au- diences to a brand new ex- perience. And it's building on the experiences of last year's festival with artists from Colombia like Colectro, Mracatu Mar Aberto from Brazil, the Neema Chil- dren Choir from Uganda and our own First Nations artists like the White Pine Dancers, Cara Loft and Kitchener's own Aysha Brilla providing some local flavour. "Last year was a great festival, and I couldn't ask for more," said Cisterna, about the combination of talent and good timing that saw a number of interna- tional acts come to the community. "When you get that lucky you don't think you're going to get it again." But she is expecting an even bigger audience and a participatory crowd will- ing to shake of their shack- les and learn about the cul- ture and dance of some of the players while joining in themselves. In fact, Cister- na is making it even easier for people to be able to par- ticipate with dance and music workshops that she hopes draws people to the interesting new rhythms they hear. "People who come to our festival now it's more than about consuming music and being a spectator," said Cisterna. "It's about partic- ipating and that's why this year we have over a dozen activities and lots of differ- ent things for people to do. "While they're getting the music on the one side, they can actually part with professional artists." There will be a flamenco band from Spain doing a flamenco workshop, and a group from Palestinian do- ing a traditional dance and inviting the crowd to learn along with them. "Every year we want to bring new experiences and bring the representation of diverse countries," said Cisterna. "There are coun- tries we keep repeating be- cause people love them, like Cuba for example, but this year we have a 20 mem- ber troupe from Uganda doing drumming and danc- ing. "You don't have to be in the bubble and restricted by certain notions. Our fes- tival can go from very con- temporary and avant- garde to very traditional, and encompass all the dif- ferent cultures and conti- nents." She highlighted one of the shows they will do dur- ing the festival that will be called the four corners of the world and bring togeth- er drummers from differ- ent musical traditions and continents to discover what's universal in those beats. "We will have drum- mers from Uganda, Korea, Brazil and First Nations drumming together," said Cisterna. "I think it will be the first of its kind to be performed here, and the experience of that is going to be amazing and for the audience will be thrilling." She's also looking for- ward to the combining of Indigenous storytelling traditions from Patagonia in South America and Can- ada's own First Nations tradition called the Condor and the Eagle as part of Kultrún's symposium se- ries. "It's called the Conver- sation," said Cisterna. "And this year the Conver- sation will be about the leg- end of the Condor and the Eagle, and we're bringing together First Nations art- ists from Patagonia in Ar- gentina with a Mohawk and Haudenosaunee who is local. "They are both women, both singer/songwriters and storytellers. They talk about the prophecy of when the Condor and the Eagle come together how a new era of awareness will arise." The festival is free on both days July 14-15. Kul- trún officially kicks off with a gala evening at The- Museum on July 13, and the ticketed event is the main fundraiser for the annual festival. For more informa- tion visit www.kul- trunwmf.com. WHAT'S ON Kultrún asks the audience to join in Maracatu Mar Aberto from Brazil is one of the international acts coming to the annual Kultrún World Music festival July 14-15 in Victoria Park. The festival is free, and features more than 17 international and Canadian artists. Carlos Martinez Garate Photo Artistic director says this festival isn't one to sit on the sidelines for but to fully immerse one's self BOB VRBANAC bvrbanac@waterloochronicle.ca