Professor Steven Loza, Director of the UCLA Center for Latino Arts, giving a lecture on diverse society and ethical culture at UCLA
On May 20, the School of Commerce invited a professor and students from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and a Grammy-winning artist to give a lecture entitled “Diverse society and ethnic culture at UCLA: Thinking from the Mexican mariachi” and a music concert, respectively, at the Academy Common in the Surugadai Campus.
About 500 people of all ages and nationalities from inside and outside the University attended the event. At the end of the concert, there was a lot of applause for the performances
At the beginning of the event, KOMA Kyoko, Director, Headquarters of International Collaboration and Vice President (Professor of the School of Information and Communication in charge of international exchange), and OYAMA Rumiko, Deputy Director, Headquarters of International Collaboration (Professor of the School of Arts and Letters), gave speeches to express their hopes for further development of the exchange relationship between UCLA and Meiji University.
Professor Steven Loza, Director of the UCLA Center for Latino Arts, gave a special lecture on “Latin American Culture” (a course offered by the School of Arts and Letters). Latin folk music was explained in detail.
After that, prior to the concert, the organizer of the event, Professor TOKORO Yasuhiro of the School of Commerce, gave a speech in Spanish, and Professor NAKABAYASHI Mariko, Dean of the School of Commerce, spoke on behalf of the organizing institution, the School of Commerce.
Mariachi de Uclatlán, an ensemble of UCLA students, performed mariachi* in the first half of the concert. The moment the performance started, the entire hall was filled with cheerful Latin music and a bright atmosphere.
Special guest Mariachi Los Camperos, who received a U.S. Grammy Award twice, appeared in the second half. A gem of songs such as the theme song of the Disney-Pixar movie Remember Me and Cielito Lindo, the song most loved by Mexicans were performed. When Besame Mucho, a popular song in Japan, was played, the audience was very excited. The Japanese song Sakura Sakura, which was performed as a surprise number at the end, was sang in a big chorus in Japanese.
It was a valuable opportunity to appreciate, touch and experience songs, melodies, musical instruments and costumes of mariachi, a foreign folk music, and to reaffirm the importance and value of folk cultural resources in a globalized modern society. (School of Commerce Office)
*Mariachi: Traditional Mexican folk music registered as UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage
≪Japanese version≫
Concert by Mariachi Los Camperos