Diversity on Display

The crowd in the Kirkland Junior Common Room was waiting patiently last Saturday afternoon when the band struck up “10,000 Men of Harvard” and George Lopez—comedian, humanitarian and this year’s Cultural Rhythms Artist of the Year—strolled through the doorway. Applause and cheer rang through the room for this year’s honoree as he smiled, then performed an impromptu dance to the delight of the audience.

Lopez and his wife were officially welcomed to Harvard by Dr. S. Allen Counter, the director of the Harvard Foundation—which puts on Cultural Rhythms every year—and Harvard students, who performed skits in honor of Lopez.

In addition to Lopez’s popularity for writing, producing and performing on his eponymous television sitcom on ABC, students in attendance pointed to Lopez’s role-model status for the Latino community at Harvard and beyond as reasons for their enthusiasm for his selection this year.

“It was great to see a Latino person who definitely grew up in a community that a lot of Harvard Latinos grew up in,” said Joseph Torres-Rangel, a performer in Ballet Folklorico de Aztlan and a student at the Graduate School of Education. “And it was nice to see someone in that background who has really become a leader in his field. He has really broke through.”

Lopez, who is from Los Angeles, serves as the spokesman for his hometown’s Stop the Violence program and has served as a longtime advocate against youth violence. He has also been recognized by his community for his work on behalf of earthquake victims in Latin America, and his charity, The George and Ann Lopez-Richie Alarcon Care Foundation.

In his introduction to Lopez, Counter emphasized the mission of Cultural Rhythms to celebrate culture and diversity at Harvard by recognizing the achievements of their guests. He pointed to the philanthropic works of previous winners Queen Latifah and Will Smith, who combined commitment to the community with their success in the entertainment world.

“Now in Mr. George Lopez we see a wonderful example of a humanitarian,” Counter said, “a very popular and talented performer and an artist.”

Ann Lopez, George’s wife, grew teary when talking about her husband’s award. “I am so unbelievably proud,” she said. “He has worked so hard for so many years and to be honored by such a school that’s so revered...It’s very sweet, it’s a very special achievement.”

George Lopez himself was, in his own words, “pretty blown away” by being chosen as Artist of the Year. He explained to the audience that after his Grammy loss earlier this year in the Comedy category, he felt he had lost a recognition that would last “through hard times and through everything.”

But he said of being named Artist of the Year, “this award surpasses the Grammy because it’s not only for what I’ve done for comedy but what I’ve done for humanity and that beats a Grammy as far as I’m concerned. It is definitely more special.

“It has been absolutely fantastic being here,” he added, “to only be here a day, and to do so much in a day. But the best part was that I got to spend some really nice time with the students and feel not only where they are but also where they’re going as educated people...It just changes the opinion I had of Harvard which was very Gilligan’s Island-like.”

THE TIMES A-CHANGIN’

This year, Cultural Rhythms was co-hosted by another special guest, Rosie Rios ’87. In 1983, Rios conceived of Cultural Rhythms with Dr. Counter and a few other students and helped to organize the first show two years later.

Rios was also pleased by the choice of Lopez and called him an inspiration to all. “He’s a star in his own right regardless of his race,” she said, “but obviously his advocacy efforts and his humanitarian efforts he’s pursued on behalf of all races is very admirable. He’s an entertainer who crosses all boundaries.”

Rios recalled the days of Cultural Rhythm’s inception and the long hours she, fellow students and Dr. Counter put in to organize the event and to get students and the community engaged.

The cultural climate at Harvard has changed significantly since the early 80s, according to Rios, who said she was overwhelmed by the diversity and talent of the student-organized events that take place every year in Sanders Theatre following the reception for the guest of honor.

“It’s amazing to see how far diversity has come at Harvard,” she said. “I remember when we were putting this together 20 years ago, we brought in the Opportunes and some of the other a cappella groups. That was the version of culture, that was the way there was entertainment for the student body.”

Not only has diversity itself seemed to have flourished at the event itself, according to Rios, but also a greater sense of pride seems to have developed among performers, who are eager to share their culture and serve as emissaries of different corners of the world for the public.

“Diversity has changed so much. Back then, it seemed like a bit of a struggle to be able to share something like that with the public, and now it’s something that people are proud of. They want to do it. They’re very proactive about it, they wear it, they embrace it. They don’t touch it, they embrace it,” Rios said.

Throughout the student show at Sanders Theatre after his reception in Kirkland House, George Lopez was an active participant in his capacity as host, but also danced with the performers and cracked jokes.

After the show, he said, “The performance was absolutely fantastic. We went through the whole world in two hours.”

Lopez said he is a big fan of programs such as Cultural Rhythms, for students and the country as a whole. “I just think that as a country we need to get to where the rest of the world is,” he said. He continued to say that Cultural Rhythems is a step in the right direction towards the world’s positive acceptance of diversity

“I feel that ignorance is probably the biggest enemy and ignorance comes in all colors,” he added.

COLLEGE CULTURE

Thrilling is the word many audience members used to describe the show itself—which featured 18 performances by undergraduate cultural groups, ranging from the Fuerza Latina’s Spanish dancing, to a wushu demonstration, ‘bhangra’ or a traditional Indian folk dance, and a mariachi performance.

The groups themselves brought to the stage diverse backgrounds and histories as campus organizations—from long-standing and prominent organizations such as the Kuumba Singers and the Ballet Folklorico de Aztlan, which has been in existence for 33 years and has performed in numerous Cultural Rhythm shows, to the fresh-faced Lithuanian Club, which was started just last semester.

“We decided it would be fun to spread our culture around Harvard to our friends who always ask us ‘Who are you? Why are your names so weird?’” laughed Lina O. Sestokas ’05, one of the Lithuanian Club’s founders.

Sestokas says she began preparing for the event before winter break, and started the rehearsal process shortly after Intercession.

Though she and fellow performers Thomas E. Mikuckis ’07 and Maria L. Domanskis ’05 traveled to Lithuania last summer to participate in a national folk dance festival there, she admitted before the performance that she was still nervous to be performing in front of such a large crowd.

But the audience was enthusiastic throughout the event—bursting out in applause for every group, clapping along with the music to support performers and even standing up to sing with the Kuumba singers.

The incredible audience support was not unnoticed by the performers. “I have to say my favorite part of performing was the excitement of the audience, the pumping up the energy, having the audience get all excited and you get all excited,” said Expressions Dance Company member and performer Marilyn J. Hylton ’06.

For first-time attendee Leah R. Lussier ’07, Cultural Rhythms “showcases diversity, it’s bringing awareness” to a campus that she thinks “is definitely accepting. But the student body, we tend to separate ourselves.”

Joseph Torres-Rangel said he enjoyed bringing his culture as part of the Ballet Folklorico de Aztlan to other students, who would not necessarily be familiar with his heritage from everyday encounters in the classroom.

“I’ve been performing since third grade and so it was really fun to choreograph and do some of the things I’ve grown up with,” he said, “and bring it to the Harvard community where you don’t necessarily talk everyday about what you did at home and how you grew up and traditions like that.”

Anica Law ’06, one of the dancers in the Traditional Chinese Dance Troupe, agreed. “All of us had started dancing since we were really young. The five of us got together and decided that Harvard needed something that’s just strictly Chinese.”

For Torres-Rangel, Cultural Rhythms was a unique event that brought to the surface the diversity that students have become only more eager and proud to display, as Rios observed. “I think that Harvard campus does a lot to promote diversity but I think that shows like this show how much diversity is underneath the radar,” he said. “When you create a space for expression like this, people are more than willing to step up to the plate.”

After the show, a tired but happy Stephanie A. Paiz ’05, an intern for the Harvard Foundation, said, “It’s a lot of work and it’s a lot of long hours, but it’s great to see it pay off in the end.”