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Show HISPANIC ARTS As a boy, José Polo crafted his first miniature boats from the driftwood on his island home off the coast of Colombia. Living now in Layton, he enjoys building models up to five feet in length. His family makes elabórate Halloween costumes, much like the ones he made for carnival celebrations in South America. By adapting his arts to fit into his new life in Utah, he participates in his national culture while sharing it with family and friends. (GR:92) Lucero and Midvale groups, Spanish-speaking wards have been organized in Ogden and Provo and a third congregation was organized in Salt Lake-the Monte de Sión (Mount Zion) Ward. For several years this ward has sponsored an autumn music festival and competition that has included performances by traditional musicians, many who specialize in the folk music of their homelands. Perhaps because Hispanic Mormons do not use images of saints in their religious worship, traditional arts like altarmaking, santos carving and palm weaving are not sustained within the Mormon community. Instead, craftsman José Polo makes model boats that remind him of his island childhood off the coast of Colombia or needleworker Jacinta Zumaeta embroiders fine wool landscapes of Chile that help her remember her homeland. Likewise Hispanic Mormons appear to be more active in stylized folkloric music and dance based upon traditional art forms than in perpetuating ethnic music by way of ethnic choirs or ethnic dance bands. las ramas Lucero y la de Midvale, se han organizado ramas latinas en Ogden y Provo y se organizó una tercera congregación en Lago Salado, llamada Monte de Sión. Esta rama ha organizado por varios años un festival y concurso de música en el otoño que incluye la actuación de músicos folklóricos los cuales, muchos de ellos, se concentran en la música típica de sus países. Debido quizás a que los mormones hispanos no usan imágenes de santos en sus servicios religiosos, el arte de hacer altares, santos, reliquias y tejidos de palmas no se ha perpetuado en la comunidad mormona. El artesano José Polo hace botes que le recuerdan a la isla de su niñez fuera de la costa de Colombia y la tejedora Jacinta Zumaeta hace finos paisajes de lana que le recuerdan a su país natal, Chile. De esta misma manera, los mormones hispanos parecen ser más activos en la música y en el baile folklórico estilizado basado en el arte tradicional, que en perpetuar la música folklórica a través de coros y compañías de danza folklórica. During the 1980s, one of Utah's most popular folk music ensembles was Rama Nueve, named after their LDS congregation, Branch Nine, in Bolivia. Their music is based upon the melodies and rhythms of the Andean Indians who have maintained their distinct cultures through centuries of Spanish influence. Raúl Ayllon (left) and Luis Soria were among the first Bolivian musicians to live and perform in Utah. (NP:87) |