The World Cultures Program at San Diego City College has a full calendar of events this fall that you won’t want to miss.
The Program offers a series on campus showcasing traditions from around the world, different identity spheres and abilities.
“The through line is highlighting or celebrating a particular culture,” said Professor Mike Espar, one of the program’s coordinators. “That culture could be a geographic-based culture, like say the music of India or art from a particular country, but it can also follow other definitions of culture.”
Espar mentioned events that celebrate deaf and LGBTQ+ culture as those which ascribe to non-ethnic iterations of culture.
The calendar includes presentations, concerts, art demos and film screenings.
Here are just a few of the many exciting events coming up in October.
Live From the Studio – October 4
Live From the Studio is a new series where musicians will perform at the City College recording studio. The event will be streamed on YouTube. You definitely don’t want to miss it.
The series kicks off on October 4 with Mariachi Garibaldi from Southwestern College performing traditional mariachi music. Starsign, UC San Diego’s jazz-fusion ensemble, will then perform on October 18.
Core Ensemble presents “Las Magníficas” – October 10
The Core Ensemble is a performance group that has been around since the 1930s. It tours the country and performs works that focus on multicultural, feminist and multicultural expression?.
This month, they will be at City College performing “Las Magnificas,” a musical theater piece for singing actress and piano that tells the story of three prominent figures in Latin American history: Celia Cruz, Chavela Vargas and Violata Parra.
Queer Movement with DISCO RIOT – October 11
DISCO RIOT is an organization that seeks to create positive social change through movement. They will be hosting a dance class at City College for all gender expressions, body types, and levels of ability.
Students are invited to celebrate National Coming Out Day and explore the liberatory power of dance.
Indigenous Food Sovereignty and Cooking Demo with Huitlacoche – October 18
Mario Ceballos is a fungi community organizer and co-chair of Yaquis of Southern California. His work focuses on environmental and social justice education with a focus on the edible and medicinal uses of fungi.
He will be at City College giving a talk and demonstrating the preparation of huitlacoche. This traditional Mesoamerican dish is made with a fungi that grows on corn and has deep significance to a number of indigenous cultures.
Ancestral Mesoamerican Ballgame – October 25
The San Diego Mesoamerican Ballgame Team will be on campus to give a presentation of the ancient sport known to the Nahua as Tlachtli/Ullamaliztli.
This game involves two teams competing to keep a rubber ball inbounds using only their hips. The team will give a presentation on the history of the sport and its cultural significance, then demonstrate it.
Deaf Culture Our Way – October 25
Jon Mowl is a deaf athlete, business analyst and the founder of Play with ASL. He represented the USA at the Deaflympics and has worked for a number of business and government agencies. He has also worked with a number of government agencies and private companies to improve accessibility.
Mowl will be on campus giving a presentation on how being deaf changes the experience of everything from school to sports.
For more information, or to see the full calendar of events, go to https://sdcity.edu/life-at-city/worldcultures/.
