By Darlene Donloe
Contributing Writer
WATTS —The 42nd annual Watts Towers Day of the Drum Festival and the 47th annual Simon Rodia Watts Towers Jazz Festival are set to take place on Sept. 28 and Sept. 29, respectively.
The music-centered celebrations, free of charge and open to the public, are presented by the Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs and the Friends of Watts Towers Arts Center.
All activities will take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Watts Towers Arts Center Campus, 1727 E. 107th St.
Daniel Tarica, general manager of the Department of Cultural Affairs, said his agency is excited to host two of the longest-running festivals in Los Angeles.
“Each year, the celebration further strengthens and reinforces community bonds, uniting residents, visitors and artists to share intergenerational culture and art, traditions and heritage,” he said.
Tarica said the Watts Towers Arts Center Campus uplifts the community through arts-centered programming and empowers everyone who walks onto the campus.
“We invite the public to join and participate in the celebration of these two historic festivals,” he said.
Each year the festivals have welcomed residents and families from across the city to unite in the sounds and expressions of local and internationally recognized jazz artists, and cross-cultural percussionists and dancers.
Although there are more than a dozen performances scheduled, visitors can also explore the historic Watts Towers Arts Center Campus, which will be activated with art and crafts demonstrations and local food vendors, family art workshops, and visual art exhibitions, including the opening weekend of “A Woman in Charge, Robin Strayhorn.”
That exhibit, curated by Rosie Lee Hooks, is a one-woman exhibition on view in the Noah Purifoy Gallery. The show highlights the cumulative work of the multidisciplinary artist featuring graphite, collage, acrylic, and monoprints.
The exhibition, on view from Sept. 28 through March 8, spans Strayhorn’s 40 years of Los Angeles residency up to her most recent work reflecting time spent living and studying in India.
“The Watts Towers Festivals, centered around the iconic Watts Towers, hold a deep historical and cultural legacy of community empowerment for the city of Los Angeles,” said Hooks, director of the Watts Towers Arts Center Campus. “The celebrations are a vibrant expression of the community’s resilience, its rich cultural diversity, and its ongoing struggle for social justice and equality.”
Among the performers for the drum festival Sept. 28 are Danza Azteca Xochipilli Aztec, traditional dancing with Huehuetl and Teponaxtle drums; Hemant Kulkarni, tabla solo accompanied by Makheer Singh on dilruba;
the Afro-Peruvian Experience, presenting African ancestors from Peru; Taiko Project, based in Little Tokyo and one of L.A.’s leading Taiko groups; the Jaz Sawyer Drum Summit. with Emi Desiré and Aisha Gaillard, two young exciting percussionists; and Leon Mobley performing traditional African American drum music.
Watts Towers Jazz Festival performers Sept. 29 include Alaadun, with a Yoruba ground blessing uniting all cultures based on common themes and principles; Kevin Flournoy performing inspirational music with contemporary R&B influence; the Jasmine Tommaso Group performing Italian jazz and West Coast soul; Kirk Andrés Wilson. playing Delta-Chicago jazz and blues with a touch of R&B; Tai Chi Chuan School of Healing Martial Arts; Nedra Wheeler & Friends honoring jazz legends while celebrating young prodigies; Medusa, the godmother of West Coast hip hop; and Munyungo’s Jungle Jazz performing jungle grove music.
Darlene Donloe is a freelance reporter for Wave Newspapers who covers South Los Angeles. She can be reached at ddonloe@gmail.com.
