Festivals promote brotherhood across borders, says Colombian diplomat Alejandra Maria Rodriguez Sierra

Our Correspondent
Kisama, Dec. 6 (EMN): Alejandra Maria Rodriguez Sierra, Charge d’ Affairs of the Embassy of Colombia to India, on Tuesday, said that initiatives like Hornbill Festival generate ties and bonds between people, despite the geographical and cultural distance.

Addressing the gathering onday-6 of the ongoing Hornbill Festival at the Naga Heritage Village, Kisama, she said, “Nothing makes us prouder than seeing the brotherhood between our countries through art and culture.” 

She also said that it was a “real privilege, that in a festival that celebrates and glorifies tribal cultures and cultural diversity of Nagaland, the musical notes of a Vallenato, a Cumbia, a Mapale from the Colombian Caribbean can be heard for the very first time here”.

‘Music is a universal aspect of human existence. From the big cities of India to the most remote villages in Colombia, music is, and always has been, a part of daily life for people. Musical heritage has become an inseparable part of who we are as individuals and as communities,’ she went to add. 

Sierra also inaugurated the concert “Una inmersion en el sabor: A deep dive into Colombian music” by the Colombian artist David Rincon. 

‘It is the first time that a Colombian artiste performs in such a prestigious festival, as Hornbill is, and we are very proud that on this occasion, we are represented by an artist like David with a musical and academic proposal that exalts the most traditional musical rhythms of Colombia’, she said.

‘Although those are musical genres with very specific characteristics in terms of their instrumentation, their affinity criteria, their function, and social origin, they have in common the purpose of inspiring, transmitting emotions, creating beauty, and connecting us with divinity and the universe,’ she added.

She further invited all to enjoy the musical experiment to connect with the shared humanity and with the love that transcends borders and divisions.

‘We hope that this presentation of Colombian music will be the first of many to come,’ she said.

Australian Chef, Gary Mehigan, the special guest for the afternoon session, shared that he had the pleasure of eating “delicious” Naga food for the past three days. He added the place is “wonderful”. He later took part in the cultural performances. 

Cultural performances from various tribes also marked day-six of the ongoing Hornbill Festival. The cultural troupe and their performances included Pochury cultural troupe-Yishi (folk dance), Garo cultural troupe- Re’su Sota (traditional game), Zeliang cultural troupe-Kelang Ta Ketei (demonstration), Chakhesang cultural troupe-Künü folk dance, Sumi cultural troupe-rice pounding song-Rengma (Kohima) Ayyi Kecha Khwie (harvesting dance), Lotha (Kohima base) – Emathata (folk dance), Ao (Dimapur)-Moatsu Tsungsang (festival dance), Kachari cultural troupe- Ajang Jang Ang (folk dance), Lotha cultural troupe-folk drama, Ao cultural troupe-Lataya Malu Tsungsang, Angami cultural troupe (Phesama)-Sekrenyi, Kuki cultural troupe- Salu Lap Lam (folk dance), Zeliang (Kohima)- Temangne Lim, Sumi (Dimapur)- war dance, and Rengma cultural troupe- Atsü Kepvü (carrying water).