As Lizanne Chicanot joyously bounces mallets off a wooden marimba she handcrafted years ago, she is both embracing a moment of presence – light streaming through the windows as vibrant sounds fill the room – while part of her is tethered to her childhood and teenage years spent in Africa.
"It's kind of something that's never left me; a love of Africa, the people, the culture, the music," she said.
That love is expressed through the Zimbabwean-style marimba band, Mufaro Marimba, she'll perform with on the Saturday of the coming Folktoria festival, May 31 to June 1 at Centennial Square.
The free festival, celebrating dozens of global cultures through song and dance, welcomes over two dozen other performers, including the new Vancouver Island Brazilian Association's Sinostros Band, Shan-e Punjab Dance and the Balkan Babes.
For Chicanot, who grew up in Ghana and then Lesotho, she describes performing her band's music as a sometimes spiritual experience.
"Many of them are old folk songs, very traditional, and have a spiritual element," she said. "The Zimbabwean people are always kind of calling on the spirits of their ancestors, so when we play, it sometimes feels like something extra special.”
One of her favourite songs is Shosholoza, because of its special meaning.
"When all the migrant workers were going on trains to work in the South African mines, they would start to sing. This is a song, because they were all from different tribes and had different linguistic backgrounds, that would unite them. So, we really like it because it's got that 'We're all together, we are one' theme to it."
Another group sharing their love for their culture at Folktoria is Pichanga Musica Band, representing the 1,000 members of the Vancouver Island Peruvian Association.
Alberto Callo Valenzuela, chair of the association, said they bring Latin American folklore to the audience because it “represents the deepest feelings” of who they are.
Valenzuela describes the musical group as "key" to the association's mission of fostering their Latin traditions in Canada.
While Pichanga has deeper ties to Peru, Chicanot thinks she is probably the only one in the Mufaro Marimba group – made up of 10 instrumentalists – who has actually lived in Africa. However, that's part of what makes it special.
Chicanot explained that some of the members met 27 years ago at a show and subsequently took music lessons from an inspiring teacher who taught them how to build their marimbas.
For her, the sense of connection found in both Mufaro Marimba and Folktoria extends beyond cultural roots – it also binds together people from different backgrounds through rhythm and joy.
“We are connected through our love of the music, basically,” she said. “Our music is very danceable ... And that’s what we hope to spread – joy.”
