Natividad "Nati" Cano 
Photo courtesy of Smithsonian Folkways 

In Memoriam: Natividad "Nati" Cano

By Daniel Sheehy, Ph.D, CEO Smithsonian Folkways Recordings and ACTA Board President

In over his 50-plus years as a bandleader and charismatic teacher, Natividad "Nati" Cano took the humble musical tradition he inherited from his family to the most prestigious concert stages in the United States and Mexico. Both a traditionalist and an innovator, his work with the renowned Mariachi Los Camperos de Nati Cano changed lives, changed minds, and recalibrated American public opinion of this signature musical expression rooted firmly in the history and pueblo of Mexico. He passed away October 3, 2014, at the age of 81.

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Wyvernwood Apartment residents engage the Macarturos (Latin@ MacArthur Foundation Fellows) in a community dialogue about displacement.  Photo: Los Fotos Project

ActivARTE in Boyle Heights

By Quetzal Flores, Program Manager

On September 17, 2014, the Alliance for California Traditional Arts, in collaboration with Radio Biling�e and Building Healthy Communities Boyle Heights (BHC-BH), produced a day of dialogue and participatory arts engagement around displacement. Dubbed ActivARTE, this is the first of three events focused on arts engagement around BHC-BH campaigns.

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The next generation of Jun Daiko performers gets the blessing of the shishi, played by master artist Kyosuke Suzuki. Photo: Ray Yuen, Yuen Designs

Perpetuating Shishimai: Respect for a Japanese Folk Art

By Linda Uyechi

Support from ACTA's Living Cultures Grants Program enabled master teacher Kyosuke Suzuki to travel from Tokyo, Japan, to Mountain View, California, to share shishimai with members of Jun Daiko, a San Francisco Bay Area taiko group. Jun Daiko member Linda Uyechi shares her first-hand narrative of Suzuki-sansei's residency.

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ArtPlace America's National Grants Program 
Deadline: November 3, 2014 

Surdna Foundation's RFP for Artists Engaging in Social Change
The James Irvine's Exploring Engagement Fund