WHEN: Tuesday, June 22 – Saturday, June 26, 2010

TIME: 10:00am – 5:30pm, Daily

WHERE: National Museum of the American Indian

WHAT: The Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian celebrates a week of the arts and culture of the Oaxaca-Mixtec region of Mexico. Historically Mixtec peoples have been forced to migrate from their homes due to environmental devastations such as soil erosion and deforestation. Currently, the Indigenous people of this region face another challenge as climate change has created a decline in crop production; a consequence crippling to the traditional agriculturally-based indigenous peoples.
This 5-day festival features music, food and films of the region, including Espiral/Spiral and an exhibition and sale of innovative contemporary art created to generate income for community development. Such art includes paintings, ceramics, textiles, and photography. The Pasatono Orquesta, a Mixtec group from Oaxaca, Mexico, led by the bajo quinto player and ethnomusicologist Rubén Luengas Pérez, will perform traditional instrumental and vocal music on Friday, June 25, at 12 noon and 5p.m.
Highlight tours, cultural interpreter tours and family programming will also take place throughout the event. This weekend includes hands-on activities for families and young visitors. Free and open to the public. For more information and complete event schedule please visit www.nmai.si.edu/countryoftheclouds.

Sponsored by the World Bank and the Smithsonian Folklife Festival.

Office of Public Affairs
202-633-6626
202-633-6985
National Museum of the American Indian
4th St. and Independence Ave., SW
Washington DC 20024
Metro: L’Enfant Plaza
www.AmericanIndian.si.edu