At the Center, I took my experience in layout and design to the next level.

After working in the commercial realm, the Festival was a humbling reminder that arts and cultures are organic, with a life of their own.

My internship at Smithsonian Folkways convinced me that music was a powerful tool for understanding the people of the world.

It was eye-opening to hear the New Mexican wood carver find common ground with an Irish stone carver who worked on renovations at the White House.

My mom was born in Cuba but fled with her family in 1959. They settled in Puerto Rico, where she spent much of her early life.

ཟས་བྲོ་ཅན་ཡོད་ན་མགྲོན་ལ་བྱིན།
གཏམ་དོན་ཅན་ཡོད་ན་གཉེན་ལ་ཤོད།
“If you have delicious food, give it to your guest.
If you have important things to say, say it at a wedding.”
—Tibetan proverb

Growing up in a Jewish household in New Jersey, I found the Christmas season a bit awkward.

This year, I am having a particularly nomadic autumn and winter.

My family served in the U.S. Foreign Service for thirty odd years, so Christmas had to be reinvented every time we moved. Much depended on the availability of ingredients or decorative material.

For Japanese and Okinawans, New Year’s is the most festive holiday, an occasion also to rectify financial and social debts.