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arts & culture
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Aries ( March 21-April
19)
KANSAN.COM | MONDAY, MARCH 28, 2016
New travel opportunities present themselves. Wait to make a final decision until you've researched the best value. Resist the urge to splurge. Simplicity satisfies ... no frills necessary. Pack lightly and eat local food.
Taurus ( April 20-May 20)
Pay bills and send invoices over the next few days. Work together to align on practical spending priorities. Costs may be higher than planned. Act quickly on a bargain. Walk off excess energy.
Gemini ( May 21-June 20)
Get into an adventure together. You and a partner can stir things up today and tomorrow. Profit from a dreamer's vision. Provide what the other one needs. Adjust course to suit. Support each other.
Cancer ( June 21-July 22)
Get to work, and expect it to get busy today and tomorrow. Accept more authority. It's easy to overspend ... keep track. Successes come through expending energy and effort, despite the impulse to run
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Leo ( July 23-Aug. 22)
Leo ( July 23-Aug. 22)
Fun with family over the next two days entices. Play and relax together. Favorite games and sports delight. Enjoy the company. Celebrate with a home-cooked meal and little treats. Children share wisdom if you listen.
Virgo ( Aug. 23-Sept.
Enjoy domestic comforts over the next few days. Ease someone's suffering with kindness. Clean and handle home improvements. Decorate with flowers and bright colors. Lovingly cooked meals by cakeleight treat the whole family.
Libra ( Sept. 23-Oct. 22) A solution to an old problem is becoming obvious. Provide leadership. Avoid a risky investment. You're exceptionally clever for the next two days, and a tangle is unraveling. Read and write today and tomorrow.
Scorpio ( Oct. 23-Nov.
21)
21)
Follow the money today and tomorrow. Don't gamble. Your head's full of profitable ideas. Declare intentions. Enlist support from your partner. A rush job pre-empts scheduled programming. Work quickly and carefully, without provoking upsets.
Sagittarius (Nov. 22- Dec. 21)
You're even more powerful than usual for the next two days. Take action. You can afford to take a risk. Assume responsibility. Take advantage of creative energy. Follow a personal dream. Invite participation.
Capricorn [ Dec. 22-Jan.
19)
Enjoy an introspective cycle. Rest and recuperate today and tomorrow. Listen to the emotional undercurrent. Address an uncomfortable situation head on. Begin a fresh page in tranquil solitude. Pursue peace and beauty.
Aquarius [ Jan. 20-Feb.
Group projects and community endeavors go well over the next few days. Get together for a good cause. Your friends join in. Turn an obligation into a party. Go for the gold!
Make a professional power play over the next few days. Crazy dreams seem possible Prepare for inspection. Keep commentary to a minimum, and toss the superfluous. Coach your team to victory.
Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20)
I am proud that we can come together to celebrate our resiliency and cultural heritage at an institution that acknowledges diversity [among] its student body."
Ryanne White Junior
Paige Stingley/KANSAN Shaw Crowfeather (left) and Landri James (right) practice a traditional dance dressed in full tribal attire.
KU Powwow keeps indigenous culture alive through annual celebration of heritage
► MINSEON KIM
@adropofsunny
With the mission of bridging gaps for Native American students with their peers so future generations may thrive in an educational environment, the First Nations Students Association will host the 28th annual KU Powwow and Indigenous Dance and Culture Festival at the Lied Center April 2.
From Powwow etiquette classes to dancing and singing contests, the festival offers various cultural activities. It will also host several indigenous art workshops including beading, tribal songs and moccasin making. The day-long festival will also feature indigenous films.
Landri James, a junior from Lawrence and the president of the First Nations Student Association, said the Powwow and Indigenous Culture Festival provides the University an
"We're hosting the event to promote cultural awareness, enhance native faculty, staff, and especially student retention here at the University of Kansas," James said.
opportunity to showcase diversity, equity and inclusion.
While last year's event was held in the Kansas Union, James said it will be interesting to see how many people will come this year in the much larger Lied Center. The increased size will not only allow for a larger audience, but vendors will also sell authentic native American food at the event.
"To me, the KU Powwow and Indigenous Culture Festival is most important in terms of native staff, faculty, and student retention," James said. "With our small native population on campus having such diverse schedules, commitments and interests, it's a good way for us all to come together and showcase what we look like, what we wear, how we make our instruments and regalia, how we sing, dance and how we celebrate life."
She also said the festival would like to provide a safe place for native communities in the Lawrence area.
As a member of the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation, James said it is incredibly significant to serve her community. With her reservation less than an hour away, James said she wants her generation to be at the University for many years to come.
Sherrie Marland-Mendoza, parliamentarian of First Nations Student Association and junior from Tama, Iowa, will perform a northern traditional appli-
"I want them to know that they're welcome here at KU and that it's possible to find a balance between our culture and the dominant," James said. "It's hard, but it's possible and more rewarding than what meets the eye."
qué style dance. For Mendoza, the festival is a way to meet new friends and catch up with relatives, which helps her from being homesick.
"I love keeping my Indigenous culture alive by taking part in powwows," Mendoza said. "It's also a great opportunity to bring many tribes together."
Another dancer, Ryanne White, a junior from Whitefish Bay, Ontario, Canada, will perform a contemporary dance that originates from her great-grandmother, Maggie. She will also wear a dress inherited from her grandmother.
"The story of the jingle dress originates from Maggie White of Whitefish Bay, Ontario, and is widely recognized as a healing dress," White said. "I am the proud great-granddaughter of Maggie, the First Lady of the Jingle Dress. I have been given her Ojibway name, Mizhiikleyatamook, and the responsibilities as a staff carrier. I've danced my
whole life and made lifelong friends in the powwow circle."
For White, to have the Powwow and Indigenous Dance and Culture Festival at the University means to share what it is to be Native American and showcase their rich culture and history. She added the importance of bringing people together from all ethnicities builds cultural competence and embraces identity.
"I am proud that we can come together to celebrate our resiliency and cultural heritage at an institution that acknowledges diversity [among] its student body," White said.
The KU Powwow and Indigenous Dance and Culture Festival takes place at the Lied Center at noon April 2 and is free and open to public.
Edited by Skylar Rolstad
Alumnae's band, Maria the Mexican, draws inspiration from grandmother's mariachi band
► JACKSON DODD
@snooopdodd
Tess and Maria Cuevas were just children when they first started playing in their grandmother's mariachi band. Now, the University alumnae have their own distinct style and sound in their band Maria the Mexican, which will release its second album, "South of the Border Moonlight," at the Replay Lounge in Lawrence on April 1.
Born and raised in Topeka and graduates of Topeka High School, the Cuevas sisters began playing instruments during childhood. The sisters were both classically trained, as Tess played the violin and Maria played piano. Once the duo honed their musical skills, they joined their grandmother's mariachi band, Mariachi Estrella.
Their grandmother, Teresa Cuevas, founded Mariachi Estrella, and its music became prominent in the 1980s. Although she passed away in 2014, the sisters recognize the large influence their grandmother had on their music today.
"She's certainly the reason we got started," Tess said. "Both Maria and I do it
"We look for creative outlets that could spark our creativity or spark some ideas for us," Tess said about their time in Mexico. "Being there gave us a jolt of answers."
Both sisters majored in communication studies and minored in Latin American studies. Tess graduated in 2008, and Maria graduated shortly after in 2010. From there, they continued to spend time in Mexico and Spain playing festivals and going to language school.
Now their band, Maria
for ourselves, but we wonder how she would want us to continue."
Garrett Nordstrom/Contributed photo
Tess (left) and Maria Cuevas (right).
The sisters formed Maria the Mexican in 2011 once they saw the appeal of Garrett Nordstrom, a guitarist and songwriter from Kansas City, Mo. They brought Nordstrom onboard once they taught him four hours of mariachi guitar, and the group started writing songs for their first record,"Moon Colored Jade."
"Their confidence and stage presence blew me away; I knew right away," Nordstrom said. "Learning the mariachi tunes was a very difficult process since I learned four hours of them."
the Mexican, blends a mixture of soul and funk while also incorporating classic mariachi sounds and Mexican flavor. Their songs are usually sung in both Spanish and English.
Maria said she has welcomed the addition.
"He's a more classic rock and funk guy so we made this hybrid band," Maria said. "There are songs in Spanish with drums and electric guitar that don't sound like traditional songs. We look for creativity, and Garrett helped with that."
Maria also said they all collaborate in writing the songs, but Nordstrom helps develop the non-traditional
mariachi songs. Nordstrom eventually added guitarist Jason Riley, who he met in college.
It's been six years since the release of the band's first album, and this new record is a little different from the first, Maria said. Maria said they worked on the album all of last year and started writing last January.
Tess said "South of the Border Moonlight" has a true and authentic sound.
"The first album ["Moon Colored Jade"] was more poppy and glammy, and this one feels more produced. It feels more to our Mexican roots while also sounding folk and country," Tess said.
"South of the Border Moonlight" officially released March 11, and the band has already played shows at various venues across Kansas and Missouri in support of the album. The band will stop in Lawrence for a special album release show at 6 p.m. April 1 at the Replay Lounge, located at 946 Massachusetts St. It will be joined by special guest and Lawrence native, Kirsten Paludan.
- Edited by Mackenzie Walker
.