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ARTS & CULTURE
KANSAN.COM | THURSDAY, OCT. 1, 2015
HOROSCOPES »
WHAT'S YOUR SIGN?
Aries (March 21-April 19)
Get into a learning phase
Arises and progresses.
Get into a lea-
today and tomorrow.
Study, research and write.
Don't show a loved one
unfinished work. Shyness,
lack of confidence, money
problems or trouble in
a partnership keep your
mood quiet. Avoid contro-
versy and fuss.
Taurus (April 20-May 20)
Don't waste your money.
Figure finances over the next few days. Pay bills before treats. Use your feminine side to diplomatically sidestep a controversy.
Don't be intimidated. Ask for what you were promised. Someone important is
paying attention.
KELCIE MATOUSE/KANSAN
on Saturday
Gemini (May 21-June 20)
A hunch could get profitable. You're strong and growing stronger over the next few days. Get innovative, but don't gamble with the rent. Discover a magnetic attraction. Avoid a conflict of interests. Heed the voice of experience.
Cancer (June 21-July 22)
Slow things down. Dead-
load so leave.
nonessential tasks for later. Private meditation and review serve you today and tomorrow. Postpone socializing. Study a mystery and discover a secret. Finish your work in private. Keep your wit.
Diana Restrepo, president of the Latin American Graduate Organization, serves empanadas to the attendees of the Festival of Cultures on Saturday. Sept. 27.
Leo (July 23-Aug. 22)
Friends come through for you over the next few days. Hold meetings. Make a decision together. Avoid stepping on toes. Don't talk about a party to someone who's not invited. Watch for unexpected changes.
Listen. Revise plans.
Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22)
Virgo (Aug. 25 - September
Crazy dreams seem
possible, but breakdown
potential is high. Don't try
new tricks. Advance your
career today and tomorrow.
Slow and steady wins the
race. Handle responsibilities.
Postpone partying.
Avoid a grump. Look best.
leaping.
Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22)
Travel appeals, but it's not without peril. Avoid extravagance. News affects your decisions for the next two days. Study the road ahead. Do the filing. Weigh options. Don't get mad
options. Don't get mad when others remind you to stay on task.
Sagittarius(Nov.22-Dec.21) Somebody would like to share your load. Give kind words, not expensive treats Complications could arise. Compromise is required for the next two days. Guard against overspending or
Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21)
Family comes first. Today and tomorrow are good for financial planning. Show
financial planning is how your love for an elder. Avoid doing stuff you know will irritate your partner. Organize paperwork and keep accounts current. Stay objective in a tense situation.
overindulging. Decide together. Dance with the circumstances
circumstances.
Capricorn(Dec. 22-Jan.19) Slow down to get things done quicker. Save time by avoiding do-overs. There's plenty of work today and tomorrow. Obstacles merit careful steps. Avoid reacting automatically, and wait on big decisions. Focus on
the job at hand.
Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18)
Go play today and tomorrow.
In a stalemate, don't ask for favors. Patience serves you. Don't fall for a trick. A temporary clash between love and money could irritate. The person yelling loudest isn't always right.
Wait to advance. Arguments are to be expected. Get feedback from close family and friends first. Get support with differences of opinion. Don't overlook domestic chores. Make your home more comfortable.
right. Get creative
Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20)
today and tomorrow.
CHRISTIAN HARDY
@ByHardy
When Diana Restrepo left Colombia, her birthplace, for the U.S. 16 years ago, she left a lot behind, including an imperfect quality of life. But there's been one thing the 31-year-old carried with her in the United States: her country's pride and her way to express it — dancing.
Restrepo was a vital part in the kick-start of the Latin American Graduate Organization (LAGO) last fall and is now "la presidenta" of the group. For Restrepo, and many others in the group, it's been an outlet for people from or interested in Latin American cultures.
"To be able to call this my home, I have to bring a little piece of Colombia here, and be able to share it with the people I care about," Restrepo said. "It's in your blood. For me, I listen to a Colombian cumbia and I'm already feeling it because it just expresses how much I love my country."
LAGO Treasurer Matt
Fahrenbruch agreed.
"I don't think you can talk about Latin American culture
without dancing." Fahrenbruch said.
That space for expression through dance—a major part of almost any Latin American culture—was a need before LAGO provided it. She said there was always a part of her that sought out dancing opportunities, as she's a dancer herself, but there were few in Lawrence.
Now, with a group of people who have the same cultural values around her, she — along with plenty of other graduate students in the organization
— are able to relax while representing their culture through dance and make friends.
"One of the things that we kept on hearing over, and over, and over again is that there was no place to go dancing," she said. "We saw that need, and we're trying to, not only fill the needs that we have, but also trying to fill the needs of other students at KU."
Nadia Ruiz, a first-year graduate student from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, recently joined the group and found LAGO to be exactly what Restrepo intends: a place to create new friendships as well as dance.
"I think one of the main reasons why I feel comfortable is because we might share the [feeling of being] home now and then," Ruiz said. "[T]hey cultivate this by being themselves, each one of the members will treat you as friend since day one. There is no room to feel like an outsider."
In just over a year, LAGO has grown to 150 followers and Restrepo has been a driving force in continuing to increase the group's size. However, the group wants to expand beyond the University of Kansas campus.
She said the group wants to include study abroad students who are coming from South America or other countries in Latin America Restrepo powents these students to feel like they have a support system in place at the University, and learn the ins-and-outs of the American school system.
"Working abroad, and researching abroad is challenging all in itself, and having that support system that is not as formal as having your committee — or whatever — is very important," Restrepo said. "That's also a space for them to feel a little bit more comfortable in, to have that social support, and to transition to the graduate life here in the United States."
The group is also trying to grow its presence in the Lawrence community in general through its events which helps immerse those interested in a full palette of different cultures and academic roundtables.
One of the things we have been working on is our outreach," Restrepo said. "We are very much focused on promoting the Latin American culture in the KU setting, and in the Lawrence community and bridging that gap."
Ruiz also said being involved in LAGO helps. She says it's important to remember where she came from.
On Oct. 1, the first day of Hispanic Heritage Month, Restrepo and LAGO will hold the Exhibition of Latin Dances from the Americas at Cider Gallery — an off-campus location, which the group hopes will promote Lawrence involvement.
The exhibition will culminate a host of cultures with dances ranging from Brazilian samba, to the tango world champions, to Restrepo's native Columbian dances.
After a handful of unique, organized dances from different cultures, DJ Jalapeño will take over the turntables and begin the freestyle dance portion of the night. After all, the organization creates an all-inclusive, comfort-zone for students and community members alike. The dance party should be precisely that.
At least for Restrepo it will be. "I went through a very difficult time in my life, and I decided that I was going to get involved and I was going to do something I'm really passionate about. And I feel like this is it," Restrepo said.
"That's one of the reasons that we started with this, and why it has continued, and I hope that it will continue for a while, for a long time. It is a very conscious effort, but I feel like it has made Lawrence a comfortable place to express ourselves and bring back our cultural traditions."
Edited by Rebeka Luttinger
Mammoth Life, formerly of Lawrence, releases album
HARRISON HIPP
@harrisonhipp
After six years in the heart of the local music scene, the band Mammoth Life, formerly from Lawrence, released their latest project on Sept. 22: a five-song EP titled "Baycation."
An homage to the carefree and sun-dazed lifestyle in the band's new home of San Francisco, the album title is fitting given the evolution of the band and their transition from the Sunflower State to the Bay Area.
The band was active in the Lawrence scene starting in 2005. Elizabeth Mead and her husband Nicholas Goss started the group. Mead and Goss perform under the stage names Kix Mead and Gibby Paul, respectively. They found bassist Heidi Weber and drummer Dan Staublin in California.
"Our first album is called 'Kaleidoscopic Art Pop,' and that was like a bedroom-pop album," Goss said. "We did all that tracking in random apartments and houses in Lawrence."
After gracing the stages of nearly every downtown venue, Mammoth Life opened for Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros at Jackpot Music Hall in September 2009.
Mammoth Life had two full-length albums and an EP under their belt before the release of "Baycation."
SEE MAMMOTH ON 5
"We've been away for four years now,but we still have family and friends that grew up with us involved there for sure,"Goss said.
Full of momentum and in the midst of a tour, the band expe-
The band still embraces Lawrence and vows to come back soon. Goss is cousins with frontman Brad Girard from the local band Toughies, and Mead's sister plays with the Ovaries-eez. The band's former bassist, Bobby Sauder, is a co-founder of the local record label Whatever Forever and Seed Co. Studios.
The duo have a sound reputation around Lawrence and Kansas City, as well as four tours spanning 25 states under their belt. With their back-
"In 2010, half the band quit a two-month tour halfway through," Goss said. "When we got back, Kix Mead and I said let's just sell everything and move to San Francisco. We found San Francisco on tour — we came through two times [and] we moved out here in 2011 as a result."
rienced a shift that would lead them west.
SEE MAMMOTH PAGE 6
CONTRIBUTED
Elizabeth Mead and her husband Nicolas Goss perform under the stage names Kix Mead and Gibby Paul.
"Goodland" director Josh Doke peers up into a combine while scouting locations on Aug.31.
CONTRIBUTED
Lawrence studio to begin feature film 'Goodland'
RYAN WRIGHT
@ryanwaynewright
Growing up in the small town of Goodland, Josh Doke was the only kid in his class interested in film.
Doke couldn't even talk his friends into making films with him, he said.
Even so, he graduated with a degree in film and media studies at the University in 2012. Shortly after graduating, Doke and a group of friends created a production studio called Rockhaven Films.
Most of the Rockhaven crew met at the University and organically formed friendships through classes and the film club.
"When it got to be our senior year of college, we had a meeting and we decided that we had two options," Doke said. "We could go to New York or L.A. and try to break into that film industry, or we could stay together, start a business and make the films that we want to make down the line."
Rockhaven was born. Located in downtown Lawrence, the studio serves as a creative space for Rockhaven but also as the home of Doke and Edward Schroer, the editor of "Goodland."
Film memorabilia covers the walls, and props and wardrobe pieces are scattered
A
SEE GOODLAND ON 5
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