Sights, smells and sounds from across the world bring cultures together in L-A’s first Africana Festival

AUBURN – By the time Rumbafrica took the stage Saturday evening, it was clear the cultural exchange hoped for by organizers of the area’s first Africana Festival was a hit.

There in the center of Festival Plaza were little children of all colors, swirling, stomping and bobbing to the beat of African rhythms.

“People seem to be enjoying themselves,” said organizer Bruno Yomoah, as he surveyed the hundreds of people who came out to enjoy the sights and sounds of the festival. “I think we are succeeding.”

Yomoah, a member of the African Immigrants Association from Ghana who now lives in Auburn, helped organize the local Somali Independence Day celebrations.

“But there are many more nations than Somalia here and we wanted to embrace those cultures as well,” he said of the reason behind the festival. “We have been impressed by the accepting attitude of Maine and the L-A people. We’re grateful that is happening, and want to show we are integrating into other cultures and sharing ours.”

It seemed to be working both ways. As members of Lotino Acholi, an all-girl Sudan dance troupe, left the plaza after performing the traditional Larakaraka wedding dance, members of the audience shouted “Great job” and “Beautiful dancing” to the breathless girls who smiled in appreciation.

“We just like to dance, and for our heritage,” said Nighty Otto, 12, on why she belongs to the troupe.

The girls each wore a brightly colored Sudan skirt with a white muscle shirt with beads at the waist and neck. As they danced, the beads bounced in rhythm with the drums of Inanna, an all-women percussion and vocal ensemble that explores the sounds of West Africa.

Just outside of the dance circle were vendors selling food and goods from various African nations. Hussein Ahmed of Lewiston’s Barwaqo Restaurant could barely keep up with the orders for sampusa, a fragrant fried dough pocket stuffed with beef, onions and seasonings from Somalia.

“Business is good,” said Ahmed, smiling. One pan of sampusa was empty just 15 minutes after they opened the food tables and customers were quickly depleting the rest of his inventory.

“I don’t know what it’s called, but it’s good,” said Bill Fournier of Auburn as he munched on a sampusa. He decided to check out the festival because his Somali neighbors are so nice and he was curious about their culture.

Bill Garcelon of Portland and his friend, Bill McGuire of Randolph, made the trek into town to catch the music and food. They had just polished off a Ghana bean-and-vegetable dish and had settled into chairs to watch the dancing and listen to the music.

“This is great,” said Garcelon. “I love this kind of community gathering. It was worth the trip.”

At one table, hand-woven baskets and jewelry from Ghana vied for attention next to wood carvings and sandals. Across Main Street was a kids’ craft area where children made drums from plastic buckets topped with heavy cellophane tape and shakers, two small plastic cups taped together and filled with coffee beans. Other kids colored poster board into the flags of the African nations, taping a straw to one side so they could wave them.

“See, Mommy,” said one little girl as she skipped away with flag aloft.

Yomoah invited mayors of both cities to address the crowd and light a ceremonial torch, a symbol of the acceptance of cultures around the world. Mayor John Jenkins rose to the occasion by wearing a bronze-colored shirt from Sudan, a gift from one of his African students at Andover College. As Inanna’s music flowed over the plaza (and even over the Androscoggin as the evening wore on), Jenkins started to sway, commenting that he had danced with this group previously. But he avoided the stage this time.

“Oh no, I won’t be dancing today,” he quipped. “I want people to stay.”

Yomoah said he hopes this will be the first of many Africana Festivals in L-A.

“We are striving to achieve goals by working together,” he said. “The American Dream is for anyone willing to work for it.”