Latin Masks and Rhythms & Traditional Japanese Puppetry

by Sara Cogswell, Curator of "About Face: The World of Puppets and Masks"

Kenneth Melendez spent his growing years both in his native Puerto Rico, and with family in Lorain, Ohio. By the age of ten, Ken was participating in performances on his first instrument, the congas. Today he plays many different percussion instruments and tours with numerous musical groups, most importantly the renowned folk music group La Familia Sanabria. His formal training began at the School of Fine Arts of Ponce, Puerto Rico, and he majored in graphic design in college.

As an artisan, Kenneth creates traditional masks with materials such as burlap, coconut, wood, royal palm, paper-mache, gourd, foam, plastic, and wire mesh. He teaches and tirelessly promotes knowledge of Latin art and music, taking his talents to schools and universities, organizations and community groups. He works with both adults and children, teaching the importance of his Puerto Rican cultural traditions through the arts.

His work has been sponsored by the Ohio Latino Art Association, the Institute of Culture of Puerto Rico, the Tourism Company of Puerto Rico, and of course, Cityfolk. He has also exhibited his art in prestigious museums such as the Smithsonian American History Museum in Washington, DC and the Museum of Puerto Rican Culture in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

He now splits both his time and his talents between these two parts of the United States, though he lives in Ponce, Puerto Rico where he is a very active part of the music and art scene. He maintains a heavy performing schedule, including traveling throughout the US and Europe with his “Masks and Rhythms” workshops. He will be teaching this workshop during the festival, as well as exhibiting many of his fantastical and colorful masks in the Material Culture tent. Fellow exhibitor Leesa Haapapuro will have a conversation on the Material Culture Stage with Melendez on Sunday at 5:00 PM.

Cityfolk is very fortunate to have secured the participation of the Bunraku Bay Puppet Troupe (BBPT), under the direction of Martin Holman of the Japanese Studies Program of the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri. Holman was the first foreigner to receive training in bunraku in Japan, and most of BBPT’s puppeteers have been trained in Japan by the traditional masters of the art, which dates back to the 17th century. BBPT, the only ensemble in the U.S. that performs this traditional Japanese puppetry, has performed at Kennedy Center and the Smithsonian Institution, and just this past Saturday performed in Houston for the Japanese Consul General and the most recent Japanese astronaut to go up in the space shuttle.

Japan’s bunraku puppets, usually between three and four feet high, are some of the largest in the world. It takes three people to operate each puppet: one to operate its head and right arm, one to work its left arm, and one to work its legs. To operate the head requires the most skill as the mouth, eyes, and even the eyebrows can move. The puppeteers wear black clothes and hoods over their faces so they do not distract the audience, the black costume representing invisibility or “nothingness”, and though they are in full view, they are soon forgotten because the action of the puppets is so exciting to watch. Background music adds to the atmosphere, and though the puppeteers do not speak, there is a narrator at the side of the stage that tells the story.

The puppets wear beautiful silk kimonos, which are padded to form their bodies. The bodies consist of a framework of wood or bamboo, with wooden shoulders to which the arms are attached, the legs hanging from a hoop-like waist. Female puppets do not have legs, but a skillful movement of the long skirts gives the effect of walking. Much use is made of the female’s kimono sleeve, as well as Japanese fans, which strike a special pose to the mouth.

Bunraku Bay Puppet Troupe will be performing on the Material Culture Stage at Saturday at 4:00 PM and Sunday at 6:00 PM, as well as charming audiences with street performances both days. Festivalgoers will also have the opportunity to hear Professor Holman speak in more depth about bunraku on the Material Culture Stage on Saturday at 5:00 PM.