May 9 - 29: Movies and Music This week

Kay's Picks

This month, take some time to watch some documentaries about notable local Asian Americans:

Changing Season: On the Masumoto Family Farm tells the story of the titular family farm in the Central Valley, as founder David grew the business in the 20th Century and now prepares his children to take over. (The library also has a selection of books by David Masumoto.)

In, Golden Gate Girls: Esther Eng: A pioneering Asian American FIlmmaker, it becomes hard to believe the works of such an unusual person could be mostly lost now. Esther was an SF native, the first Chinese American film director, and openly lesbian in the 1930s.

Forever, Chinatown is an outstanding look at San Francisco Chinatown artist Frank Wong and his incredibly detailed miniature models of rooms he remembers from childhood. His work is a celebration of daily life, showing how one person's work in a butcher shop creates memories for a family down the street as they cook dinner together.

Aoki features another Bay Area resident, Richard Aoki, and discusses his founding and involvement with the Black Panther Party.

Halving the Bones while not exactly local, this one makes my list anyway because it features a name familiar to many library goers - Ruth Ozeki.

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Juan's Picks

Did you know that one of the reasons why AAPI heritage month is celebrated in May is, according to the Library of Congress, “to commemorate the immigration of the first Japanese to the United States on May 7, 1843?” The United States is often referred to as a nation of immigrants because of its diverse cities and rich immigration history. A well-known example is Los Angeles, which my research indicates is home to the largest population of people of Japanese descent outside of Japan itself. However, what does this have to do with music, you may ask? Well, please bear with me while I provide you with some context behind my song choice for this week. As you may know, Cinco de Mayo is a common time for people to celebrate with delicious food, drinks, and mariachi music. Los Angeles has long been a hub for mariachi musicians, attracting some of the best talent from across Mexico. Some of the world’s best mariachi groups were founded in Los Angeles. Sometime around 1999, before the ubiquitousness of the internet, Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlan performed Kawa no nagare no yō ni in Japan in the song’s original language. They also recorded a version of it in Spanish and Japanese: Kawa no nagare no yō ni (listen using your library card on our free service, Freegal).

While I can’t be sure of the exact origins of this song in the mariachi repertoire, I suspect that the sheer diversity of Los Angeles (then and especially now) helps expose mariachi musicians to music and culture beyond their own. Even more impressive is the fact that this song was adapted before the time the internet had truly revolutionized the music industry.

Kawa no nagare no yō ni was the final single recorded by Japanese superstar Hibari Misora before her untimely passing in 1989, having aged just 52 years old. Many artists since then have paid tribute to Hibari Misora through their own renditions of this moving song that deals with themes of heartbreak and hope.

Considering that AAPI month is in May, this Cinco de Mayo I recommend you request this beautiful song from your neighborhood mariachi. Don’t be surprised if more than a few musicians know it well!

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Debra's Picks

Asian-American actor John Cho has appeared in some of my favorite movies: Columbus, (directed by Korean-American Kogonada, whose new film After Yang is now available), Searching, (directed by local South Asian Aneesh Chaganty) and Better Luck Tomorrow (directed by Taiwanese- American Justin Lin)

Wayne Wang was probably the first Asian-American director I became aware of. He directed Dim Sum: a little bit of heart, Joy Luck Club, and Eat a Bowl of Tea, among others.

If you’ve read the novels of Amy Tan (or seen the SF opera production of The Bonesetter’s Daughter) you’ll want to see the documentary Amy Tan: an unintended memoir, a very personal depiction of how her painful past inspired her stories.

The classical music world is packed with amazing and well-known Asian-American performers like Yuja Wang, Yo-Yo Ma, Sarah Chang, Jennifer Koh and Midori. But it's not just the performers. Although you may not know the name, you might have heard the film scores of classical and opera composer Tan Dun (Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Hero). Bright Sheng is another major composer in the classical world.

Closer to home, check out local Indonesian gamelan group Pusaka Sunda, led by master suling player Burhan Sukarma on Live at the Jazz School.