KUCR’s Senna Omar interviews Professor Tom Lutz, one of the directors of the 47th UCR Writer’s Week. They talk about the amazing events for this year’s event, which is the longest-running free literary festival in California. This is also the last year that Professor Lutz is serving as director. Check out the interview to hear the surprises and special guests featured in this year’s Writer’s Week!
KUCR’s curated guide to what’s coming up in Riverside/IE – Events, places. Concerts and things to do.
Mucho Gusto Festival
Saturday, September 23, 2023, 3 – 11PM
What: A community-based live music festival of unique performers to be enjoyed in-person in a secure, friendly, “no-borders,” “all comers,” “something for everybody” kind of vibe.
Who: Performers and bands including É Arenas (from Chicano Batman), La Perla, mediopicky, Orchestra Gold, Jeremy Sole, QUITAPENAS, Cumbiatón, Nino Francois, Milpa, El Santo Golpe and La Papaya Club.
Where: Riverside’s Downtown North Park, 3200 Mission Inn Ave, Riverside, CA
Why KUCR recommends this: Seeing live music creates indelible memories. This is a lineup of authentic artists making original music meant to connect with and move the audience. Mucho Gusto is put together by some of the brightest lights in Riverside/IE arts and culture: the organizers from the Riverside Arts Council who stage the city’s amazing annual Dio de los Muertos Festival – one of the largest in the USA with the talent of musician, artist, filmmaker, DJ and founder of the acclaimed band Quitapenas (performing at the festival), with a selection of some of the greatest bands in California together for the first time at Mucho Gusto.
Why do a radio show on KUCR? Does it complement your teaching? I’m an ethnomusicologist, and my show is centrally part of my public-facing work as a scholar and teacher. Doing my show is the high point of my week. When I’m preparing my weekly show, I listen to tracks so deeply that time totally gets away from me. Hours go by and feel like minutes. My show reflects on music and social justice, so it’s all of a piece with my classes.
Some people say that rhythm is the foundation of music. Do you agree? Hmmm, not necessarily the foundation, but an essential element of music. As an ethnomusicologist, I recognize many different kinds of music in the world and assert that music is actually NOT a universal language. It reflects whoever is making it, wherever they are. With that said, I’ve been known to play taiko. That’s rhythm.
As an Asian American, what are your thoughts about AAPI Heritage Month? Every day is AAPI Heritage Month for me! I’m completely cynical and jaded about multiculturalism as an opiate of corporate capitalism, but I actually love AAPI Heritage Month because it creates spaces for incredibly important community-building. All the special AAPI events held in May aren’t just about visibility and audibility but are also opportunities to explore the terms for self-determination and radical newness… especially in a time of sustained anti-Asian hate. That’s why I’ve featured Asian American and Pacific Islander music on my show this month. During May, I’ll air a total of five two-hour shows of AAPI music from top to bottom. You’ll hear the music of Nobuko Miyamoto, Francis Wong, QuinzeQuinze, Manaiakalani Kalua, Vijay Iyer, Priscilla Ahn, St. Lenox, Rudresh Mahanthappa, Jon Jang, Kei Terauchi, Kenji Bunch, Karl Evangelista, members of the H?lau O Kekuhi, Ruby Ibarra, Scott Oshiro, No-No Boy, Red Baraat, Thao & The Get Down Stay Down, MC Jin, Japanese Breakfast, Tatsu Aoki, Madame Gandhi, Equipto, beabadoobee, Jhené Aiko, The Slants, Tatiana Band, the Tahitian Choir from Rapa Iti, etc., etc.
Dr. Wong’s radio program, GOLD MOUNTAIN, is heard on KUCR 88.3FM on Tuesdays 3:00-5:00PM Pacific. Streaming on KUCR.org, the KUCR iPhone app, and the TuneIn app.
During Women’s History Month, KUCR joins in commemorating and encouraging the study, observance and celebration of the vital role of women in American history. This program block will air from 1:00PM-6:00PM.
National Writers Series: Stephanie Foo (1:00PM) Stephanie Foo is known for her work on public radio programs such as “Snap Judgment” and “This American Life.” She’s also a columnist, and has now written a book, called “What My Bones Know: A Memoir of Healing from Complex Trauma.” Stephanie appeared at a virtual National Writers Series to talk about her book, and also about disability activist Alice Wong, and her memoir “Year of the Tiger: An Activist’s Life.” She spoke with teacher, columnist, and disability advocate Susan Odgers.
I Spy: Real Life Spy Stories (2:00PM) Espionage was once a mostly male pursuit but these days the top three officials at the CIA are women. On this program we hear from Jonna Mendez, the CIA’s former head of disguise, and Amaryllis Fox, a former undercover agent. Each one tells the story of one dramatic operation.
Program Host – Margo Martindale, Emmy award winning actress who played KGB Handler Claudia on The Americans.
Jonna Mendez spent nearly three decades in the CIA and served as the agency’s head of disguise. She has co-written several books about her work in the agency including The Moscow Rules: The Secret CIA Tactics That Helped America Win the Cold War.
Amaryllis Fox worked as a CIA undercover agent for a decade, getting close to international arms traders who deal in weapons of mass destruction and recruiting them as informers. She recounts her experiences in the book Life Under Cover: Coming of Age in the CIA.
Dorothy Day (3:00PM) We profile Dorothy Day — a remarkable 20th century figure: journalist and founder of the “Catholic Worker” movement, which established soup kitchens and “houses of hospitality” in the Great Depression. More than 200 Catholic worker facilities remain in operation today. Hear the provocative story of her social activism and inspiring spiritual beliefs.
Also heard is Kathe McKenna, co-founder of Haley House in Boston, a Catholic Worker hospitality center, inspired by the life and work of Dorothy Day. Today, more than fifty years later, Haley House operates a soup kitchen, food pantry, elder meal site, more than a hundred units of affordable housing, an urban farm, and the Haley House Bakery Café. Most recently, they opened Dudley Dough, an inner city workplace that offers a living wage and for customers, healthy pizza.
Her Music/Her Story (4:00PM) Women at the top of the field in classical music pay tribute to the women who have inspired them. Luminaries like multiple Grammy Award winner JoAnn Falletta, BBC Proms soloist Jamie Barton, The Marvels composer Laura Karpman, and many more introduce music by composers like Florence Price, Clara Schumann, Lucija Garuta, as well as performances from Isatah Kanneh-Mason, Marian Anderson, and even Ella Fitzgerald.
