Students, staff, and kids from the child development center enjoyed music in celebration of Multicultural Day. Masanga Marimba brought music from Africa and Latin America to the quad stage.

Masanga Marimba is a local band who plays traditional and popular music from Africa and Latin America. The band makes a perfect ensemble between wind instruments such as the saxophone, trumpet, and flute. The band used 7 Zimbabwean marimbas of various sizes, drums, maracas and voices of their members. Covers of “Hear How It Goes” and “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” as well as others, were part of the repertoire of the presentation.

“This is my first-time experience at Multicultural Day, and I love it, is so much going on,” said Gaby Chacona, staff member at the performance arts division. “This band is great, the Dean of my divisions actually recommend that I come. Now that I’m listening to this, she was right.”

The name “Masanga” is an African word that means the coming together of the rivers or roads. The same way Masanga Marimba integrates the music of different places around the world.

Many students such as 50-year-old philosophy major, Giovane Smith were amazed by the way Masanga Marimba fused the many different sounds together.

“The band is fabulous, I loved the sound of the marimba. I really enjoyed the last song they played,” said Smith. “Interesting sounds, unique, we don’t hear a lot of this in America.”

Ricardo Alviso, leader of the band and Cal State Northridge ethnomusicologist, Professor of World Music, and the director of the CSUN African Music Ensemble stated the importance for kids to be around the instruments, especially after the kids of the Child Development Center were playing around the marimbas.

“We like when people integrate around the music,” said Aliviso. “Everyone is dancing; everyone is singing, everyone is part of the performance the same thing as in Latin-American countries.”

Masanga Marimba is one of the most anticipated bands in Multicultural Day, last year their songs brought happiness to the celebration. Their repertoire and staging made it a memorable experience for its spectators.

According to 26-year-old Speech Pathology major, Jessic Urssing, Multicultural Day was truly a unique experience.

“I love this band; each song was so indifferent,” said Urssing. “I’ve been here for a couple of years, and this is my first time seeing the Multicultural Day, it is cool.”