NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Nashville's diverse cultural communities took center stage at a recent heritage celebration, showcasing traditions from around the world that have found a home in Music City.
From dances rooted in distant places to sounds that carry centuries of stories, the event featured art and performances that invited attendees into worlds beyond their own.
Yolanda brought her children to learn about the Mexican tradition of Day of the Dead, where they discovered the meaning behind the colorful costumes and paintings.
"The costumes, the paintings and how each one had meaning so that's really cool," Yolanda said.
Among the families sharing their heritage was Ipek Ismael, who calls Nashville home. She explained that many Kurdish people settled in Nashville after fleeing unrest in the Middle East.
"The biggest population of Kurdish people in the world lives in Nashville," Ismael said. "So during Saddam Hussein's regime, Kurdish people got mistreated. A lot of them got killed, oppressed."
Despite the difficult circumstances that brought her family to Nashville, Ismael said she has found peace and opportunity while staying connected to her roots.
"If I would have lived in back home, I would have not been where I am today. I went to school. I got educated. I got my degree in civil engineering," Ismael said.
For families like Yolanda's, the celebration offered children a chance to gain new perspectives about the world around them.
"Experience other traditions in a time where the world is so divided. We just wanted to see where people are happy and doing things together," she said.
Want to see more of Nashville's incredible cultural diversity in action? Watch our full video coverage of this celebration and discover how these communities are enriching Music City. Have a cultural story or tradition you'd like to share? We'd love to hear from you at kim.rafferty@NewsChannel5.com.
In this article, we used artificial intelligence to help us convert a video news report originally written by Kim Rafferty. When using this tool, both Kim and the NewsChannel 5 editorial team verified all the facts in the article to make sure it is fair and accurate before we published it. We care about your trust in us and where you get your news, and using this tool allows us to convert our news coverage into different formats so we can quickly reach you where you like to consume information. It also lets our journalists spend more time looking into your story ideas, listening to you and digging into the stories that matter.
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