I think one of the most wonderful things about this conference was the absolutely exciting people I met there. For me, traditional games had primarily focused on table games, with a few outdoor ones, no doubt, but primarily table games. I realized that the people at the conference had gone way beyond that. They had taken traditional sports, traditional activities, and even some traditional rituals and incorporated them into the concept of games.
I was to learn a lot in the next few days. I had come to the conference wondering what value it would have. After all, people from other countries might be fascinated by our games for a few days, but how would it hold value in the long run, and what would I take away from the conference?
What I took away was a lot. Other than the incredible people I met, it gave me numerous ideas on how I could look at games and what I could do with Kreeda, to make our traditional games even more vibrant and alive.
One of the incredible people who made this possible was Pepe. Pepe is a musician; he plays the piano and the drums and is a piano tuner by profession. Pepe gave us an absolutely enthralling demonstration of different types of castanets. He mesmerized us for more than half an hour by playing the numerous instruments he had set up.
They weren’t large. They were small—literally the size of a display of silverware on a tabletop—and yet the music was outstanding. There were soft ones, gentle ones, and instruments that matched various rhythms and sub-rhythms to keep us entertained.
The following morning, Pepe taught me how to play the castanets, and once you get the hang of it, it is so addictive. I can imagine children of all ages wanting to play these instruments. There’s a child in everyone that wants to make music and noise, and this was truly an incredible exhibition by Pepe.
Ripples Of Life and Time 