Komal Nadeem is a visiting student from Pakistan. She studies at the University of Arkansas for a semester. She is trying to soak up all the cultural experiences! One day, she shared her story about a concert that was held at the Walton Arts Center (WAC) in Fayetteville. As Bo Kyung told us her story before, WAC is such a great place to explore cultures. So, here’s another great example. Enjoy! — Nami

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Poncho Sanchez

‘Hey, Komal, I found out that there is a Latin Jazz concert tonight at the Walton Arts Center. Let’s check it out!’ said Ali Khalid, another visiting student from Pakistan.

It was a performance by Poncho Sanchez and his band.

I had not explored much different genres of music, especially Latin Jazz.

Latin Jazz – it sounded something new and something diverse, which was very exciting to me. When Ali told me about the concert, I was already tired because of all the school work and an evening event on campus, but I decided to give it a try to explore a different culture. Since music had always intrigued me, I was sure I would not regret the experience just because I was tired.

I am from Pakistan. I grew up with rock music, pop music and some traditional cultural music. Pakistani folklore varies: Some are serene some are inspirational. So, thinking of music I grew up with, I was expecting Latin Jazz would be a little bit different from the music I was used to.

Walton Arts Center

With excitement in my heart, we arrived at the Walton Arts Center and found our reserved seats. Who knew that I would experience one of the most beautiful music that night! Their music was full of emotions. It was happy. It was sad. At the same time, it lightened me up and it also made me feel all nostalgic.

I didn’t know whether to “enjoy” it or “experience” it because every moment, I was listening to the tunes composed by Poncho Sanchez; I was in the state of Glee. One of the many things I found different in the concert was the ‘arrangement’ of it. Where I come from, concerts are more about screaming and dancing, or listening quietly. Here, I found both in one. People were so synchronized. If one danced, everyone followed the rhythm. If one shook his head in music, everyone did. It was like a culture. Some discipline of sort that I loved about the people. They were happy and they were all enjoying together – dancing together and screaming around as if we all were a family enjoying some TV show at home. It may sound weird, but even at the concert, I felt at home. I learned to love both Latin Jazz and people.

I felt good when I came back home and lied down to drift off.

Of course, I didn’t have any regrets. No, I didn’t. I felt happy. Very happy, indeed.

Ali & Komal (on the right)