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Celebrating a Nation of ImmigrantsAmbience: Homowo musicHere's a program from our archives.We are a nation of immigrants and we've brought along our traditions, often in the form of holidays. It's a way of remembering where we've come from, while contributing to the cultural tapestry of our new home. I'm Jim Metzner, and this is the Pulse of the Planet. Obo Addy is a musician from Ghana who now lives in Portland, Oregon. He's also the Artistic Director of the Homowo Festival: an annual Ghanian celebration which he's helped introduce to America.Addy: I live in this country. I'm American citizen, but originally from Ghana. I'm living more than maybe 10,000 miles away across the ocean. And so since I couldn't go all the time, I decided I want to celebrate Homowo here, and make it one of our American celebrations because America is the melting pot.Addy: We like people to come. We like people to join us. We like people to share our festival with us-- the African Americans especially-- to participate, to add it to their culture.For those of Ghanian origin, Homowo can be a kind of magic carpet to a remembered homeland.Addy It brings memories back. Everything comes back to me the way it was about 50 years ago, when I was a kid.This month, in Portland, the Homowo Festival begins with a reenactment of a royal Ghanian procession and continues through the week with dances, prayers and music. Additional funding for this series has been provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities. We've been listening to a program from our archives. If you want to hear more, check out our podcast.