Dorothy Ramon Center Reaps the Flutes of His Labors

Antonio Flores brought his flute-making presentation and workshop to the on Saturday, and the response was Standing Room Only.

More than 30 people filled a Ramon Center conference room to learn the secrets of making and playing California Indian flutes, which are fashioned from elderberry branches.  The workshop was the first in a series of Saturday afternoon family education events that the center will present, part of the center’s mission to save and share American Indian heritage and culture. 

“Saving culture is important,” said , co-founder, director of the center, and an accomplished flute player himself, “but sharing the culture with the entire community will ensure that the culture continues to be saved.” 

The Center’s “saving and sharing” approach to American Indian culture is dramatically different from some other local Indian institutions, which focus heavily on passing Indian heritage to tribal members.  Siva, a scholar and one of few remaining Serrano language speakers in the world, realizes how endangered California Indian culture is.  He introduced a Serrano Bighorn sheep song by saying that he was one of three people who knew it.

Flute Craft

Flores, descendant of a Mexican tribe, has studied the flute craft of California Indians and has driven to Banning from the Bay Area on numerous occasions to participate in Ramon Center events.  His flute making table was one of the most popular attractions at December’s .

Combining a lecture with flute songs and singing, he captivated the audience with songs about dragonflies, bears and coyotes, all of which figure prominently in California Indian mythology.  A lilting Cahuilla lullaby, for example, turned out to have lyrics that translated as, “The coyote is watching,/The coyote is waiting,/When you sleep he will come and get you,/The coyote will eat you.”

Flores compared the song to several European lullabies that have similarly caustic lyrics, such as “Rock-a-bye Baby.”

Following him to a work room, the audience crafted their own elderberry branch flutes—some attempting the traditional Indian way, hollowing out the soft wood branches with a stick—Flores called it “the Paleo way”—and others opting for modern tools to ease the process.

Makin the flutes turned out to be easier than playing them.  Beginners found out that breath control was key to making music with the flutes.

“You can’t have hard breathing to make the music,” said Flores.  “If you can hear your breath, it’s too hard.”

Downtown Event

If the family education workshops have a secondary agenda, Siva said it has to do with the Ramon Center’s location in downtown Banning.  Both downtown Banning and downtown Beaumont have suffered economically for 50 years, since the construction of Interstate 10 in the early 1960s.  Prior to that, both downtowns were along Highway 99, the main route between Los Angeles and Palm Springs, and thrived on tourist trade. 

The small size of retail buildings in the downtowns preclude occupancy by today’s “big box” retailers, and revitalization efforts in both areas have been hurt by the recession and a divided opinion of them in the community.  A citizen’s group sued the city to stop a master plan to revitalize downtown Beaumont, and the rapid staff turnover in Banning City Hall has hampered rehab efforts in downtown Banning. 

Access and parking are also problems for the downtowns.  Downtown Banning has no direct access to Interstate 10, where 100,000 potential customers pass by every hour.  The Beaumont Avenue interchange of I-10, primary access to downtown, is operating near or above capacity, and the city is striving to alleviate traffic pressure there rather than increase it.   The older appearance of the downtowns makes some new residents leery of visiting.

“Our attitude is that the more activities there are in downtown Banning, the better,” said Siva.  “We want to show people that it’s okay to go downtown.  This event was nice in that it helped people past their fear of going downtown, and it introduced them to a musical instrument.  Some people find musical instruments intimidating.”

Next month’s family education day, according to Siva, will be a workshop on how to make California Indian toys, implements and utensils.  In the meantime, work continues on converting a former US post office into a Ramon Center performance space and recording studio, part of a proposed $2 million building project at the center that Siva and his wife June have raised more than $500,000 toward.