Maskačkas spēlmaņi releases double album of dance tunes

Andris Straumanis | 

The Rīga folk ensemble Maskačkas spēlmaņi in December released a new album consisting of two compact discs and a detailed, illustrated booklet of folk dances from around Latvia.

Ļipa kust includes 33 tracks, some with vocals, some without. The album is the ensemble’s fourth. The band’s previous album, Pāri jumtam, was released in 2003.

In addition to good explanations of how to perform the various dances represented on the discs, the album is remarkable for its translation. Rather than offering English or Russian as the alternative to Latvian, Ļipa kust provides an Esperanto version.

The dance notations are by Sniedze Grīnberga and the illustrations by Marita Grase.

Maskačkas spēlmaņi has been around since 1995. Members include leader Ansis Ataols Bērziņš, Jānis Barons, Ieva Bērziņa, Zane Kriumane, Oskars Patjanko, Paulis Paulins and Jurģis Ukrins. The band’s focus is lively Latvian country dance music from the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

The ensemble takes its name from the Maskavas forštate district of Rīga, an area east of the Central Market along the Daugava River.

For more on the ensemble, visit maskacka.folklora.lv.

Ļipa kust

The album Ļipa kust is the fourth by folk ensemble Maskačkas spēlmaņi.

Andris Straumanis is a special correspondent for and a co-founder of Latvians Online. From 2000–2012 he was editor of the website.

Latvia sells old embassy in Washington

Andris Straumanis | 

Four years after opening its new embassy in Washington, D.C., Latvia has sold the old building that had served as the government-in-exile’s legation since the 1950s.

The residential property in the city’s Crestwood neighborhood sold in a Jan. 7 auction to the sole bidder for USD 460,250, according to a press release from the government-owned State Real Estate (Valsts nekustamie īpašumi). The buyers, according to the Latvian Embassy, are Jean Kornfeld and Miljodrag Miljanic.

The Latvian Legation acquired the property at 4325 17th Street N.W. in 1953.

The property had a 2009 assessed value of USD 778,010, which was projected to drop to USD 669,360 this year, according to District of Columbia property records. The assessed value is the one used to figure property tax. The actual market value typically is greater than the assessed value.

However, State Real Estate noted in its press release, given the economic situation in the United States, differences in the legal systems between the U.S. and Latvia, and the fact that the building has stood vacant for several years while its condition has deteriorated, the auction can be viewed as successful. The value of the property set by the real estate service was USD 460,000.

To save on the expense of sending representatives to the United States, according to the government real estate service, the auction took place via videoconference between Rīga and Washington.

The buyers have three weeks to complete the sale.

Kornfeld and Miljanic, according to the Latvian Embassy, plan to remodel the building but respect its historical significance.

Latvia in 2001 bought the new embassy building at 2306 Massachusetts Ave. N.W. for $2.5 million, according to District of Columbia property records. Known as the Barney Studio House, the building on Embassy Row was remodeled and opened in December 2005.

Latvian Legation

Latvia’s old embassy building in Washington, D.C., has been sold at auction. (Photo by District of Columbia Office of Tax and Revenue)

Andris Straumanis is a special correspondent for and a co-founder of Latvians Online. From 2000–2012 he was editor of the website.

ALA’s ‘Heritage Latvia’ tour seeks participants

Latvians Online | 

The American Latvian Association (ALA) is organizing a two-week English-language educational tour of Latvia for 13-15 year olds of Latvian descent from July 1-14.

The program parallels the well-established ALA Latvian-language trip “Sveika, Latvija!” that last year marked its 21st and 22nd trips to Latvia. In the “Heritage Latvia” trip all information and group discussions take place in English, thereby ensuring total participation and communication. However, every effort will be made to provide participants the opportunity to learn Latvian words and to experience the language. “Heritage Latvia” is available to all young people with an interest in Latvia and their Latvian heritage. Participation in Latvian heritage schools is not a prerequisite. 

The trip will also serve to provide an alternative for young people who have attended Latvian heritage schools but who would gain more from a trip conducted in English. ALA will provide its customary support for students who have graduated from Latvian school in 2010, regardless of whether they participate in the “Sveika, Latvija!” or “Heritage Latvia” trip.

This year’s “Heritage Latvia” trip will include concerts and activities related to the Latvian Student and Youth Song and Dance Festival to be held July 6-11, when young people from all over Latvia will gather to perform in Rīga. Other trip activities will include hunting for amber on the Baltic Sea shore, trying one’s hand at amber polishing and jewelry making, baking Latvian rye bread, and making pottery in Latgale. Participants will see the cultural, geographic, and historical highlights of Latvia as well as experience an authentic country sauna, swim in the Baltic Sea, meet teens at two schools in Latvia and, we hope, visit the president’s palace and the U.S. Embassy. 

The cost for a “Heritage Latvia” tour is USD 3,000 (USD 2,000 for 8th grade graduates of Latvian heritage schools) and includes air fare from either Chicago or an East Coast gateway airport to Rīga and back, all meals, hotels, transportation, guide services, and full-time adult chaperones from the United States. Participants must be or become members of the ALA to go on the trip. The maximum number of participants is 15, and participants will be registered in the order their USD 500 deposits are received.

For more information, including a sample itinerary, contact Program Coordinator Anita Juberts, American Latvian Association, 400 Hurley Ave., Rockville, MD 20850, tel. +1 (301) 340-8719, projekti@alausa.org.