Although adversity appears from the shadows
I know that your own light will shine
Despite the pain that sings with disappointment
you will fly once again

You will be born again, shine again
I want to see you smile, we will always be with you
Nippon Ganbare Song

All with one voice. Photo APJ - Erika Kitsuta

Music has that special magic that summons and unites, as was demonstrated in the Nippon Ganbare Festival, which was held on May 21 at the La Unión Stadium, Lima, with the aim of raising funds for the victims of the earthquake and tsunami. occurred in Japan last March, as part of the With You Japan Campaign undertaken by the Nikkei community of Peru.

The festival brought together more than two thousand people, raising S/. 50,000 (approximately US$ 18,000) and, above all, getting many young people to work as a team, with the same objective and feeling that they knew how to infect everyone. The solidarity, the desire to help and the kimochi were felt among all the people who attended the festival.

A great team of young people made the festival possible. APJ Forum - Naomi Azama

A dream come true

Actor Carlos Alcantara. APJ Photo - Erika Kitsuta.

The festival was thus the corollary of several weeks of efforts, coordination and dreams come true. The idea was born from a group of young people from the AELU Minors Movement, who proposed the holding of the festival, an initiative that was supported by the Peruvian Japanese Association (APJ) and by the AELU, which co-organized the activity.

Richard Yagui, Youth Director of the APJ, was the general manager of the festival and a team of more than one hundred young people led by Erica Olivera Kanna, general coordinator of the event, were in charge of everything from artistic production to coordinating issues such as sponsorship, security, dissemination. , logistics, finance, among others.

All present

The charismatic Akinori Sato animated the Nippon Ganbare. Photo APJ - Erika Kitsuta

Likewise, musical bands and artistic groups of Nikkei youth were summoned, who did not hesitate to say “Present” and participate in the festival. There were about 140 young people representing Akari, Akasia, Akinee, Hayabiki, K-chiashi, Mochigomez, Okinawa Chanpuru, Ryukyu koku Matsuri Daiko, Perú Nakagusuku Seinenbu, Sei Dansu and Perú Kitanakagusuku Sonjinkai.

In addition to the participation of each group on the AELU stage, everyone joined together at the end to perform the song Nippon Ganbare, composed collectively by Nikkei artists.

There was also the participation of Gonzalo Torres, Daniel Marquina and Gachi Rivero, from Radio Planeta, Akinori Sato and Carlos Alcántara, all Peruvian artists who supported the conduct of the festival and the prior dissemination of the event. It should be noted that the actor Carlos Alcántara also donated S/. 1,000. Excited, he noted that he will not forget the moments he experienced in Japan during the earthquake, and that he could not stop collaborating with this good cause.

In addition to these artists, actors Melania Urbina, Diego Bertie, Gianella Neira, Christian Meier, as well as TV hosts Bruno Pinasco and Adolfo Aguilar, collaborated by recording invitation videos.

Nakagusuku Sonjinkai dance. APJ Photo - Naomi Azama

Greetings from Japan

Okinawa Chanpuru. Photo APJ - Erika Kitsuta

The festival organizers also managed to get Sony Music Japan to send videos with greetings and thanks from two great Japanese artists: the band Flow and the composer, actor and vocalist Takanori Nishikawa, from the bands TM REVOLUTION and ABINGDON BOYS SCHOOL.

“We have found out that in Peru they are organizing an event to support Japan and they are giving us a lot of value with their words and actions. We ask you to continue giving us your strength so we can walk together. "We will not give up!" said the members of Flow.

For his part, Nishikawa, who is also the leader of STAND UP JAPAN, a solidarity campaign for the earthquake in Japan, also expressed his gratitude to all Peruvians and his desire to come to Peru. “Truly, thank you very much for this event that you are doing for Japan. “We are working hard to make Japan full of energy again,” he said.

The Nippon Ganbare Music Festival was thus a joint effort, a shared objective and a single desire to express solidarity with the people of Japan. Mission accomplished!

Final Song Nippon Ganbare.Photo APJ - Erika Kitsuta.jpg

* This article is published thanks to the agreement between the Peruvian Japanese Association (APJ) and the Discover Nikkei Project. Article originally published in Kaikan magazine No. 57, June 2011 and adapted for Discover Nikkei.

© 2011 Asociación Peruano Japonesa