Buddhist troupe prepares first foray into Carnaval

When revelers flock to Harrison Street for the 2010 San Francisco Carnaval, they will see some new faces; a contingent from Soka Gakkai International will be participating for the first time.

SGI is an international lay-Buddhist organization with chapters in 192 countries and territories, including its San Francisco Culture Center in the Mission.

Rey Estevez, an SGI District Leader and General Coordinator for the group’s Carnaval contingent, says that while the center has been in the17th street location since 1989, this contingent represents a “first step” in focused community outreach.

“It started with the members in the mission who wanted to do something, to connect with the community; to work with people,” Estevez said. “We want to be more a part of the Mission community and let them know that we’re here. We believe that through dialogue and through the exchange of culture we can bring about peace and understanding.”

Dianne Douglas, an SGI community relations director for the Northern California region echoed that goal.

“We are an international movement for peace, culture and education,” she said. “Our core activity is neighborhood discussion meetings…the real basis of our movement is dialogue among people in their community. “

The group’s involvement will include a contingent in the march, dancing and a performance by the SGI Chorus, lead by Chorus Director Horus Jack Tolson.

Tolson is a vocal and performing arts instructor who runs two music schools bearing his name, one in San Francisco and the other in Rotterdam Holland. One of his vocal students introduced him to SGI in 1986.

“We’re really excited, we’re hoping to have some of the members of the chorus be in the SGI contingent that marches on Sunday,” Tolson said. “This is the first time we’ve been at Carnaval, and I’m just really excited about it.”

Tolson explained that his song choices for the performance were meant to be culturally inclusive and reflect a broad, international sound, including songs from Africa, Brazil and elsewhere.

Estevez said that the organization had planned to include a live percussion group in their parade contingent, but ran into difficulty trying to secure a flatbed truck.

“We have a drumming group in the SGI, called SOKA drummers, and they already had a samba rhythm worked out, but it required congas, and those are heavy so you need a flatbed truck,” Estevez said. “We’ll probably still have percussion like cowbells and different smaller drums so people can still do some percussion.”

An SGI exhibit titled “Victory Over Violence” will be displayed in the “Green Zone,” a new section of the Carnaval festival with an emphasis on holistic health and eco-conscious living.

Douglas said the purpose of the exhibit is to promote positive social change through “human revolution.”

Estevez says that the exhibit’s message, rooted in a philosophy of overcoming violence with non-violence, is one that can, “help stop the violence and create a positive energy in the community.”

“It’s an exhibit of four panels that details the Buddhist perspective on violence and we felt that it was very fitting considering the unfortunate violence that occurs in our neighborhood,” he said. “We want to see things in the mission improve.”