Keirokai, the biggest celebration in the Cali Nikkei community
It's [Keirokai] our biggest celebration we do, as a community. They put on little shows, or presentations for them, and they celebrate who's the longest living person in the community even if they're present, or not. They talk about who joined the Keiro community because who's old enough to join in. And yeah, they just have shows... They gather them together in a room to honor them. And they serve them a nice special lunch. That is where the community comes in play a lot. And there's representative of every family
Contributed by: Watase Media Arts Center, Japanese American National Museum
Interviewee Bio
Monica Teisher was born in Cali, Colombia in 1974 to an Issei father and Nisei mother. She and her large extended family were active in the Cali Japanese community, the largest in Colombia. She moved to the United States after marrying a U.S. citizen of Eastern European Jewish descent. They and their daughters spend vacation time in Colombia, participating in community events. (May 2020)