Universal Message of Peace, Joy & Love

By Caryl Loper

If you have yet discovered Daria Marmaluk-Hajioannou’s inspirational music and worldwide messages, then you are missing out on her extraordinary talent and radiant spirit. Daria’s effervescent, spiritual energy reminds me that of a hummingbird.

The hummingbird, known for her joyful nature and sheer glee, has a sound of pure, energetic vibration. If you know anything about her flight, she is magical in her ability to fly in any direction, almost flightless, known for her uplifting vigor. Her angelic being opens up the heart. The hummingbird symbolizes peace, joy and love, very much like Daria. In Native American medicine, the hummingbird is recognized for spreading joy and joining people together.

Daria has the ability to bridge cultures together.  ‘Beautify the World’ are words that echo within Daria’s music. This reference is not necessarily representative of her outer beauty, but rather a more meaningful exquisite, emphasis: her ability to tap into the beauty of the spirit. She captivates her listeners both young and old.  One of Daria’s pieces, ‘Beautiful Rainbow World’ is indicative of Daria’s heartbeat, the rhythm and beat can be felt and understood by everyone.

As Daria describes, she builds bridges similar to what is known as “Chakaruna”, which literally means bridge person in an ancient Incan language, Quechu.  It refers to individuals that make bridges between people, a vehicle that creates a peaceful blending of all cultures. Daria builds bridges between cultures to share a vision of dignity between all of the children, all people.

Daria’s music feels earthy, spiritually enlivening from a soul level. Listening to her music you can sense how she honors other cultures and how it is rich with information. She is informing and educating people through her music, bringing them together. Her songs are sung in English, Spanish, Quechua, Arabic, Appalachian, South African, Yiddish, Hebrew, Arabic and Zulu, and encourage both kids and adults to honor, respect and appreciate the languages and cultures found around the world.  You can see more information on her music at: www.dariamusic.com

Daria has received numerous awards, to name a few: 2009, Parent’s Choice Award for Outstanding Children’s Website; 2008, Parent’s Choice Award & Grammy Balloted for Intergenerational Release for “Grandchildren’s Delight”; 2007, National Parent’s Choice Award for “Beautiful Rainbow World”, and many more honors. For a complete list, view details on her website.

I asked Daria where she travels and how she uses her music as a vehicle. Her enlivening answer warmed my heart.  Daria‘s response . . .“I go where ever I am asked. I have noticed that opportunities magically show up. Once there was an opportunity to do a special workshop at the Dallas Women’s Museum, National Museum of the America Women, which unfortunately is defunct. It was about how women and music had played a part in American history.  Another time I was asked to play at a Jewish-Indian picnic. At this Jewish-Indian picnic, there was a local synagogue and out of their prayer group they said we just don’t know a lot about our neighbors, a large Indian community from India. So, they decided that they would make friends and needed entertainment for the kids. I was the entertainment and then both groups brought food, and it built something beautiful, a bridge between two cultures. At the beginning everyone was off by themselves, and then in the end I would see two parents talking to each … Are you in this school? What was that teacher like? You felt like they were creating friendships that would last and go on for many years.”

Daria clearly uses music as a vehicle to bring out the similarities of cultures. I asked her if that was so.  Daria stated . . . “Yes. If we talk about politics, we can argue; or if we talk about economics, we can argue; if we talk about boundaries, we can argue; but, when we start eating together, when we start dancing together, when our children play together then we start to see who we really are, we are all ONE”.

Daria uses her music to bring out the laughter and the play. The socialization process and getting to the core of the being, tapping into that feeling of likeness and that we were all born out of love, bridges people together.  Every step of the way, she looks for opportunities to give back to others.

Besides working at Art-Reach, an organization located in Philadelphia that is devoted to bringing together art and cultural opportunities and serving those individuals with disabilities and economic disadvantages, she travels within the United States and aboard to such places like Peru, Israel, and Kenya.  She has been called ‘An Ambassador of Song’ by US newspapers. Her CDs have been played around the world from the United States to Australia, South Africa to Europe to South America.  She has taken her music on the road – she has given workshops and concerts in 16 different countries plus Native American reservations; what’s more, she has recorded and released four children music CDs: “Grandchildren’s Delight”, “Beautiful Rainbow World”, “I Have a Dream”, and “Jadda, Jadda, Jing, Jing, Jing”.  Daria is making two new CDs in the upcoming year – “Americana for Kids” and “World Music for Kids”. All extremely exciting, plus YouTube channel has more than 425,000 views!

I asked Daria if she is planning on taking this to a different level, more than what she is already doing.   Daria responded … “My next step is to create a podcast because it is hard to physically be everywhere.  I want to show people different cultures and introduce them to community heroes.  First, I will start with an English only podcast.  I am working on an interactive podcast called “Make Music with Me” aimed at sharing what I do in a video format that can reach kids all over the world through the internet. Eventually I would love to make bi-lingual podcasts, Spanish/English, English/Arabic, English/Chinese with a co-host, a person who loves music and culture as much as I do, and has the same enthusiasm, as I do. Here is a glimpse …. ‘Okay kids, today we are going to look at Native American drumming; we are going to look at power drums; then we will do shows that are used only in Arab culture’.  I would love to give kids the experience where differences are something to celebrate. These are my dreams!”

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There are many walking angels, messengers that share uplifting messages. Daria’s Universal, spiritual messages, her lyrics and voice both are a vehicle to change the world, one day, one step at a time. As Daria states … “For me, creating music that nourishes, educates and brings folks of different backgrounds and generations together is such a great way to make music!”  Her music continues to build cultural bridges.  Get to know Daria: www.dariamusic.com