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A Colombian accordion player featured in Smithsonian Network's " The Accordion Kings" focuses intently. Photo courtesy of Smithsonian Networks.

As part of the Latin American Film Showcase, “The Accordion Kings: The Story of Colombian Vallenato Music,” a Smithsonian Networks film, will be shown at the Georgetown Business School – Lohrfink Auditorium tomorrow at 6:30 p.m. The film captures an annual festival of accordion music that takes place in the Colombian coastal town of Valledupar.

In 2008, Smithsonian magazine’s Kenny Fletcher wrote about the making of the film. The documentary focuses on the competition among accordion masters to be crowned the “vallenato king” at the festival. Vallenato is similar to country music in the United States, relating the everyday stories of love and love lost. “Wearing straw cowboy hats and jeans,” Fletcher wrote, “the hopefuls are covered in sweat, eyes closed, bodies rocking, fingers blurring as they fly across the accordion’s keys. The competition’s nationally televised finale has the drama and fanfare of “American Idol.”

As the genre becomes mainstream, festival organizers say the competition, which promotes the traditional form of vallenato, preserves their musical heritage. “It’s a way of linking you to the land, to your ancestors, your traditions,” says Gabriela Febres-Cordero, the honorary president of the 40-year-old festival.”

Vallenato is an essential part of Colombian culture. The rhythm of vallenato was first documented in the late 1800s. Gabriel García Márquez is said to have described his novel, One Hundred Years of Solitude, as a 400-page vallenato.

The Latin American Film Showcase this year features more than 30 films from from almost 20 countries. The offerings include contemporary classics as well as films released just this year.

In 1962, viewers the nation over (and later the world) marveled at Jackie Kennedy’s tour of the freshly revamped White House in an extensive one-hour televised tour of the executive mansion. But the film, with it’s camera trained on First Lady was missing something: all the people who work behind the scenes to make the White House run, from butlers to plumbers to chefs, and everyone in between. The Smithsonian Channel’s new program, The White House Revealed, provides an intimate and modern portrait of the most famous home in America by way of its extensive staff. You can watch White House pastry chef Roland Mesnier (who retired after over 40 years in the executive kitchen) as he recalls several past presients’ penchants for sweets (for better and for worse.) Tune in to the full program Friday night at 7:00 on the Smithsonian Channel.

Scene from "Batwomen of Panama." Image courtesy of the Smithsonian Channel.

Let’s take a moment to think about notable women of the past decade or so. How many entertainers can you rattle off the top of your head? Sports stars? How about scientists?

I’m guessing you choked a little on that last one. Let’s rectify the situation, shall we?

March is Women’s History Month and the Smithsonian Channel is giving it up to the girls with Women of Science, a series of four films which will be broadcast throughout the month. The series kicks off tonight at 8:00 with A Woman Among Wolves, Batwomen of Panama and Footprints on the Water. (The fourth film, Flying With Condors, will first air on Thursday, March 5). Go to the Smithsonian Channel’s website for a full schedule of these and other horizon-broadening programs. (I mean c’mon—what golden nugget of information were you able to casually toss off at your last cocktail party? You owe it to yourself to watch.)

Aerangis distincta. Photo by James Osen, Smithsonian Institution.

You can learn a lot of things from the flowers. Perhaps the girls from Sex and the City should have ditched the daily macchiatos and decked out to the local botanical garden to take a few pointers from the orchids. That’s right kids, orchids are total pros when it comes to sex, and it has served them well when it comes to finding Mr. Right. (Well, in the wild world of plants, it’s more like “Mr. Right Now,” but you get what I mean.)

Thanks to the coquettish ways in which they attract pollinators—from bright colors to inviting curves—these flowers have managed to survive since the age of the dinosaurs. They have since developed into 25,000 different species, 10,000 of which are represented in the National Museum of Natural History’s horticultural collections. Orchids Through Darwin’s Eyes—the special title given to their 15th Annual Orchid Show honors the 200th birthday of the famous naturalist who was awed by orchid diversity—highlights these collections. (Fellow ATM blogger Joseph Caputo previously covered the show here.) Can’t get down to the National Mall before the show closes on April 26th? You can enjoy the Smithsonian’s spin on these sexy flowers by way of Smithsonian Channel’s Stories from the Vaults series. In the episode “Beauty,” host Tom Cavanaugh talks with Smithsonian Orchid Collection Specialist Tom Mirenda to get the lowdown on how orchids get their groove on. (See a clip from the show below. The episode is also available for download from iTunes.)

And any orchid-related stories or experiences you would like to share are also most welcome.

Monkees (sapiens musicalis) from left to right: Davy Jones, Mickey Dolenz, Peter Tork and Michael Nesmith

Hey hey it’s the Monkees, and they’re back on TV! The Smithsonian Channel’s new documentary “Making the Monkees” takes a look into one of the biggest musical sensations of the 1960s.

In November 1965, Davy Jones, Mickey Dolenz, Peter Tork and Michael Nesmith were brought together by central casting to star in a television show featuring a boy band to rival the Beatles.

The resultant avant garde TV program—a freewheeling show in a similar vein of A Hard Day’s Night—was an instant hit and presented a family friendly vision of the hippie generation to viewers both young and old. Combined with chart-topping singles like “Last Train to Clarksville,” “I’m Not Your Stepping Stone” and “Daydream Believer,” Monkeemania swept the US in the mid to late 60s.

And you know you’ve made it big when you get a board game AND a lunch box with your face on it. It’s also no small compliment being the object of Marcia Brady’s affections.

Unfortunately, fighting between the band members and producers over artistic differences led to the Monkees’ dissolution in the early 70s. Perhaps the crueler cut is that the band has been met with some disdain due to the fact that they did not write their own material and (at least in the case of earlier studio recording sessions) did not play their own instruments. However, no matter what your misgivings may be, it is undeniable that the Monkees were a major part of American popular culture. And if they’re too busy singing to put anybody down, why should you put them down?

Check out the promo video below and tune in to the premiere of “Making the Monkees” Saturday night at 8 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. It’ll be more fun than a barrel of Monkees.