OAXACA DE JUAREZ, Mexico — The zocalos of Mexico are in many ways what New England town greens once were, places where townspeople come to socialize, find shade at siesta time, and listen to concerts in the evening.

NYERI, Kenya -- Moses Ndungo, a Kikuyu tribesman from Kenya's Central Province, spends his days trying to sustain the traditions of his tribe. He is the front man for a troupe of dancers that performs in a mock Kikuyu village on the grounds of a hotel in Nyeri, about 140 miles north of Nairobi, the capital.