Meet Menelik

Menelik Musa…

…was born and raised in Roxbury. As part of an apprenticeship program at Dorchester High School he learned cabinet making, then studied bookkeeping and accounting. 

At age 18, Menelik read The World's Great Religions , a book that opened his eyes to different cultures and inspired him to learn more about eastern practices: “I went out and found a karate teacher and a yoga teacher and my passion continues to be the arts from the east.” 

Encouraged to “do something” in his community by Mishio Kushi, with whom he studied for five years, Menelik began selling natural foods and teaching tai chi in his home – which led to the creation of Eastern Unity, an organization committed to healing through martial arts. This led to his joining the U.S.-China Peoples Association and an opportunity to spend 3-4 weeks visiting Chinese factories, schools, supermarkets, etc. – an experience that transformed his life! As part of a multicultural tourist group, he greeted all with a friendly “Ni how!” and did tai chi in the parks with the Chinese, returning to China many times as a tour guide for this group. 

Menelik met Femke and a small group of like-minded community artists while teaching tai chi and yoga at the Firehouse Arts Center. Invited to visit the building that now houses Spontaneous Celebrations, he helped the fledgling organization with his bookkeeping and electrical skills. He remembers this time of building something together as joyful and rewarding.

Two lines of “Imagine!” that speak to him are:

“A welcome home where we get some healing

A place to drink juice or herbal tea.”

Since visiting China in his mid-20s, Menelik has traveled all over the world – Thailand, the Phillipines, Europe, Brazil – studying and teaching tai chi, yoga, chi gung, and giving lectures on natural healing. Currently living in Costa Rica with one of his two sons, he returns to Boston most summers and looks forward to re-connecting with his friends at Spontaneous Celebrations.