Norte© Musi©

NORTE©
I'm doing my presentation today but I won't have time to put in everything. ...

Here's a really interesting article I found about the beginnings of Nortec Music - How it got started, who started it, what became of it.... and all before the creation of Nortec Collective.
http://www.time.com/time/covers/1101010611/fnortec.html

At the end of the 90's no one was really interested... it took until 2001 to really get it going. Pepe Mogt and his friend Melo Ruíz went from a band Artefakto (which broke up) and started experimenting with techno under the name Fussible. They started combining it with Norteño music. "Amezcua premiered a track called Polaris that earned him the unlikely title of Godfather of Nortec. Loud, sometimes dissonant but full of complicated rhythm and humor, Polaris is a dance-floor hit that sounds like nothing so much as a strange circus arriving in an even stranger town. It captured Tijuana perfectly"(Time article).

This is something new that Pepe Mogt did.... it's very different... but I like it... calm, chill, and the visuals are amazing. I want one of these statues in my yard!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0E6Fyrm4Ws

More Mexican music!

There's a lot of great Mexican traditional music we haven't been able to listen to in this class either for lack of time or because of lack of connection with our topics of discussion. However, you might want to give it a listen anyway!

Here is some huapango, also known as son huasteco, from the northeastern Huasteca region that borders on Texas.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84RnhMXwYJM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjVZA6JKFos

Banda is one of the most popular Mexican regional musics and a top seller in the US Latin music market. Banda El Recodo is one of the oldest and best known bandas from Sinaloa but has lately been going in new, more "pop" directions.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttDJo9V2vFc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZL5qU5xj68

We did listen to a bit of son jarocho. There are also a number of musicians in the Mexican Caribbean region and in California who are making jarocho fusion:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbUoRcRiuqw

We heard some harp music from the Mayan peoples of Chiapas, but different kinds of folk harps are found all over Mexico.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fre6W1_EHa0

We talked about the popularization of cumbia, which even the Zapatistas are singing. Cumbia also figures into some "regional urban" styles, like that of the Kumbia Kings:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OuEuysP8B9Q

Probably the most popular way to consume corridos in Mexico (and in New York!) is in a baile sonidero, where the focus is on the deejay, or sonidero, and his use of technology. You'll also see some interesting ways of dancing cumbia.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0jD-iuxieA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMN00U3ZKog
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Is8TaM_a8OE

More quebradita dancing:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLPOuv9Lrus
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlWO4RnbW_c

I mentioned Nor-Tec, the Tijuana-based arts collective that combines electronica with Norteno sounds. You're going to love it!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7EoalpcqRg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y73Vi-0t1HE

Here is an example of how some musicians imagine pre-Columbian Aztec music might have sounded:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWi2dJk-4SU

Concheros dance:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k24HZqp8hVg

And compare that with danza azteca:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRIHFIxzS7Q

More indigenous Mexican dance and music, these from the P'urhepecha people of Michoacan:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yDmlwzY4_s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1b3GyPhUWxo

Enjoy!

Interesting PBS series airing tonight

FYI - also, SU professor Silvio Torres-Saillant was involved in this series together with Prof. Gates.

"Black in Latin America is the third of a trilogy that began in 1999 with the broadcast of Professor Gates’s first series for public television, Wonders of the African World, an exploration of the relationship between Africa and the New World, a story he continued in 2004 with America Beyond the Color Line, a report on the lives of modern-day African Americans. Black In Latin America, premiering nationally Tuesdays April 19, 26 and May 3, 10, 2011 at 8 p.m. (ET) on PBS (check local listings), examines how Africa and Europe came together to create the rich cultures of Latin America and the Caribbean." -PBS

PBS series website: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/black-in-latin-america/featured/preview-black-in-latin-america/172/

Preview on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rySn2z0dJSk

Mexican Student Movement

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=97546687 - NPR Article


I found this article by NPR about the Mexican Student Movement that was really interesting, and heartbreaking. Its amazing that the news at first only reported 4 dead and 20 wounded, when eye-witnesses saw thousands being beaten, and dozens of dead bodies being trucked away. New reports say that what might have triggered the attack on the students was military snipers that fired upon fellow troops to provoke them to open fire on the students.
It's amazing that everything started from a fight after a football game. The riot police arrived and it made things worse and more violent - because the riot police were violent. The violence just escalated from there until the military was called. In an attempt to end the violence, the military ended up killing several students when they blasted the main door of the National Preparatory School with a bazooka. ---- really? A Bazooka? They couldnt have thought of anything better to break the door down>? How idiotic can you get? Of course there's goint to be casualties of innocent students when you shoot a small missile into a school!
My favorite part of the article is when they mentioned the media-spin of the 2 hr shooting spree in the square: "Over the following days, the official account of the events would be that the students — infiltrated by communist forces — had fired on the army, and the soldiers had to fire back to defend themselves".

Click on the video link below to see never-before released footage that the government took of the massacre. They pinpoint the initial shot, and that it came from the building adjacent to where the protestors were walking.

VIDEO
http://www.npr.org/player/v2/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=97546687&m=97659354

Subcomondante Marcos on 60 Minutes!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8OGghITYbo&feature=related - Part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZlKEWBeBqg&feature=related - Part 2

In 1994 Subcomondante Marcos was interviewed on 60 Minutes about the presidential elections and the fact that if there is fraud, like there was last time, that there will be resistance. It seems as though, at first, the interviewer has somewhat of a skewed view of the Zapatistas, giving a tone that implies they were wrong to have done what they did in january. Thankfully, when he mentioned the situation he did say that they avoided civilian bloodshed. It seems like through this whole experience the reporter really learns what started the Zapatista movement and what made it continue and why the 'rebels' had to uprise to fight for what they believed in.
Subcomondante mentions that they want schools, hospitals, and help from the government - (but they want to be autonomous... which is kindof contradictory).

The Zapatistas still think that the peace agreements and government help will fall through, so they still train for war.

All in all, the 60 minutes session is really intriguing and it really provides an insight into the life of the Zapatista rebellion. The American teacher that was interviewed compared him to RobinHood and Zorro.

Subcomondante Marcos

VIDEO:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OTy3aLBSMw&feature=related

Subcomondante Marcos is the spokesperson for the EZLN.
Marcos is an author, a political poet, and an outspoken opponent of capitalism. Marcos insists on having the Mexican constitution amended to recognize the rights of the country's indigenous inhabitants. He has been described as the modern Che Guevara. The name "Marcos" is actually not his name, but the name of a friend killed at a military road checkpoint. He is only seen wearing a balaclava, and his true identity is a mystery.

This video interview highlights his disdain for the media and the neoliberalism within the media. He mentions that the independent media has value though - and he compares it to the book Farenheit 451 (which, if you havent read it, deals with a society which censors books to the point where if you own a banned book, you are 'taken' by the police). He compares it to this book by saying that in Farenheit, the members of the society memorized the books to be able to keep them alive even when they couldnt have them in front of them. This saved them from being destroyed because they could still be passed down -so the ideas would not be lost - the truth shall prevail. He says its the same with independent media - they try to save history and preserve it so that it can be shared and will not disappear.

This reminded me a lot of the problem in Oaxaca - where the media was spreading lies - so they had to take over and spread the truth. They became the independent media that subcomondante marcos is speaking of. By taking over the mass media- the "monopolized media" as he puts it, they are protecting and sharing the truth and spreading knowledge.

The weird part, is he is calling this war on mass media, and the fight to establish an independent network of truth - the 'Forth World War" -- I think this is a bit overzealous for a title. But anyways, they are seeking the help of the National Commission for Democracy in Mexico to spread this video. It obviously worked, because it's on Youtube. At the end, in english, he says goodbye and goodluck.

SOUTH OF THE BORDER

“South of the Border”, a documentary film on South America, produced by Oliver Stone, depicts their social, cultural, and political activities and the media’s skewed perspective of their events. This film was shown along with a lecture at the Rage Art Gallery on March 31.

In 1988, Venezuela broke out in riots. Hugo Chavez was an up and coming person in Venezuela. In 1992, Chavez was a military officer and attempted a coup d’etat on then President Perez during reigns of terrorism. He was unsuccessful and was imprisoned for two years. After prison, in 1997, Chavez ran for and was elected President. He believes in a government of the people and is a champion for human rights. He was reelected in 2000.

In 2002, there was media organized coup d’etat against Hugo Chavez, backed by the Bush administration. The US government was trying to oust Chavez because he is anti-American and pro Cuban. And the reason the US is interested in Venezuela is because they have a lot of oil in their country. The staged coup d’etat on Chavez was the worst thing the US ever did. Hugo Chavez was again reelected President in 2006 because he believes in his country and his people.

Bolivia currently has an indigenous President, Evo Morales. He was also imprisoned before becoming President and is a champion for his people and their human rights. The US has staged a ‘war on drugs’ in Bolivia, trying to depict the President as drug addict. But the reality is that it is the custom in Bolivia to eat coca leaves, which gives you as much of a lift as caffeine and is no more harmful than drinking coffee.

The US news has portrayed Morales, Chavez, and Castro as Bad Guys but are loved by their people and have been elected by the people and are not dictators.

The film also covered the countries of Argentina, Brazil, and Ecuador. Argentina has its first elected woman President, Christina Fernandez de Kirchner. The US government has tried to discredit her, in an attempt to divide the Latin American countries. Brazil has a new woman President, but at the time of the filming of Oliver’s documentary, Lula de Silvia was President. He was popular, as he was of the people, of humble beginnings. President Raphael Correa of Ecuador told the US, that if they wanted to keep their military base in Ecuador, Ecuador needed to have a military base in Miami. Ecuador has ousted the US military base in their country.

The Latin American countries have rejected the Free Trade Agreement proposed by the Bush administration. Chavez is quoted as calling Bush the ‘devil’, an Ignorant, a donkey, and more. Fox News has criticized Obama for meeting with Chavez.

The lecture and film was very enlightening for me as to the politics of Latin America. But I was not surprised by the manipulation of the US government in the affairs of other countries. I think we have enough problems at home that need to be attended to and we should not be interfering in foreign countries. I also found it very interesting that on April 4, the Post Standard (or should I say ‘Sub Standard?) wrote an article, entitled, “Profiling Hostility”, referencing Moammar Gadhafi of Libya as a delusional narcissist and comparing him to other hostile leaders: North Korea’s Kim Jong, Iraq’s Saddam Hussein, al-Qaida’s Osama bin Laden … AND Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez!

More Zapatista (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUpcuM95t5M

I ran across this video on the Internet of two guys who are interviewing the Zapatista people. The video does not explain why they are interviewing them or how they even got there. My guess is they are just traveling around the world. They do state that they want to share the message of the Zapatista movement to the world. There is also some great artwork in the video as well. I was really amazed when he started the interview and they were wearing black ski-masks and it was a woman who began to talk and I could not even tell their gender at first. The video to me is kinda sad because it's so dangerous to be a part of the movement they have to disguise themselves. I think this effected me so much because this is the forst time i seen them upclose in an in-depth interview. Enjoy the video.

Zapata(http://www.mexconnect.com/articles/811-zapata-by-john-steinbeck

All the talk about the zapatistas and the music of rage against the machine made me want to know more about Zapata. So while I was searching I came across a article on a book that is entitled Zapata written by John Steinbeck. I wanted to hear another point of view on someone who was not apart of the movement and never wrote songs or anything about him. It was interesting to read a little bit about Steinbecks perspective of Zapata. He also won an academy award for his screenplay "Viva Zapata". He also compares Joan of arc and Jesus Christ to Zapata. Tells me he sees Zapata as more than just a leader.

Last class I had no chance to provide examples for my reading report so I want to utilize this blog to do it. What I had planned to do, was to tour the class through the EZLN official web page. There are some interesting things one can look at for example the is a radio station, the magazine and the updates.

EZLN official page:

http://enlacezapatista.ezln.org.mx/

radio station

http://www.radioinsurgente.org/

or the magazine

http://revistarebeldia.org/

If you have any questions with the spanish please feel free to ask me.

I thought it would be interesting to follow what has happened to Ulises Ruiz and the situation in Oaxaca. It was very hard to find what Ulises is up to now a days, in tried to look him up in online and I could find much, I was only able to find some information about what happened in Oaxaca but nothing more.

I did found a more recent article from 2008, that gives us a glimpse of the situation.

http://upsidedownworld.org/main/mexico-archives-79/1357-mexico-ulises-ruiz-ortiz-denied-entry-into-zaachila

I would like to puts some emphasis on the last line of the article:

As long as there will be no real justice, there will be no real peace in Oaxaca.

Non- Angry Activist Music

I just wanted to emphasize that not all activist music in the US is angry. My favorite example of this is Jack Johnson. He speaks out about environmental tragedies all the time. He also speaks about common descency, violent trends in youth, the modernization of our world...etc. He was born in Hawaii and then moved to California later in his life. He became a surfer at a very young age and so his music is very very chill and relaxed. Here are some examples of some of my faaaavooorite Jack Johnson songs: (these are just exerpts of the song lyrics - the lyrics that demonstrate the point the most)

The Horizon Has Been Defeated

future complications in the strings between the cans. But no prints can come from fingers if machines become our hands And then our feet become the wheels And then the wheels become the cars And then the rigs begin to drill Until the drilling goes too far. Thingamajigsaw puzzled. Anger don't you step too close Because people are lonely and only animals with fancy shoes. Hallelujah zig zag nothing. Misery it's on the loose Because people are lonely and only animals with too many tools that can build all the junk that we sell sometimes it makes you want to yell.

This song is talking all about the way our society is going nowadays... people are being replaced by machines.... all we want to do is buy more and more...producing the overdevelopment and destruction of our own planet - and thus we start to lose our purpose in life. But notice that he takes a stance against anger.

The News

A billion people died on the news tonight But not so many cried at the terrible sight Well mama said It's just make believe You can't believe everything you see So baby close your eyes to the lullabies On the news tonight. Who's the one to decide that it would be alright To put the music behind the news tonight? Well mama said You can't believe everything you hear The diagetic world is so unclear So baby close your ears On the news tonight .... On the news tonight. Why don't the newscasters cry when they read about people who die? At least they could be decent enough to put just a tear in their eyes Mama said It's just make believe You cant believe everything you see So baby close your eyes to the lullabies On the news tonight.

When I first heard this song I fell in love with it. Ive often said myself that the fact that the news always picks the horrible things to report on first puts our society in an endless circle of violence. Not that we should pretend that it didnt happen, but maybe make it less trivial by avoiding reporting one, then another, then another. They might as well read the obituaries. It's sad that there is so much violence that it has come to this. Then people get scared by watching it, buy more guns, and it just continues.

Cookie Jar

I would turn on the tv, but its so embarrassing to see all the other people, i dont know what they mean. It was magic at first, when they spoke without sound but now this world is gonna hurt, you better turn that thing down -turn it around. It wasnt me, says the boy with the gun sure i pulled the trigger, but it needed to be done because life's been killing me ever since it begun, you cant blame me cuz im too young. You cant blame me, sure the killer was my son but i didnt teach him to pull the trigger of the gun, its the killing on his tv screen you cant blame me, its those images he seen. You cant blame me, says the media man, i wasnt the one who came up with the plan. I just point my camera at what the people want to see, its a two way mirror and you cant blame me. You cant blame me, says the singer of the song or the maker of the movie which he based his life on. Its only entertainment, as anyone can see, its smoke machines and makeup, you cant fool me. It was you, it was me, it was every man, weve all got the blood on our hands. We only receive what we demand and if we want hell then hells what well have. I would turn on the tv, but its so embarrassing to see all the other people, dont know what they mean. It was magic at first, but let everyone down and now this world is gonna hurt, you better turn it around... turn it around

How perfect is this song? The epidemic of child and teenage violence is destroying our nation's youth. We all are to blame for it because we've created this world... and we've let it progress this way, without thought for consequences.

If you'd like to hear these songs go to:

The Horizon Has Been Defeated: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7Hb-Q8qE4M

The News: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=scpOFHeNftU&feature=related

Cookie Jar: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uF7TqmNKID8&feature=related - this video is not an official video for Cookie Jar; it was made by someone on youtube and is not endorsed or officially approved by Jack Johnson - but since there is no music video for Cookie jar, it's probably the best on there. (although I don't agree with some of the images he strings together though).

Let me know what you think of the songs and the style! :)

Also check out Traffic in the sky:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TtJIu0Tylb0

Popular Music and Activism

After our class discussion on Rage Against the Machine, I found myself thinking about popular musics role in social movements. Many individuals in our class had listened to RATM for years yet they never knew that they were talking about the Zapatista movement and their struggles. How effective are these groups in spreading awareness when many of their listeners had no idea that their music discussed this particular social movement? I also began to wonder how effective this particular type of music is in helping the Zapatistas. Although the mood is definitely right on, it is often rather difficult to understand what the actual words on just by listening. After reading through the lyrics, they are often referring to the specific events but never give a real description of them. It seems as though you already have to know some basic information about the issue to truly understand what the lyrics mean. Is there another genre of music that you think may be more beneficial to simply bringing awareness of issues such as those in Oaxaca and Chiapas?

World Blog

A while back, in class, i mentioned that during the events of March 11th, I had a difficult time finding information on what was going on. I mentioned the world blog I found that helped me get hourly information about this event. As I found it in my favorites list and went back over the events posted from that day, I thought that this kind of website would really be helpful in posting updates on the status of a rebellion you favored. For example, the zapatista movement, the movement in Oaxaca, etc. Today the internet connects us all to what is happening all over the world. It would be great to have a site like this run by the people involved in the movement or by a third party and to recieve updates as they were happening. This way, the truth is out there and unerasable and no one can say "oh the rebels started the violence" etc. Anyways, this is the website http://worldblog.msnbc.msn.com/ And here is the blog I was following about Japan http://worldblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/03/11/6243734-live-blog-huge-tsunami-hits-japan-after-89-quake

Oaxaca

With the video footage we have been watching in class lately in regards to Oaxaca I figured it would be appropriate to discuss some of the information that we took in and observed. While thinking on the topic I was curious as to what would be the best way to follow up on the information. Then I thought to move to NPR. In 2006 NPR did a spot in regards to the torture allegations. Within this spot they would interview different people's perspectives. at one point within the interview it was said that one person was actually pleased with the Police interference. They were pleased up until a week before the attacks started happening. Another person would be quoted discussing some interviewing tools that were used against the people of Oaxaca. The police forces would sometimes stand on the backs of the individuals they wanted to gather information from. If you are interested in reading about this radio spot the link is here.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6612934

http://www.schoolsforchiapas.org/english/projects.html

This website is very useful and interesting I learned alot of things. There is a place at the top of the website that says get involved and you can do anything from signing up to recieve a newspaper to volunteering and helping on site at one of the schools. They have pictures of children and people playing instruments. Some of the Pictures reminded me of the movie we watched in class on Tuesday. I'm really glad there is organiztions around like this to help with the movement and also to keep the children educated. There also is a catalog where you can order wallets, jewlery, clothing and the list goes on. Please check out the website theres so much information and things to be learned.