la argentinidad

aahh, buenos aires. ¡¡¡a mi me encanta!!!

the tiny cups of café with medialunas, balconies & central courtyards, abuelitas that bring you mate in the morning :) oh and also: las madres in the plaza on thursdays, the fábricas recuperadas, the daily manifestaciones, & el museo de la deuda externa!! so lovely. i was talking to my family today and teasing them que aquí me quedo.

last midnight we went to have dinner at the river, río de la plata, which according to the argentines es el río más ancho del mundo. we were having a conversation about it, and of course this bersuit song came up...

bersuit : la argentinidad



... not just the widest river, but also the longest street?! and cinco presidentes en una semana... jaja! 5 presidents in one week. that should definitely be a record of some kind, said my dinner companion.

el dulce de leche, el gran colectivo,
alpargatas, soda y alfajores... las huellas
digitales, los dibujos animados, las jeringas
descartables, la birome... la transfusión
sanguínea, el seis a cero a perú, y
muchas otras cosas más...

gracias, pato, por acordarme de esta canción, y a todos por hacerme reir tan fuerte anoche ;) pasamos un tiempo, como dicen acá, "re-lindo" (is that how you spell that?).

El Gran Silencio 11.21.08

Bueno, como diaboloca y la cumbiambera han mencionado, fuimos a ver a El Gran Silencio en Sunnyvale. Este show fue uno atendido por las tres colaboradoras de Rockeras sin Fronteras, mas nuestra buena amiga Andrea quien sacrifico la oportunidad de tomar unas chelas para manejar (¡gracias!) El Gran Silencio cumplió con la parte de su titulo de “gran”, pero afortunadamente no cumplieron con la parte de “silencio”. Su mezcla de reggae, ska, cumbia, punk tenía a todo el lugar brincando, bailando, y cantando con una energía que pocos grupos pueden crear. Los miembros del grupo nunca dejaron que el ambiente se bajara y siempre se veían que se estaban divirtiendo en el escenario. Tocaron canciones muy conocidas como Chuntaro Style, Dormir Soñando, y Tonta Canción de Amo. Al final cantaron una versión de Pobre de Ti por ¡Tijuana No!

Nos divertimos muchísimo. Aunque yo termine en le suelo mientras estaba en el moshpit. Todavía estoy un poco mayugada.

¡Aquí esta un poco de video del show para todos!

Punk/Ska in Solidarity with Venezuela! New song from SKA-P!

The great Anti-imperialist punk/ska/reggae band SKA-P has written a song “El Liberador” in homage to the Bolivarian Revolution on their new CD, Lagrimas y Gozos. It is great! Here are the song, the words, and as a bonus a video of the song with some great pictures of the struggle in Venezuela. Enjoy!!

Many thanks to Sarah J. and Dana C. for sharing the song and words.¡Que viva Venezuela libre!

El grupo punk/ska/reggae anti-imperialista SKA-P ha escrito una canción, “El Liberador” en homenaje a la Revolución Bolivariana en su nuevo CD. Lágrimas y Gozos. ¡Esta súper chida! Aquí esta la canción, la letra, y como un bono un video de la canción con unas lindas imagines de la lucha en Venezuela. ¡Que disfruten!

Muchas gracias a Sarah J. y a Dana C. por compartir la canción y la letra. ¡Que viva Venezuela libre!



El Libertador

Entre miseria, hambre y desolación, en el fango alguien planto una flor
Un tal Bolívar, le dicen el libertador, el libertador

Gritos de justicia, tierra y libertad vuelven a resonar en Sudamérica
Ha comenzado una nueva revolución y esta vez avanza con convicción

Reforma agraria y justa redistribución, sanidad, cultura y buena educación
Respeto y dignidad al indígena, al indígena

Socializar y no a la privatización!, mejoras laborales "pal" trabajador
Lo que la tierra ofrece es de la población, contra la oligarquía y el explotador

Una guerra de medios manipula la verdad
ho ho ho Enséñale los dientes a la cara al tio sam
ho ho Sin dar un paso atrás.

Adelante comandante, ponte al frente con honestidad
Comienza a amanecer en Latinoamérica
Paso firme hacia delante, pisa fuerte con rotundidad
Cuando un pueblo se sabe organizar
Es un pueblo sabio y libre

Oh oh oh oh! lejos de la perfección
Se avanza al caminar cuando se tiene ilusión

Una guerra de medios manipula la verdad...

Adelante comandante, ponte al frente con honestidad...

Oh oh oh oh! aires de rebelión en Latinoamérica
Oh oh oh oh! tiempo de transición en toda america

Adelante comandante, ponte al frente, comandante
Oh oh oh! de Latinoamérica
Paso firme hacia delante, pisa fuerte, comandante
Oh oh oh! en Latinoamérica

Chúntaro Style

La Cumbiambera can't restrain herself. Obviously our mutual admiration of El Gran Silencio is a point of unity among the blogueras, and I'll add here the video for "Chúntaro Style," which is definitely one of my fav videos of all time what with the dancing cholitas & cholitos and the kids and the Guadalupana boom box and all. Not to mention that this is one of those songs that just keeps you dancing.

tonta canción de amor

las 3 roqueras had a field trip last night to catch el gran silencio in sunnyvale at club barcelona. they double headlined with los angeles azules. ¡cuuuuumbia!

as usual, they kicked ass. those guys are so talented with their rock-cumbia-reggae-vallenato situation, and so endearing on stage it's almost too much to see them live. i believe la pachuquita will be posting a more complete report-back with fotos, but last night in the car on the way home we were talking about their performance of this song at the show, and also this video (reminds me of the good old days of mtv) so in the meantime...

tonta canción de amor : el gran silencio

sam cooke + muhammad ali

it's been a very sam cooke kind of week. sometimes you just need a sweet voice like that singing in your ear, no?

i recently came across this video...

the gang's all here : sam cooke & muhammad ali



from peter guralnick's sam cooke bio:

sam cooke first met cassius clay in 1960, before the boxer changed his name to muhammad ali. he was impressed by clay's burgeoning interest in islam, while the boxer in turn was a fan of his music. at clay's fight with sonny liston in miami on 25 february 1964, cooke was in the audience, just a few seats away from malcolm x. clay won after liston refused to answer the bell for the seventh round, and then interrupted a tv interview in the ring when he spotted cooke, shouting: "this is the world's greatest rock'n'roll singer!"

and this one, i believe, i first saw posted on hossam's 3arabawy. i think it's easily the best recorded version of this song...

blowin' in the wind : sam cooke



ps: ever seen sam cooke cha-cha with jackie wilson? terribly cute.

¡la tierra es para quien la trabaja!

the land belongs to those who work it!


en el campo está el patrón,
los finqueros y asociados,
guardias blancas y matones,
nomás explotando pueblos,
van sacando nuestra tierra.
y allá en las ciudades
los policías corruptos,
los mafiosos y banqueros,
nomás chupando la sange
a la gente, a los obreros.
es por eso que zapata
ahora cabalga de nuevo
la revolución civil
¡viva el autogobierno!

**

in the countryside lives the boss,
the landowners and their associates,
the paramilitaries and thugs,
they go around exploiting people,
and taking away our land.
and over there in the city
live the corrupt police,
mafiosos and bankers,
there to suck the blood
of our people, the workers.
and so zapata mounts again
a revolution against the state
we can govern ourselves!

: el barzón (versión maldita vecindad)




workers in the san joaquin valley, california : 1958
photo by george ballis




clandestine union meeting in the san joaquin valley, california : 1938
photo by dorothea lange




el barzón : amparo ochoa



el barzón : maldita vecindad

baila esta cumbia

ah, cumbia. my favorite. so much to say about this beloved working-class dance, but no time now so i'll just announce a very exciting development... p.o.w.e.r. is hosting a weekly cumbia gathering as a fundraiser.

time to perfect your skills!!


tuesdays : 7-8pm
@ power : 32 7th street, sf
$5-10


and here's a little cumbia-dub to help mover la colita ;)


cumbia sobre el río : celso piña (con pato de control machete & blanquito man de king changó)

A Chicana in China

Two things happened in the past two weeks that inspired me to write this post. Firstly, I accompanied my grandmother on a 9-day trip to China. Secondly, I finally found a recording of this song for which I have been searching for years.

(Photo: La Cumbiambera looking out over the Great Wall of China.)

La Maldición de Malinche – Amparo Ochoa y Gabino Palomares

The China trip was an organized tour which basically consisted of visits to historic sites and an array of state-owned shops specializing in jade, peal, silk, tea, etc. Since we didn’t have much opportunity to wander about on our own or interact with the public, I returned with a feeling that I maybe I hadn’t actually been to China after all. Except, of course, I had been, and even through the windows of a tour bus, there were many things I had the opportunity to observe and reflect on. (Photo: Monday morning rush hour in Beijng)

We began our itinerary at the “Forbidden City,” which is known in Chinese as the “Palace Museum.” This, the old home of the Ming and Qing dynasty emperors, is the largest surviving palace complex in the world and consists of 9,999 rooms. It is 600 years old. Over the next nine days we visited historical sites ranging from a renovated portion of the Great Wall, to the Lingyin Buddhist Temple, which is nearly 1,700 years old and still in active use as a place of prayer. It is most famous for the adjacent mountain into which were originally carved 600 Buddhas (see photo). 300 of these still survive.

As we visited these sites, I was impressed to see how in tact they were. These sites have survived centuries of wars, invasions, and revolution. In the past, most of my travel had been within Latin America. I have been to the stripped-down and now colorless remains of Teotihuacan, Tenochtitlan, and Monte Albán in México. I have been to similar sites at Machu Picchu and Saqsayhuaman in Perú. I have even been to Spain—to Granada and Sevilla and Madrid—and have seen where a lot of the splendor of our ancient sites has ended up. I have been to the very port on the Río Gualdaquivir where the stolen gold, jewelry, headdresses, etc. were unloaded. (Photo: Gold from the ancient Americas on display in Granda, Spain in 2007) As I toured China, I reflected on that amazing nation which, throughout the turmoil of history, has never lost control of its own people, of it’s own land. Whether governed by an emperor or the Kuomintang or the Communist Party, China has always been in the hands of the Chinese. Whereas Latin America, as we all know, has suffered the consequences of a brutal invasion, an invasion during which our ancient palaces and places of prayer were deliberately destroyed and torn apart by the colonizers.

I say this not to induce nostalgia nor regret nor any other sentiment that might be accompanied by sighs of “if-only”. What I took away from seeing China’s national treasures still in tact was not a sense of self-pity or sadness for my own people, but rather a sense of pride. Because what I realized was that, even though in this day and age we can only imagine the splendor of our ancestor’s creations, our historical sites at one time were as detailed and breathtaking as China’s. But more important than aesthetics is the fact that our sites also held as much symbolism and meaning and were constructed with the same degree of science and thoughtfulness and intent as were those of the Chinese. (Photo: roof detail from the Palace Museum)

I do not, however, intend to glorify indigenous imperial powers or systems of class stratification be they Mexica (Aztec) or Inca or Ming or otherwise. There is something to be said, however, for having one’s national history in tact, for being able to look back on the past and claim it and learn from it, for being able to build on it or change it's trajectory as the people see fit. As indigenous people of the Americas, it goes without saying that much of our past was stolen from us over centuries of intentional suppression and destruction. But this, too, is part of our story. As a Chicana, I feel grateful to have been to China and to have seen the way the Chinese people have cared for their history. I am inspired by their tenacity and by their ability to move forward with new visions of what their future history might be.

Chinese tourist taking a photo of the 600-yr old Temple of Heaven in Beijing

Calaca Rockera

Rockeras Sin Fronteras reader Rick Rivers suggested we check out his ceramic sculpture entitled "Rock-N-Rollero." As it turns out, it features a calaca rockera, which La Cumbaimbera thought was way too cool. To read Rick's explanation of the piece, visit:

http://chican-izmo.blogspot.com/2008/10/rock-n-rollero-rock-n-roller.html


Thanks for sharing, Rick!

¡que viva miriam makeba!

miriam makeba died yesterday :(

may her beautiful voice, and spirit of tireless struggle against the legacies of racism and colonialism, live on...


oxgam : miriam makeba



for more on the music of south africa's fight against apartheid you really must see: amandla! a revolution in four-part harmony.

Los Enanitos Verdes rock the Fillmore

After Wednesday night’s Enanitos Verdes show La Cumbiambera could die happy for three reasons:

Reason 1: The show opened with “Houdini 2”—one of my favorite songs—the haunting experimental tune from Pescado Original that is about a Houdini impersonator who fails to escape his chains and drowns in the bottom of a river. The recorded version also features Orishas rapper Yotuel. I never thought I’d hear this song live.

Reason 2: Felipe Staiti finally brought his son Juan Pablo to Northern California. Juan Pablo has accompanied the band in certain L.A. shows (he lives and studies guitar there) and has played with his dad in some Mendoza shows, but this time Juan Pablo assumed his position as the Tour ‘08 rhythm guitarist. He is a beautiful and talented young man, and besides, what’s more enjoyable than a good family act?

Reason 3: I shared a microphone with Felipe Staiti.

La Cumbiambera singing “Luz de Dia” (photos & video compliments of La Pachuquita)

I won’t go on here about how Felipe is one of the best guitar players on the planet, but I will say that experiencing one his solos live has all the breathtaking emotion and climatic qualities of good sex, but since music lives somewhere both inside and outside of the body, a Felipe solo is a thousand times more intense. Case in point, this solo from the jazz lounge version of Amores Lejanos. At some point (which doesn’t come through well on the video), Felipe made his SG ‘72 sound just like a sax. He once blogged on MySpace that this guitar “es cada vez más un piano...” I can understand why.



But Felipe, of course, is only one third of the band. Felipe, Marciano, and Daniel have been actively making music together for the past three decades, and it shows both in their musicianship and in their on-stage chemistry. At various points in the show, Marciano put Felipe to the challenge by improvising melodies on the mic and then stepping back for Felipe to replicate them on his instrument. Of course Felipe hit the exact notes every time.

The truly amazing thing, though, is that Los Enanitos continue to have successful tours. They come to the U.S. at least once a year, and every show I go to—whether in L.A. or Sunnyvale or Sacramento—is packed. This year they didn’t even have new material, but it didn’t matter. They combined some classics with some lesser known tracks from Pescado Original (their 2006 album) and threw in a resurrection—the 1992 ballad “Amigos,” which Felipe and Marciano performed as a duet. Add to that a bit of improv and Felipe’s constantly changing guitar solos and what you get is a band that, even after nearly thirty years, offers its fans an original show every time.

¡me gustan los estudiantes!

november 1968. today is 40 years since the start of the longest student strike in u.s. history. the third world liberation front strike at san francisco state won a college of ethnic studies at that university, and helped build a national movement for student rights and educational equity. it also helped to establish a proud legacy of militant rebellion by young people of color that continues to inspire...

october 2008. la lucha sigue... last friday immigrant high school & university students here took to the streets against the recent i.c.e. raids. police closed 3 bart stations during the morning rush to keep them from crossing to the other side of the bay, but hundreds of students still made it to the city, lead a march to i.c.e headquarters, and blocked driveways to the detention center for the entire afternoon.




me gustan los estudiantes (i like the students) : ángel parra (original, violeta parra)


¡que vivan los estudiantes,
jardín de las alegrías!
son aves que no se asustan
de animal ni policía,
y no le asustan las balas
ni el ladrar de la jauría...

**

long live the students!
gardens of joy
birds that don't frighten
because of animals or police
not scared of bullets
or packs of barking dogs...


slides of the anti-i.c.e.manifestación here & from the twlf strike in 68 here.

la tita

today is my grandma's birthday! 81 añitos, wow!! feliz cumpleaños!!!!!!!!!















foto 1: chavela (right). tijuana, circa 1941.
foto 2: chavela. chula vista, 2007.


she loves tucanes de tijuana...



el tucanazo : los tucanes de tijuana

nuestros muertos no se olvidan

¡feliz día de muertos!

**

nuestra historia hay que escribir
nuestra vida tiene raíz
desgraciada la nación
sin memoria, sin historia



2 de octubre : maldita vecindad

**

we honor & remember our dead

our antepasados...
our fallen freedom fighters...
our people stolen from us by armies, borders, and wars...



* this illustration by josué, based in méxico, df. see more of his beautiful work here at: el meszcalito. muchísimas gracias, josué ;)