Our story begins with a look back at Broken Man, a homeless, penniless artist who made a big splash on the shores of the Rio Grande, but failed to make his way to El Tiempo Grande – The Big Time, over 25 years of auteur art making. Will Broken Man, Rev’s past self, find the courage to self heal and rise up to realize his dream? :: Watch Episode 1 :: / :: Watch Episode 3 ::
We hope you enjoy this strange story of self, as it unfolds both in real life and inside the mind of an artist with an impossible dream. :: Find out more about Rev Le Rev ::
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Community Publishing Announces Live-Stream / Podcast Promoting New Mexico Arts & Small Business via Film Industry Professionals
ALBUQUERQUE, NM December 14, 2020 – The Albuquerque based media company, Community Publishing, is announcing the launch of a new hybrid Live-Stream / Podcast on Friday January 1, 2021 and every Friday thereafter. Sponsored by the leader in podcasting, Anchor FM, smARTalk will leverage the Film Industry Professionals in New Mexico to help promote the New Mexico Arts (of all mediums) community and small businesses by interviewing said professionals about their New Mexico based film projects. The show will be Livestreamed on Facebook and Twitter but will also be available to listen to as a podcast via Spotify, Google Podcasts and Apple Podcasts.
Film Industry Actors, Directors, Screenwriters and other Professionals will be interviewed in 2 segments where they will discuss their specific project and their experience in New Mexico. Smaller micro-segments will feature New Mexican visual artists, musicians, writers and entrepreneurs. A veteran of the TV industry, the show’s host, Alex Paramo, will be pushing his guests to reveal social issues that they are passionate about. “To have an insightful, entertaining and meaningful conversation, I will be focusing on social causes that these folks are committed to working on. A great many folks you see on-screen have dedicated their time and resources to innovative and important social projects and that is what we will focus on.”
The premiere episode will feature City of Albuquerque, Cultural Services Deputy Director Hakim Bellamy. Mr. Bellamy is also Albuquerque’s Inaugural Poet Laureate, Author and Emcee. The micro-segments will feature local small business owner Mike Silva of Rude Boy Cookies, Chris Brennan of Reviva, Author Audrey McNamara, and Painter Lynnette Haozous. smARTalk Production Manager Colleen Elvidge states, “We want this show to be as representative of New Mexico culture(s) as possible. In leveraging the film community filming in New Mexico – Netflix, Universal Studios – we are aiming to shine the spotlight on the incredible group of talented artists of all mediums that are unique to New Mexico.”
Community Publishing is locally owned and operated out of Albuquerque, New Mexico. Founded in 2015, Community Publishing publishes multimedia books & blog articles from artists of all mediums. The independent media company is focused on providing a platform for diverse content from creators of traditionally underrepresented communities. #####
l’art pour l’art, was coined in the early 19th century by the French philosopher Victor Cousin. The phrase expresses the belief held by many writers and artists, especially those associated with Aestheticism, that art needs no justification, that it need serve no political, didactic, or other end. Encyclopedia Britannica
Right, there should be no justification to create art for simply purpose of creative expression. But what if the medium and media provided to create art are facilitated by a cause? Taken one step further, what if the moment was created on the periphery of movement? Specifically, the Black Lives Matter movement.
Making a Left at Albuquerque
In Albuquerque, New Mexico we had such an occasion arise due to the BLM protests organized to shine a light on Police Brutality and injustices by those in power, over people of color and specifically African Americans.
Let me back up a little because, this is, From the Left Field Bleachers, and we always juxtapose something from the sports world with our society at-large and use it as a starting point for conversation. I’ll start with LeBron James, the greatest basketball player of all time – GOAT. He is the greatest because much like speaking out on social issues, he began making his teammates better from the jump – the start of his career. Michael Jordan, on the other hand took longer to realize that he needed to make his teammates better in order for him to get to the next level and that didn’t happen until later in his career.
Back in Albuquerque, Downtown, to be more specific, business owners along Route 66 put up plywood boards to “protect” their businesses from, among others, folks pretending to be protestors but actually trying to incite violence thereby working against the cause. Eventually artists were invited to paint on the plywood boards that covered the windows and doors of businesses, with the general effort being titled Paint for Peace. There were some amazing works of art to be sure. Colorful, creative, adventurous. and many on the theme of peace. But are peace and justice synonymous?
The photos of the art featured in this gallery were taken by Community Publishing in a public setting. The artwork remains the creative property of the artists, please be mindful and respectful of their intellectual/creative property.
Lasting Peace
Trinity Nuclear Bomb Test Site, NM
Semantics mean the world sometime and lets deconstruct the word peace for a second: Freedom from disturbance, tranquility. A state or period in which there is no war or a war has ended. If we unpack these first two definitions in our mind we can imagine a place of, well tranquility. I love peace. I think its should be the goal that all humans should be moving towards. But… Is peace like this dependent on justice. It doesn’t seem like it’s dependent upon any enlightenment on the part of the inhabitants of this planet. A ghost town or a nuclear bomb site provide that type of peace, haunting, fragile and temporary. If we move to the archaic definition, peace is defined as: Used as an order to remain silent. Ponder that as you continue to explore what peace means to you and what it looks like when you visualize it. Should ‘Lasting’ and ‘fundamental’ be part of the definition for peace? I believe so and I think most people do as well. These days and certainly during Black Lives Matter issues/events/protests its more effective to be explicit rather than implicit.
"You can’t separate peace from freedom because no one can be at peace unless he has his (their) freedom.' Malcolm X
Fundamental/Foundational Peace is a multi-stepped approach which involves justice, equity and repatriation(s). Peace is a wonderful concept, an ideal that we can reach together, be we need to use our collective voices/platforms to explicitly verbalize the injustices in our society with the aim to rectify them immediately. Whether you are LeBron James on a global platform or one of the talented visual artists on 5th and Central, the time is now to be deliberate when standing for peace and obvious in our plan to get there. What are your thoughts?
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Uno de los hitos tecnológicos en la historia de la humanidad ha sido la invención de la radio. Por sus radiofrecuencias se ha transmitido toda clase de información y sonidos siendo uno de los medios más masivos durante todo el siglo XX. Nuestros abuelos desarrollaron la mayor parte de su vida cerca de los radio-receptores para enterarse de noticias y acompañar sus vidas al compás de armonías y ritmos variados en todo el globo. Nuestros padres, que vieron el nacimiento de la televisión igual mantenían la costumbre de encender la radio. Yo, particularmente, crecí en una familia donde escuchar radio era parte de la exposición cultural y política y desarrollé un profundo amor por el trabajo que se realiza del otro lado del micrófono.
Viaje de Radio en Albuquerque
Ha habido grandes profesionales de este medio, pero también muchos aficionados, voluntarios que han levantado, desde la segunda mitad del siglo XX, espacios radiales comunitarios que se salieron de los, cada vez más estrictos, cánones comerciales del medio. La estación de radio pública KUNM, 89.9FM tiene, entre muchos shows dirigidos por voluntarios, el programa del colectivo Raíces, un programa que divulga la cultura ibero latinoamericana y está siempre dispuesto a hablar de los temas de interés de su comunidad. El grupo es diverso y toma todas las decisiones de forma horizontal y distribuyéndose las tareas necesarias para mantener el programa al aire. En este espacio fue donde finalmente pude cumplir mi sueño de hacer radio.
Cuando me mudé a Albuquerque en el 2003 mi madre, que ya vivía allí, me hizo escuchar el programa y resonaba por los parlantes la voz de Henry González. En una de sus salidas al aire repitió la frecuente invitación a sumarse al “colectivo” Raices, así fue que en ese momento llamé. El siempre muy amable locutor de inmediato me dijo que me sumara a la próxima s reunión y desde ese momento compartí con ellos casi diez años de pasión por la radio. Hoy les comparto una entrevista realizada el 7 de junio de este año al señor Henry González.
Entrevista con Henry Gonzáles
Henry González at KUNM
SP: Como descubriste el colectivo Raíces? Comienzos del colectivo (70s)?
HG: Yo había ido a estudiar a la universidad en California, y cuando me estaba mudando de regreso a New Mexico, ya cerca me puse a buscar radios mientras manejaba y de repente escucho que pasaban la canción de Pablo Milanés a Ho Chi Ming y dije “esta radio es interesante”. De ahí en adelante la escuché siempre. Pero fue recién en el año 84 que, escuchando en el programa música de la nueva trova, finalmente decidí llamar para ofrecerme como voluntario en la estación. Además de Raíces, hice los programas de Free Form (programa de formato libre en cuanto a la elección musical) y llegué a ser coordinador de la estación así como del colectivo Raíces.
Expresiones Culturales
SP: Por qué apostaron a hacer un programa promoviendo las expresiones culturales que no eran tan solo la Hispana Nuevo Mexicana, chicana, Mexicana, sino que fue más allá de las fronteras, investigando y compartiendo música de todo el mundo latino? ?Que encontraban en esa música que resonaba con ustedes?
HG: Ya desde el comienzo había miembros de sur y centro américa que aportaban su música. No era raro escuchar a la nueva trova o folklore de distintos países. Creo que además los miembros que nacimos en EE.UU. no éramos de los que escuchaban la música comercial de las otras estaciones, esa música toda igual sonando por horas. Muchos estábamos y estamos preocupados por lo que pasa en el mundo y nos gusta aprender de lo que pasa en otros lugares contado por su gente. La música ayuda mucho en eso.
SP: ¿Por qué crees que ha sobrevivido tantos años el programa?
HG: Bueno, el programa ha sobrevivido porque desde su comienzo se estableció casi de forma natural una polifonía de voces y pensamientos los cuales son respetados porque enriquecen a nuestro programa. La audiencia sintoniza Raíces y un día estará un conductor con su estilo, sus opiniones y el radioescucha puede estar en desacuerdo y a la semana siguiente otro conductor con otro estilo y opiniones. Además, siempre se respeta mucho la opinión de la audiencia y se fomenta su participación. Esto hace que la gente no se canse y que nadie del colectivo se sienta que debe amoldarse más allá de las reglas básicas y el propósito general del programa.
SP: Como dices, el Colectivo Raíces es un trabajo de promoción de la riqueza de la diversidad, esto contrasta fuertemente con la idea que promueve el sistema de hacernos cada vez más parecidos, de “amoldarnos”.
HG: Si, hay mucha riqueza en la diversidad. Nosotros pasamos música de artistas que en otros lugares pueden ser famosos pero aquí no suenan en las estaciones comerciales, pero también le damos lugar a artistas nuevos, y sobre todo artistas locales. En las radios comerciales nunca le dan lugar a esa gente porque aun no han vendido una cantidad de discos. También promovemos a otros artistas como poetas, directores y actores de teatro, de la danza, es decir de todo tipo de arte. Así mismo, nos visitan organizadores comunitarios y políticos locales para hablar de los temas que le preocupan a nuestra comunidad. El Colectivo Raíces es tan diverso como su comunidad.
SP: KUNM y Raíces promocionan esta idea de que la radio es un espacio para los que no tienen voz y un espacio para escuchar puntos de vista alternativos a los medios corporativos de comunicación. Todo esto también entra en conflicto con los Fake News (un nombre nuevo a una tradición que viene al menos desde la época de Goebbels y fue mejorada por los medios de comunicación de las corporaciones).
HG: Así es, la estación tiene el lema de que su energía viene de la comunidad, lo cual es además materialmente real ya que su principal fuente de sustento son las donaciones que hace la audiencia; la comunidad con su multiplicidad de voces hace que sea una radio interesante, donde no se va a dar una noticia solo desde un ángulo, donde las opiniones son variadas. Claro que uno podría ver cierta tendencia entre sus miembros, pero somos muy diferentes e incluso a veces hay discusiones. Lo cierto es que aquí el departamente de noticias siempre está investigando en profundidad para tratar de no estar repitiendo falsedades o verdades a medias.
HG: Recuerdo, para dar un ejemplo, que en los 80s yo estaba pasando música sandinista y me llamó un hombre muy enojado porque estábamos pasando esa música. Me dijo que su padre había estado en Centro América combatiendo el comunismo y que yo estaba promoviendo esa ideología. Le dije que me gustaba lo que representaba esta canción y que podía quejarse con la dirección de la estación. No se si el hombre cambió su parecer, pero al menos fue expuesto a ver que otras personas en los Estados Unidos piensan diferente a él y no aprobamos la intromisión de la CIA en otros países.
SP: ¿Cómo evalúas la importancia de los medios independientes en estos momentos de levantamientos populares contra el racismo, de pandemias, guerras y destrucción del medio ambiente?
HG: Estos medios independientes como KUNM o Community Publishing son muy importantes por esto de promover la diversidad de voces, de permitirle a la comunidad participar de forma directa sin intermediarios ni intérpretes. Son estos espacios los que ayudan a combatir el racismo y la xenofobia.
Participa en tu Radio Pública
SP: Convocatoria a que la gente participe en las radios públicas y en Raíces.
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Mariposa Music Presents: Sunflower River Music Festival Series
Spend a beautiful Spring Day in the midst of open-space wonder enjoying live music, dancing, arts, crafts, and craft beer during the inaugural Sunflower River Music Festival! We will have your favorite, LOCAL arts/crafts vendors, live art and craft beer from New Mexico’s premiere brewery – Marble Brewery! Festivities begin at 11:00 am with music beginning at 12:00pm!!
This will be the first of 4 music festivals in beautiful Los Padillas, New Mexico on the Sunflower River property. Close to Albuquerque (free parking), and with the Sandia Mountains as a backdrop, this is the festival we have all been waiting for!
Live music begins at 12:00 pm. Our lineup will feature some of the most popular bands in Albuquerque with an out of town guest act! We will also be offering educational tours of the grounds, and the surrounding environment as well. Take your shoes off, dip them in the Sunflower River and come spend the day with us.
Musical Line-Up 4/7
Temporary Tattoos – Albuquerque, NM
Loki Moon – Durango, CO
Moonshine Blind – Albuquerque, NM
Le Chat Lunatique – Albuquerque, NM
Tickets
General Admission $25 – Includes:
Free Parking
VIP $60 – Includes:
Free VIP Parking Section
VIP Seating Section
Free Limited Edition Sunflower River Music Festival T-Shirt
Educational Tour of the Grounds/Farm
Friends of Sunflower River $100 – Includes:
Free VIP Parking Section
VIP Seating Section
Free Limited Edition Sunflower River Music Festival T-Shirt
Educational Tour of the Grounds/Farm
Free Beverage
Meet the Musicians and Photo Op in Green Room
Your Name Listed as a Friend of Sunflower River on all of our printed materials
Notes: 21 + Please. You will be emailed the address of Sunflower River upon purchase.
Vendors – Live Artists
Join New Mexico’s top artists as they create art, inspired by the music of our incredible line-up and the beautiful surroundings of the Sunflower River!
We are bringing in some of the most talented arts/crafts folks in town for your shopping pleasure. Items are made and sourced in New Mexico!
Brought to you by Mariposa Music:
Click links to follow us on Facebook / Instagram
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I grew up in Jackson Height, Queens, NYC. It take roughly 60 minutes to travel from my “house” to the Theater District in Manhattan, where magic on the stage is in continuous flow. Funny thing is that my friends and I born and raised NYer’s, talk about where we lived in terms of “house” when most of us actually lived in apartments. And most of us did not have the pleasure of experiencing a play on Broadway. Why? Because most of us were from working-poor families and could not afford it. Broadway plays were not part of our paradigm.
Broadway Noise and Funk
The first Broadway show I attended was Bring in da’ Noise, Bring in da’ Funk. It was an exciting, multi-sensory experience! The music, the dancing, the ambiance was pure joy. Due to this first exposure to live theater, I developed a greater appreciation for actors, performers and the act of writing for a live performances. Since that time I have come to personally believe that playwriting is the highest writing form!
Princess Marisol & the Moon Thieves
Leaving NYC was a big decision for me, as one would imagine. I missed my family of friends, my family, as well as the rhythm and the pace of the city. I first visited New Mexico to attend the Gathering of Nations PowWow. New Mexico, so enchanting with it’s beauty, lure and mysticism promised to deliver to me the life that I never imagined as a kid, walking up and down the crowded streets of NYC. It was during that first visit that I came into the acquaintance of two talented musicians, Matias Pizarro and Keith Sanchez, who along with Glenn ‘Buddha’ Benevidez and Todd Sanchez formed the phenomenal band Stoic Frame. I developed a fast friendship with both of them and admired their talents from afar until I moved to New Mexico. Read more about Stoic Frame by clicking here
The Land of Enchantment
In New Mexico, the Universe delivered to me a gift named Marisol (Spanish for Sun and Sea), the Princess of My Soul. She was the spark that ignited the process that enabled me to share the story of Princess Marisol & the Moon Thieves with everyone. Princess Marisol & the Moon Thieves is based upon the real life characters: Marisol Paramo (Princess Marisol), Matias Pizarro and Juan Carlos Ramirez (the Moon Thieves) and their interactions. The fact that these two rock & roll musicians visiting from Los Angeles would spend part of their time making a little girl laugh was heartwarming.
To Laugh and Cry
Narrated by the amazing vocalist Jackie Zamora, and Illustrated by the immensely talented Audrey McNamara, my little Marisol executes the voice of Princess Marisol in this whimsical story about a little girl that discovers her voice – her confidence: and two mischevious musicians who steal the Moon. The soundtrack is a brilliant eclectic set of melodies by Diplomacy of Mad Science (Matias Pizarro and Juan Carlos Ramirez) featuring Latin, Electronica, Pop, African and Pop sounds to mention just a few. On page 23 Marisol, who was 5 at the time, sings! I have listened to it often and it often makes me cry tears of joy. I am so proud of my 7 year old Marisol, great granddaughter to a Navajo Medicine Man. She is bright, creative, articulate and full of a lifelong of ideas!
FUSION Theatre Company
When I first received a call from Dennis Gromelski, Executive Director of FUSION Theatre Company, I could not think straight. My mind was in a fog as I though to myself, “a professional theater company wants to take my story and make it into a play.” Not only that, Dennis informed me that award winning playwright Jen Silverman would be adapting my story for the stage! To top it off, my old friend Keith Sanchez would be writing the score for the play and performing it. For a guy from Queens, NYC, that never attended a Broadway play, the honor of my story being adapted for the stage is almost overwhelming.
When my time in this dimension comes to a close my Marisol can say two things with pride about her daddy: “he wrote a book about me that was made into a play” and “he taught me what God is: God is Love.”
Performance Schedule
Performance schedule and information can be found by clicking here. More information and to purchase my bilingual Multimedia Book can be found by clicking here.
*Article Originally Published in June of 2014 ***** I would like to thank everyone mentioned and a few others involved in the production of my multimedia story including but not limited to: super talented musical contributor Christian Orellana, my partner in life and love Yvette Sandoval and my mom who gave her all to put food on the table for me and my brothers. A special salute to all the wonderful sound engineers!
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Albuquerque is a medium-sized city with small town sensibilities. You start seeing the same faces over and over again. Many of the faces in Albuquerque belong to talented artists of all mediums. Living with and around artists (painters, musicians, actors, writers, photographers…) for these last several years has allowed me to “discover” a fascinating link between them: the ability for their work to transcend the everyday tasks demanded of us by our current economic system (work, pay bills, uhm work some more, bury somebody and work some more).
For those unfortunate folks who work somewhere that is not contributing to their happiness, the arts can provide an escape, a refuge from their daily “reality.” But can the arts “create” reality or better put change our current paradigm from a “war-based” one to a “peace-based” one? The power of Art Therapy is well documented. But for folks who are not “conscious” of their affliction, the arts also have great power.
We have all been immersed in a good book or movie. Similarly many works of literature inspire, rejuvenate and/or promote motivation. Just as advertising/marketing pros capture our minds through carefully crafted uses of words, colors and memes, we can as a global society capture the power of the arts to move us towards a peaceful future.
At the core of war is fear. The way I see it, sociopath leaders create the conditions for war and rush to use the tools of communication to convince us that war is ok, acceptable, necessary even vital to our survival. War is only necessary for their survival. The answer to war comes in breaking down walls created by fear. Grammy Award winner Omar Akram (Afghani American) explains that he plays instrumental music so his art can be communicated to everyone regardless of culture, nationality etc.
The key is “Arts Immersion Therapy.” Arts Immersion Therapy is not covered by your health insurance but it is available right outside your door. It involves visiting the wonderful galleries, independent book stores, local music venues, local watering holes and eateries that provide a space for the arts. Unfortunately too much of our “national” media are focused on war – Corporate TV/Film. Avoid those and visit small local movie houses, and live-theatre venues. Your support of the arts has reciprocal benefits: the dollars spent in a local establishment will allow that establishment to pay artists to display their work and in turn benefit society and move us in a positive direction.
“We often think of peace as the absence of war, that if powerful countries would reduce their weapon arsenals, we could have peace. But if we look deeply into the weapons, we see our own minds- our own prejudices, fears and ignorance. Even if we transport all the bombs to the moon, the roots of war and the roots of bombs are still there, in our hearts and minds, and sooner or later we will make new bombs. To work for peace is to uproot war from ourselves and from the hearts of men and women. To prepare for war, to give millions of men and women the opportunity to practice killing day and night in their hearts, is to plant millions of seeds of violence, anger, frustration, and fear that will be passed on for generations to come.” Thich Nhat Hanh
*****
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The Rail Yards Market (RYM) is committed to promoting local businesses and boosting the local economy by providing small, locally owned businesses increased exposure both at the RYM and outside of it. Vendors are rotated regularly with the emphasis on keeping the RYM fresh and vibrant and exposing visitors to the amazing locally grown produce, food products, arts and crafts. Local produced items, many using local materials, are often created on the spot while you wait. Click the image on the right for more info.
The first two seasons of the Rail Yards Market has generated over 1 million dollars in revenue! A steady increase of vendors from 60 in 2014 to 80 in 2015 generated an increase in revenue for vendors. With over 100 vendors this season, that number is sure to increase exponentially.
1. Helps the Local Economy
The benefits of shopping local are well documented and publicized. For example according to the organization Keep It Querque, “Your dollar recirculates 254% more when you spend it with a Local Retailer. When you dine at a Locally Owned Restaurant your dollar recirculates 287% further.” Therefore a 10% shift would add an additional $179 million to the local economy each year.
2. Benefits the Community
There are many misconceptions when it comes to shopping local such as having to pay more for goods. These are mostly false. Additionally, your patronage allows for local-shops to keep their prices down. Click image to the left for more info. The benefits of shopping local go far beyond the economic benefits to the consumer and shop-keeper. Benefits such as building personal relationships with your neighbors, building a sustainable environment, building a more intimate community, building a vibrant community of friends and family knowing that your patronage improves the quality of their lives and yours as well.
3. Help Reduce Environmental Impact
At the Rail Yards Market the vendors create what they sell using NM sourced materials. According to Sustainable Connections, “Locally owned businesses can make more local purchases requiring less transportation and generally set up shop in town or city centers as opposed to developing on the fringe.This generally means contributing less to sprawl, congestion, habitat loss and pollution.”
111 Media Collective
Remember before you decide where you shop, ask yourselves, what’s your Local Motive. See you Sunday!
*** Thank you to Keep It Querque for data and graphics!
*****
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Ignorance has a voice
and its loud and full of hatred
Small minds spouting small minded words as though some untapped fountain has been unearthed
again
As though the illusion of racism, sexism, homophobia truly exists and the only way “to do away with the evils” is to lose our humanity.
*****
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Community Publishing is committed to providing a digital platform for local artists of all mediums through the creation of multimedia eBooks, while promoting literacy in our community. Community Publishing uses a “ground up” approach which emphasizes an all-encompassing collaborative method.
4 years ago I honestly think we came across a teenage Bigfoot! This video discusses and describes the night we went out and found a den and scat and hair samples.
As we left we came across another, walking towards the woods as we were leaving. We were all in gear and with headlamps on and winter gear to stay warm. I realized my boots weren’t good enough for that type of cold extreme while being out for a few hours that night. It was freezing!
The other who was walking towards us on the river bed did not respond as we yelled hello or tried to get the person’s attention. this figure just walked right passed us, followed the river bed that went around a bend, instead of cutting across naturally as we were doing. The figure was in all black and looked like it was wearing a hoodie, black gloves and boots and as it walked passed us and the bend it finally looked over towards us and our headlamps revealed it’s face. Either this person loves extreme freezing temperatures and didn’t need more than a hoodie and gloves on, and has no issue with walking out alone into the woods at midnight in the middle of Dec, without any camping gear.
The next day, we posted up that we came across someone out there who didnt’ respond to us for some reason. We got a reply from someone who said he was deaf and was just out strolling around in the middle of the woods in the middle of Dec and in the middle of a known bigfoot activity area, and he says he just ignored us. I say bullx#*t!
Everyone else I was with simply believed this explanation.
No way! To be continued…..
*****
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Curated by Mary Ann Gilbreth, Ed.D., Department of Teacher Education, Educational Leadership and Policy, at the University of New Mexico. This collections includes the work of her students from several of her Reading Methods Classes, promoting cultural diversity in the classroom.
I grew up in
Alex Paramo
“
From the Left Field Bleachers: Art for Art’s Sake
Right, there should be no justification to create art for simply purpose of creative expression. But what if the medium and media provided to create art are facilitated by a cause? Taken one step further, what if the moment was created on the periphery of movement? Specifically, the Black Lives Matter movement.
Making a Left at Albuquerque
In Albuquerque, New Mexico we had such an occasion arise due to the BLM protests organized to shine a light on Police Brutality and injustices by those in power, over people of color and specifically African Americans.
Let me back up a little because, this is, From the Left Field Bleachers, and we always juxtapose something from the sports world with our society at-large and use it as a starting point for conversation. I’ll start with LeBron James, the greatest basketball player of all time – GOAT. He is the greatest because much like speaking out on social issues, he began making his teammates better from the jump – the start of his career. Michael Jordan, on the other hand took longer to realize that he needed to make his teammates better in order for him to get to the next level and that didn’t happen until later in his career.
There have been some notable athletes to stand up for social causes and against injustices from Muhammad Ali, to Tommie Smith, John Carlos and Peter Norman of the 1968 Olympic Games, athletes have taken a stand at their own peril or that of their careers. For example Peter Norman was ostracized and had his life ruined by the Australian Olympic Team for standing in support with Smith and Carlos.
No Justice, No Piece of Art
Back in Albuquerque, Downtown, to be more specific, business owners along Route 66 put up plywood boards to “protect” their businesses from, among others, folks pretending to be protestors but actually trying to incite violence thereby working against the cause. Eventually artists were invited to paint on the plywood boards that covered the windows and doors of businesses, with the general effort being titled Paint for Peace. There were some amazing works of art to be sure. Colorful, creative, adventurous. and many on the theme of peace. But are peace and justice synonymous?
Lasting Peace
Semantics mean the world sometime and lets deconstruct the word peace for a second: Freedom from disturbance, tranquility. A state or period in which there is no war or a war has ended. If we unpack these first two definitions in our mind we can imagine a place of, well tranquility. I love peace. I think its should be the goal that all humans should be moving towards. But… Is peace like this dependent on justice. It doesn’t seem like it’s dependent upon any enlightenment on the part of the inhabitants of this planet. A ghost town or a nuclear bomb site provide that type of peace, haunting, fragile and temporary. If we move to the archaic definition, peace is defined as: Used as an order to remain silent. Ponder that as you continue to explore what peace means to you and what it looks like when you visualize it. Should ‘Lasting’ and ‘fundamental’ be part of the definition for peace? I believe so and I think most people do as well. These days and certainly during Black Lives Matter issues/events/protests its more effective to be explicit rather than implicit.
Fundamental/Foundational Peace is a multi-stepped approach which involves justice, equity and repatriation(s). Peace is a wonderful concept, an ideal that we can reach together, be we need to use our collective voices/platforms to explicitly verbalize the injustices in our society with the aim to rectify them immediately. Whether you are LeBron James on a global platform or one of the talented visual artists on 5th and Central, the time is now to be deliberate when standing for peace and obvious in our plan to get there. What are your thoughts?
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