La pandemia del Covid-19 ha resaltado con crudeza inequidades que muchos hace tiempo planteamos deben ser revertidas, o aun mejor eliminadas. Entre quienes más han sufrido esta pandemia están los artistas dado que en prácticamente el 100% de los casos son autónomos y por lo tanto no tienen otra fuente de ingresos más que el producido por sus presentaciones en vivo o la venta de sus obras. Con el cierre de salas de espectáculos y galerías muchos fueron forzados a implementar modalidades virtuales para compartir sus trabajos así como dar clases. Esto no es nuevo, no es producto únicamente de una reacción ante la pandemia pero sí fue debido a esta que se impuso como única forma posible en la situación de confinamiento en el que se encuentra la mayor parte de la población mundial. Esta serie de entrevistas se enfoca en las vivencias de diferentes artistas, de diferentes formas de arte y en diferentes países pero con evidentes puntos en común y las ganas de proponer un futuro más equitativo, en particular el acceso a las condiciones para producir y apreciar arte, el acceso a la belleza. – Sebas
Sea este espacio también un tributo a los técnicos que ayudan a que las obras puedan ser apreciadas con la calidad que se merecen.
El Cantante
Conversamos con el cantante Martín De León sobre cómo lo encontró la pandemia en plena gira, la importancia de los técnicos y el público en vivo el cual, dice, puede hacerlos cantar horas.
Los inicios de Martín se remontan a los años 70 en Buenos Aires, con el movimiento café-concierto, junto a Miguel Saravia (su primer patrocinador), Opus 4, Cacho Tirao, Vinícius de Moraes, Maria Creuza, entre otros. En 1975 llega a Estados Unidos, contratado por el Café Latinoamericano de Manhattan. Actuó junto a Facundo Cabral, Ginamaría Hidalgo y el maestro Sabicas. Para obtener más información, haga clic aquí. Find more information and previous articles from Sebastian Pais here.
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My path to finding music is much different than most. I took piano lessons for a few weeks when I was about 6 years old, but was force fed classical pieces with a metronome that failed to capture my interest. From then on, sports captivated my life and took up almost all of my free time. I loved listening to music and went through all the stages of a 90’s kid. My tastes varied from Eminem and ODB, to Alan Jackson and Kenny Chesney, String Cheese Incident and Phish, Green Day and The Offspring, and everything in between. I grew a deep appreciation for music and lyrics, but didn’t have time to dedicate to the craft. It wasn’t until I turned 18, upon realizing that I didn’t have a future in sports, that I bought a used guitar from Marc’s Guitars on Central and began my journey. I started spending time with an old friend Jerel Garcia and we learned some Pink Floyd, Beatles, and Grateful Dead songs together. Playing together with someone felt similar to sports in that you have to work as a team, share responsibility, and be creative in order to be successful.
While my interest in music was sparked, I knew I had a long ways to go in order to become a performing musician. As I packed my bags the summer after my senior year and headed to South Bend, Indiana, to start a new chapter in my life, my guitar became my best friend and my way to make new friends. The advantage to picking up music relatively late in life was that I soaked up everything I could from the brilliant musicians around me at Notre Dame. From bar chords, to soloing, to keeping rhythm with the drums, I practiced relentlessly while my counterparts seemed to be just going through the motions. I am eternally grateful for each of them who taught me something unique to their own skill set, and that was my first important lesson from music: it brings people from all different backgrounds, religions, races, and skill sets together.
I may have never started playing live in front of an audience, had it not been for my friends signing me up for a gig at a bar in Australia without my notice. They gave me a half pint of Jack Daniel’s and told me to meet them at the Orient Bar, where my guitar was set up on stage unbeknownst to me. I played horribly, but at least got the feel for how to perform. We eventually started a college rock band King Kake and had a blast playing the parties and events on campus, and I knew that music was something I wanted to do in the future.
First show!
Reviva: Beginnings
After graduating and coming home, I was blessed to reunite with Jerel and his cousin Buddha, forming the core of what eventually would become Reviva. Music has been a part of my life for over a decade now, and I can’t imagine being without it. Music has helped me immensely on my own journey to peace. The best thing I enjoy about songwriting is that it allows me to express my anger over injustices in a positive way. When I became close friends with an Afghani national, I was able to write “Afghani Man” to tell his story of redemption. After reading the book What is the What? by Dave Eggers, I composed the lyrics to the song “Sudan” which is a focus of the book. Hearing about the conditions in the refugee camp Kakuma in Sudan left me feeling depressed and hopeless.
Writing about what I heard and putting it to music was healing for me, showing me another lesson of music: It can be used to heal pain, whether emotional, physical, or social. I have continued to write songs about injustice as a way for my own anger to dissipate, as well as to speak up for those who are impacted by it in our society. Our song “Fiya Way” names the innocent people who have been killed in Albuquerque due to police brutality, from a homeless man camping in the mountains, to an unarmed 19 year old woman running away gunned down in the back. I feel grateful to be able to express my frustrations and anger and not let it consume me by using music as a tool for peace.
We each have our own favorite artists, genres, and styles, but most people across the world can enjoy some type of music. Some music brings joy or comfort, while other songs help us deal with loss and sadness. Much of it reflects the eyes and reality of the artist and their experience on this earth. Music is a way for us to pass down information from generation to generation, as documented in one of my favorite books The World in Six Songs by Daniel Levitin. Reggae music has become my oasis and rock to depend on. Once I heard Bob Marley and Lucky Dube, there was no going back for me. Each of these legends has told the story of oppression in their respective countries with deep insight and forethought. There is something about the guitar and keys on the upbeat that clears my mind and fills me with happiness like no other genre.
The Times They Are A-Changin’
While the music world has changed and we can not currently sing along with our fans or favorite artists, I have a feeling that music will become more important than ever during this time. Whether listening from home and dancing on a quick break from work or teaching children how to sing and memorize lessons, music is a vehicle that has gotten many through tough times before. I have no doubt that as we musicians work from home and find ways to record ourselves during these chaotic times, some of the best music written in our lifetimes will spring up in the upcoming months. Keep your ears ready, ‘cuz the times they are changin’!.
"Come gather ’round people
Wherever you roam
And admit that the waters
Around you have grown
And accept it that soon
You’ll be drenched to the bone
If your time to you is worth savin’
Then you better start swimmin’ or you’ll sink like a stone
For the times they are a-changin’"
Written by Bob Dylan: All Rights Reserved
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In a previous article, I briefly addressed what I call “The Tyranny Of The Mind”, that internal voice filled with doubts and insecurities that constantly threatens to take away one’s true power. My main point is that true power does not rest in the hands of those to whom power is typically attributed. No doubt the wielders of power in the world have the ability to exert a profound impact on the lives of many, to take away freedoms, even to end lives. But the power that I am speaking of is a quality of being that no amount of force or abuse of so-called power, can touch or take away.
Surviving Atrocity
It is an internal source of strength that stands solid, no matter the circumstances. It is the kind of strength exhibited by such individuals as Victor Frankl, a survivor of the Holocaust and the author of /Man’s Search For Meaning./ He tells of his experience of having everything taken away and being imprisoned in the concentration camps, but one thing remained – “the last of the human freedoms – to chose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way. And there were always choices to make. Every day, every hour, offered the opportunity to make a decision, a decision which determined whether you would or would not submit to those powers which threatened to rob you of your very self, your inner freedom.” He went on to say, “man’s inner strength may raise him above his outward fate.”
Untapped Power
It is easy, in times like these, to see the threatening external forces of tyranny out there, preparing to come and snatch away our freedoms. What is much more difficult to see are the internal forces of tyranny that are, day in and day out, mounting their assault on our own true inner power. Those forces take on many forms, often times showing up in very subtle ways that fool us into believing the “propaganda” of our own disempowerment, of our victimhood to all manner of circumstances, injustices and unfairness levied upon us by the world, or the perceived limitations of our situation and environment. But, the truth is, there exists within our minds untapped power to achieve far more than what we imagine.
In my mind, I envision a world where individuals, worldwide, engage in the difficult work of building up their inner strength, overthrowing the Tyranny Of The Mind, and seizing their true power, such that the scales of justice, peace, cooperation, and freedom tip in favor of an unparalleled level of human achievement.
Impossible Dreams
In my mind, it is only through individual self empowerment that we will forever throw off the chains of external tyranny and abuse of power, and come together to form a more perfect union – a union of truly empowered individuals working toward a common good and the achievement of a universal harmony of being and doing. Yes I know, many will brush this away as mere fantasy, as utopian wishful thinking. But that is nothing more than the propaganda of those ruled by fear, mistrust, and insecurity. I know it’s possible, because I see evidence all around that whatever we can think of, dream up, or imagine, we can accomplish. The end result may not always look exactly like we expected, but look around you. Our world is filled with things that once were but fantasy and “impossible dreams”.
Get Up! Stand Up!
So, what will it be? Will you ignite the burning fire within yourself to rise up and overthrow the tyrant in your own mind? It will take work. It will require constant daily practice. It will demand of you that you not give way to the soul sucking distractions all around you, but instead that you get up and stand up for your power to be and do what only you can be and do. Only in this way will we achieve the “impossible dream” of a world that benefits all.
Get Up, Stand Up! – Bob Marley& the Wailers
Thank you all for the time and attention given to this blog. I value it highly. Keep your eyes open for more of my content coming your way soon. Big love to you all!
At some point in our lives, most of us experience some kind of injury or illness that alters our outlook on life. These events often humble us and give us awareness of how grateful we are when we do have our health and livelihood. Whether it’s seeing someone close to us passing away, or feeling that something has been taken away from us, these events often teach us a lesson about changes we need to make either as an individual or community.
For me, tearing my ACL just before the state tournament in basketball gave me some important life lessons. They often joked about the “Senior Curse” at St. Pius, in which the captains and stars of sports teams had season-ending injuries while trying to capture the crown. I had seen some of my fellow classmates in other sports have devastating injuries and end up in the hospital, but I never thought it could happen to me. Alas, that fateful day in Santa Fe while diving for a loose ball at half court, my knee was taken out and would never be the same. We had a great chance to win State that year, and although I was able to play a few more games with the team, I just was never the same player. Up to that point, basketball had been my whole life. I thought I would go to college and join the team there. I now had to reflect on what was really important, and ask some tough questions: How else could I spend my time outside of school? Will people still like me if I am not on a sports team? Was I training or doing things the wrong way and maybe could have prevented my injury?
I eventually learned to cope with my injury and found new and exciting things to do outside of basketball, like playing guitar and writing songs, volunteering for organizations, and making friends who were different from me in many ways. I guess it was something that I needed to be taught somehow. I needed to learn to be more humble and that things weren’t always going to go my way. As I saw several people close to me pass away from illness that year, I realized that bad things happened to good people, and that there was often no reason or rhyme to it. We can try to control everything around us, but sometimes just one stroke of bad luck or bad timing can change, or end, our lives. I had to learn to let go and to live more in the moment instead of meticulously planning for the future.
As Fragile as Life
I have been reflecting on this frequently lately as I see that continued surge of Covid-19 in our country and across the planet. From Russell Westbrook to Tom Hanks and Nick Cordero, famous athletes and celebrities have not been immune to the virus, despite having great medical care. Politicians like Boris Johnson, who laughed off the virus, have ended up fighting for their lives against it. Young people like the 30 year old man in Texas who died from the virus after attending a Covid party often think the illness is a hoax until it is too late.
Neva Give Up
We still have a long fight ahead as a country and planet to help contain and survive this pandemic until there is a vaccine or treatment readily available (which is looking more optimistic by the day). In the meantime, I think there are some lessons we can learn from this tragic illness that has taken lives across the globe. First, I have observed how some countries’ people have put aside personal and political differences to come together for a common cause. The results speak for themselves, and I hope this is something the US population can learn from other nations. Second, maybe the way some of us were going about our lives before all of this could use some adjustments. I no longer need to waste gas driving to work when it is not needed. I also don’t miss singing at bars ‘til 2am as I get older, and my liver is definitely grateful for the change as well. I think many of us have changed for the better, and we need to keep these changes up as things return to the new normal. Third, this pandemic has forced us to evaluate who and what are most important in our lives.
Bosque trails lead to Family/Friends
Many of our circles have gotten smaller, and that is not necessarily a bad thing. I may not need to fly to Europe to be with a long-lost friend when I can take a walk in the Bosque with my family and friends who live here.
Finally, just as my injury taught me, there has never been a better time to live in the moment and not worry about the past or future. There are so many things that are outside of our control right now, and things will likely never be the way they were before. But we are at a crossroads in which we can change ourselves and work together to create a more peaceful and just society. If each of us can take a few minutes each day to show gratitude for our lives and those around us, we may emerge out of this illness as a smarter, kinder, and happier humanity.
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Art Delivers Us From the Ordinary To The Extraordinary
by Stephanie Galloway
Art making is one of those activities that gives us the ability to observe our daily life experiences and see how they are connected to the bigger picture that makes up the entire Universe. Much like the act of looking at the night sky or the grand beauty of nature lets us realize that creation is not only about our little corner of the world but is part of a vast existence.
Art is a way for us to convey and understand the feelings connected with knowing that we are part of something that is infinite! This is why at times when we see a work of art it can give us the same sensation and wonder that seeing the Grand Canyon does. When we do art we can step out of the illusion that we are just defined by the small space we occupy and know that we are limitless!
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Stephanie Galloway
Stephanie Galloway is from Santa Fe, New Mexico. She has been writing poetry since she was a child and still loves to explore the magic in words and their power to touch others deeply. She taught art to children as the Children Zone Leader of the Rail Yards Market and is the founder of Free Art Friday Albuquerque. Community Publishing brings local artists of all mediums together in creative collaborations for distribution as Multimedia Books while promoting literacy in our communities.
Art has the power to create positive social change because of its ability to motivate people to action through invoking strong emotions about an issue. When people see art they can feel a strong connection to it which inspires them to stand for a cause they believe in. For example if you think about protest images, poetry, and songs they are strongly associated with political movements. The art of protest posters and marching songs play a central part in most revolutionary change that has occurred in society.
Art is a strong voice for change that people can connect and identify with because it takes a revolutionary idea and helps others to more clearly visualize it! Art can move people to be active participants in the democratic process which makes it more people centered! So make art and be a positive force for change!
Find some more of my Free Art Friday Albuquerque articles here. Thank you for supporting local arts!
*****
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Stephanie Galloway
Stephanie Galloway is from Santa Fe, New Mexico. She has been writing poetry since she was a child and still loves to explore the magic in words and their power to touch others deeply. She taught art to children as the Children Zone Leader of the Rail Yards Market and is the founder of Free Art Friday Albuquerque. Community Publishing brings local artists of all mediums together in creative collaborations for distribution as Multimedia Books while promoting literacy in our communities.
A month into a year-long hiatus and from Facebook and alcohol, I am tip toeing back into the shallow end of social media (read: human nature). No diss to those who make a living or a “meaning” on cyber space, but I needed a timeout. But alas, I’m still a smart ass and have lots of things to say about our current state of “politics” (if you can still call it that). And without my steady diet of one bottle of cheap wine and 7 – 10 status updates a day … I was in need of a different (read: abstract) and less addictive way to express myself. So, I’ve taken to meming … not to be confused with miming, which would please my detractors who wish nothing more than for me to shut up. But this visual-verbal hybrid form of satire and social commentary allows me to interpret the world around me out “loud” in short bursts of free speech. I fancy myself a political cartoonist, of sorts. One who can’t draw a lick, but I sure do know how to quickly source images on the Interwebs. It allows me to maintain my promise to myself, to win back some of my time (read: life) typically spent staring into the abyss of my Facebook screen…and use it to learn a language, an instrument or a new form of @#$% talking in cyberspace. The residual benefit is that I am no longer on the 25 hour (fake) news cycle, I pretty much get befuddled by news blurbs on the muted televisions at my Planet Fitness once a day, and then I practice the lost art of reading and looking up the facts behind the headlines. That typically, leads to some epiphany or flippant remark that becomes a meme…or as I like to call them, “provocations of democratic discourse.” Every healthy democracy needs a good dose of that!
“Opinions expressed are solely my own and do not express the views or opinions of my myriad of employer(s) on any given day…” (#LifeOfAContractor) I mean really, in the age of Donald J. Trump…do we like ever have to use this disclaimer (with a straight face) again? I digress, which is why memes are effective … there’s no enough time or space to digress. So, each week, what you will get at Community Publishing is a recap of my favorite self-generated memes, as well as one brand new one in each Friday’s post. Then, all the folks who disagreed with me on Facebook can find their way here to … and we can rekindle our flame. I’ve missed you so this past month, no really. (blink, blink)
Speaking of Donnie J, here’s a brand new meme in light of his suggested 20% tariff on Mexican goods in order to reimburse taxpayers for the wall he promised Mexico would pay for; with some subtext of Mexico President Peña Nieto’s cancelled visit with the Commander-in-Cheet(o); with a little bit of Alec Baldwin, SNL and Trump’s compulsive disdain for China thrown in. See? That would have been at least three shared articles and a handful of Facebook posts … I consolidated. Just for you (and me).
And a few of my other faves from last week (there were a handful of bad ones, I will spare you those).
And one from the week before that…
Hope you enjoy! – hb
*****
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Lebron james decision to return to Cleveland after four successful years in Miami caught many sports pundits and fans by surprise. Why would he leave after such a successful run in Miami? Think about it every year he was in Miami the Heat played for a title. Any observer familiar with the NBA would surely bet that a Lebron James-led Miami Heat would be representing the Eastern Conference at the end of the upcoming 2014-2015 season. So why leave all that? To a team that, only the overambitious fans in Cleveland would peg to lead the Eastern Conference this coming season.
Home Sweet Home
Well for one, Lebron’s family lives in North Eastern Ohio. He has deep roots in Akron. Who
wouldn’t want to play at home? Being from NYC I would often daydream of helping Patrick Ewing lead the Knicks to a title!! In Cuba’s Baseball League, the players on each team are actually fromthe province (like a state) that they reside in. What a concept! I often wondered why start-up pro leagues like the USFL and the XFL did not try this, they would have had built in interest in those communities.
*****
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Diversity in Children’s Books: My Motivation by Alex Paramo
Community Publishing was founded on a dollar and a dream, or something like that. Well, not exactly. There were two main motivating factors, equally as important: equity for artists of all mediums and the lack of diversity found in children’s books. I will not delve into the former here, suffice to say that it is still a primary motivator.
As it concerns diversity in children’s books, or lack thereof, I have previously written on this topic and will avoid covering the same ground. I must reemphasize the dearth of people of color in children’s books in every facet of the industry: Authors, Illustrators, Protagonists.
Whet Moser’s article, Diversity in Children’s Books Is Hard to Find—But Important, got me thinking about a point I overlooked in my first article which is the fact that, “Picture books are among the first representations of the broader world that we see. And they are introduced at a critical time.” Indeed folks in the publishing industry know the importance and value of a cover.
Independent Bookstores
Community Publishing recently teamed up with the independent bookstore, Bookworks Albuquerque for a celebration of Samuel’s Story, our latest multimedia children’s book featuring an African American Author (Hakim Bellamy), Illustrator (Melvin Mayes), Music Producer (Roscoe Floyd aka DJ Flo Fader) and protagonist (Samuel). As my daughter Marisol (voice of Princess Marisol of Princess Marisol & the Moon Thieves) browsed around the bookstore, I wondered if she see saw lots of faces on the books that looked like hers? Probably not, but this is part of our team – and here is our plan:
Princess Marisol & the Moon Thieveswritten by yours truly (latino/mestizo) featuring a Native American/Chicana/Latina main character with Juancho, Mato, the Wise Woman and Metzli the moon rounding out the multicultural cast. Narrated by Jackie Zamora (Peru) and Music by Matias Pizzaro (Chile) and Juan Carlos Ramirez (El Salvador).
Samuel’s Story features an all African American creative production team, an African American protagonist and multicultural characters in an urban setting.
The forthcoming Janie & the Hummingbird written by Artist/Musician/Educator Seth Hoffman is a bilingual story about a Hummingbird stuck inside a school library.
The forthcoming Bella the Caterpillar is bilingual and was written by a 7 year old girl (Native American/Chicana/Latina). It is set in the Carribean, narrated by Raquel Rivera (Puerto Rico) and including children voice actors, with music by Christian Orellana (Peru).
The forthcoming Places I’ve Been was written by Educator Alexandra Villegas (Latina) and features wildlife from the various states that Ms. Villegas has lived in.
The forthcoming Princess Marisol & the Portal is the sequel to Princess Marisol & the Moon Thieves. features the characters mentioned above and includes Keith Sanchez as the Music Director.
Overall the publishing industry itself is terribly underrepresented. At Community Publishing we pride ourselves in the diversity, our Founder’s are myself and Yvette Sandoval (Chicana), as well as our creative talent and books! Please consider our books, available in digital and print. Together we can make books more colorful/culturally diverse and therefore more reflective of the country and world at-large. Find our books here.
*****
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If the song “Black and White” (made famous by the 1970’s band, Three Dog Night) was written today, I would hope they would add to it’s title, “and the Pencil is Brown,” to symbolize the many brown faces that have changed the demographics of the country. The song was actually written by David Arkin and Earl Robinson in 1954 in response to the Supreme Court’s landmark anti-segregation decision, Brown v. Board of Education.
Lack of Representation of People of Color in Children’s Literature
Illustration by Christopher Meyers
According to according to a study by the Cooperative Children’s Book Center at the University of Wisconsin, only 253 of 3,200 children’s books surveyed were about people of color (described as African-American, American Indian, Latino, Asian & Pacific Island Americans). Additionally only 213 authors of color were found in the random sample. Additionally, with over 52 million Latinos in the U.S., (a number which is continually growing) the New York Times did not include a single book which included either a Latino protagonist or written by a Latino author, on it’s New York Times notable children’s book of 2013.
Importance of representation of people of color in Children’s Books
The lack of people of color in children’s books is terribly unfortunate and alarming. Books provide a way for children to envision themselves within the world around them. The demographics of the U.S. is rapidly changing to include more people of color. The importance of modeling in education is well documented. It is imperative that children of color see the images and read the words of the people around them that look like them. Therefore, if our books do not represent the many faces of the people that constitute our country, then we are under-serving and disenfranchising a significant portion of our population.
As a parent of a 7 year old, (3/4 Latina and 1/4 Native American) I have noticed the dearth of characters in children’s books that look like us. After reading the New York Times pieces, “Where are the People of Color in Children’s Books,” by Walter Dean Myers and the “Apartheid of Children’s Literature” by Christopher Meyers, I became fully aware of this unacceptable reality.
Book Choices for Parents
Viviana Hurtado and Monica Olivera of Latinas for Latino Lit, have created their own notables list of recommended children’s books that includes Latino authors, illustrators and protagonists. They both speak on the importance of this issue on National Public Radio: listen here.
Photo by Becky Archuleta
This past Friday I played the Multimedia Book version of my book, Princess Marisol & the Moon Thieves, with it’s multicultural theme, and music, at Chaparral Elementary in Albuquerque, NM. Albuquerque Public Schools has a population of students which is 55% Hispanic/Latino. The characters in the book are real people, Marisol Paramo, Matias Pizarro, Juan Ramirez, Jackie Zamora: I insisted they be illustrated to their true likeness. As I scanned the classroom viewing all the interested little brown, black and white faces, I was proud of the fact that they were experiencing a multicultural story characters that resembled them, on the screen!
***** Alex’s bilingual multimedia book, Princess Marisol & the Moon Thieves print version is available! Click on link for more info and to purchase!
Read more of Alex’s articles by clicking here.
***** This article was originally published on April 14, 2014
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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.
Well for one, Lebron’s family lives in 
