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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In this weeks article we re-publish an article that originally appeared in print for the organization Food Not Bombs written by Greg “Goyo” Hernandez. Take a listen to Community Publishing’s Author Alex Paramo interviewing Goyo as a prep for the article! Click to read Goyo’s Biography
Goyo Interview: Food Not Bombs
Punk Rock vs Social Media
It was just a mere wink in time when I was a young impressionable punk rocker just embarked on my seminal work as a artist emerging into sonic chaos in a garage of the suburbs of Los Angeles County. It was in the post proto-punk era of the garage land of bands that I found the explosive mid 70’s punk rock sub culture that had barreled all the way from the U.K. , NYC , D.C., which coexisted with California’s hardcore punk rock approach. In this sound I found instant awakening of my nerves, which resonated with the political spectrum of the times leading into Reagan-nomics. What I couldn’t grasp from this music and its lyrical message, heard on vinyl records or cassette tapes, I discovered through fashion, ideology, and fanzine journalism and its neologisms, which helped create and solidify this collective feeling of anti-establishmentism. As the punk rock sub-culture became more pervasive, bands such as Minor Threat carried the flag for the anti-inebriation movement in the United States; the song “Straight Edge” gave the scene a name. The sound was fierce and energetic to my carnivore senses and took a while to figure out this new anti-establishment lyrical message. Nonetheless its aggression was very parallel to the other political agents of punk rock subculture, especially in the hard core movement in California in the very late 70’s-80’s .
The California culture was primarily farming livestock. My family’s and friend’s backyard BBQ meat-eating culture and the Hedonism of suburban beer drinking of our teen adolescence just seems contradictory the very notion of vegetarianism and animal rights. The straight edge movement and its music were like a beacon of light whether or not we got the message. After all don’t most unpopular cultures go through exploitations until it trends? The straight edge movement went through its three eras of counter cultural since its early beginnings in the U.K. In the 80’s the counter-movement in the United States branched out of the bent edge from D.C., to the mid 80’s youth crew which became militant straight edge leading into the 21st century. Although a lot of counter culture groups philosophies bend marginally of their concepts of “a wellness thing,” the core of anarcho-punk and straight edge philosophy adheres to the refraining from alcohol, tobacco, and other recreational drugs, in reaction to the excesses of punk subculture. However most subculture groups could be categorized as adhering to anarchism without objectives, in that they embraced the syncretic fusion of many potentially differing ideological strains of anarchism: animal rights, vegetarianism, environmentalism and anti corporatism. Some anarcho-punks practiced pacifism much like the hippie counterculture or the Hare Krishnas. These avant-garde countercultures shared common moral and ethical code of health and self empowerment practices that elude corporate meat industries and consumerism.
Environmental Justifications
In the early 70s, other activists were considering how veganism might provide a viable alternative to existing food systems. In 1971, Diet for a Small Planet by the social policy activist Frances Moore Lappé introduced an environmental justification for going vegetarian or vegan to a global audience (it eventually sold more than 3m copies). In the same year, counter-culture hero Stephen Gaskin founded a vegan intentional community “The Farm” in Lewis County, Tennessee, bringing together some 300 like-minded individuals. Four years later, The Farm Vegetarian Cookbook by Louise Hagler announced: “We are vegetarians because one-third of the world is starving and at least half goes to bed hungry every night,” and introduced western audiences to techniques for making their own soy-based products such as tofu and tempeh. For so long veganism was synonymous with soybeans and brown rice, not the glamorous vibrant vegan food of today’s youthful practitioners who now radiate positivity from their Instagram feeds and other social media platforms. Photogenically speaking, this really helped to galvanize the hype of the low-attention-span internet age to brand an attainable and sustainable lifestyle change for carnivores to practice an ascetic diet or for the many “flexitarians” of today who still occasionally eat meat or fish. Some hard-line or straightedge vegetarians consider it troubling that the internet has transformed something with such a rich political history into “a wellness thing” that allows would-be consumers to label themselves vegans without having to engage with the “excess baggage” of the ideology.
American writer, Khushbu Shah, has argued that the popularization of veganism via social media has erased non-white faces and narratives from the dominant discourse, as white bloggers and influencers fashion a lifestyle in their image, something anarcho-straight edge punk subcultures would rail against, for their philosophy was to rebel through self-control which is the ability to control one’s actions even if that means the mainstream. Somehow the detail of the veganism political message which is rooted in social justice has faded from view in the 21st century and still perhaps out of fear is demonized as un-dietary and is shunned by people whose beliefs include derogatory name calling unlike other forms of bias (sexism, racism). This negativity towards vegans and vegetarians is not widely considered a societal problem but rather commonplace. As in the past and now vegan conversations of ideology and beliefs still stand with subversive views for environmental and social change, even if it means change to the industrial ways of farming just as the meat industry revolution of the mid 1800’s onwards.
Meat Eating Across North America
As a full-time musician and meat eater touring North America, the notion of where and what I’m going to eat was never too concerning although most of the time the options could be very malnourishing with the way of roadside gas stations and fast food options. But today newer industrialized systems are now starting to be more accessible in the far reaches of the open interstate from what vegans and vegetarian musicians and traveling artist are reporting. Fresh fruit in Europe and Mexico was more abundant to find than in North America and there are places in the world where I found meat is prohibitively expensive for many local people in those regions, leading to vegetarianism or vegan life style by necessity. Often we where graced with great home cooking while navigating through cities which was a great conduit to our anxieties from eating unhealthy even though meat was still a staple in our diets due to our Latin culture but I personally still looked out for fruit and grains which is a continuous challenge.
Vegaphobia
One thing I can’t understand is the phobia or hatred towards vegan or plant based vegetarians. I guess it’s just part of this polarized culture we live in which just reminds me of the 70’s and 80’s, growing up around homophobic assholes. It was definitely refreshing hanging with the punks who valued gender equality, anti racism , and anti fascism. This counter culture for most part evaluated themselves in terms of balance in authenticity. Todays internet the consumption of meat seems totally aligned with certain kind of conservative masculinity; so much for gender quality there. Who would think that a meat eater with punk rock ideology could possibly hang up a leather jacket, could be pro-active towards animal rights and environmental control? Why can’t it be possible for the collective consciousness of “a wellness thing ” whether left-wing, conservative or radical right to have existential beliefs in which veganism is a political personal choice instead of engaging in traditional political protest. Unlike other forms of discrimination, the aversions towards vegans still escalated, but only to micro aggressions, such as “vegaphobia,” a phenomenon which demonstrated a sociological sphere of negativity out of Britain. This terminology might have changed but the sentiment remains much the same in the 21st century. Outside the polarized moral lens there are more than 11,000 scientists from around the world who have come together recently at the 40th anniversary of the first World Climate Conference who have outlined vital signs of human activities that contribute to global warming and climate impact including human and livestock population, meat production, deforestation and fossil fuel consumption, just name a few.
Cultural Vegans
In many cultures the practice of abstaining from meat production and consumption has established a history with their belief systems rooted in non-violence. Many Rastafarians and followers of Jainism, and certain sects of Buddhism have sworn off meat, fish, eggs and dairy for many centuries. And it seems many countries are changing legislation such as South Korea ending slaughter and consumerism of dog meat, NYC council just recently passing a package of animal-welfare bills banning forced fed products and California Governor Gavin Newsom passing a bill to ban the sale and manufacture of new fur statewide, a first in the United States. It also seems veganism’s political ideology to change the world has its own new traditions such as “Veganuary,” a UK non profit that inspires people to go meatless in the new year to embrace the “wellness-thing,” end suffering to animals and champion the planet mother earth; sounds pretty punk rock to me! As I personally try to move away from perhaps my own disparity and hegemony to meat and dietary ideologies of my own political personal choice I will rejoice in one my favorite anarcho-punk bands, Rudimentary Peni, song “1/4 Dead”:
“Three quarters of the world is starving, three quarters of the world is starving , the rest are dead the rest are dead, overdosed on insensitivity all varnished to crosses, Three quarters of the world is starving the rest are dead, the rest are dead". Rudimentary Peni - All Rights Reserved.
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Muhammad Ali was born Cascius Clay in Louisville, January 17, 1942. He was an Olympic gold medalist and later Heavyweight Boxing Champion. He was outspoken human rights activist and spokesperson. Read More.
For a long time now, Alex has been telling me that I should share with Community Publishing a “little something” and finally here I go. The delay was not due to lack of ideas. In this last 3 years since I departed from Albuquerque I have been gathering thoughts, images, memories, sounds, and points view.
I have been pulling the trigger of my pen so slowly that I have forgotten I was doing it, so slowly the piece of paper was able to escape without marks. All of the sudden, as predicted, I can´t stop writing many things at once. I find myself pouring all out on the screen. I have to hit enter and find new room in this virtual paper. Wow, it is fun. I will read it later, gotta keep the flow.
But wait a sec, I was going to start somewhere. Yes, I was going to start right at the end.
Looking back, now. Looking at me looking back through the glass of a window inside this bus taking my south to the border. The border that separated one chapter from the next, yet at that moment unknown.
Me, looking back, waving at my brother at a gas station. Breathing and having one thought in each in and out. I was on a bus taking me to move back to Argentina after ten years living in Albuquerque. The Albuquerque in New Mexico, not the one on T.V.. Ten years in each blow of air.
2003 Albuquerque Destiny
Really want to know my story?: – mother fell in love with gringo. Then, moved to Cali but he got a job at the University of New Mexico (yes, it could have been Oklahoma or Tennessee, or Indiana or…). Things didn’t work out but a few years later she was working at the university and a big crisis hit Argentina. I was 19 years old and like many Argentineans wanted to destroy the political class. About 30% unemployment and many sad things forced us to take a decision. Go to Spain with our dad and like him hope for the best, stay in an out-of-control Argentina by myself, or move to ALBUQUERQUE (I was the only person I knew at that time that even knew of this city).
Yes you guess, I moved to Albuquerque. I would learn some basic English and then, in about 2 years go back to Argentina or in the worst case scenario, go to Spain. Basically, I just wanted to be in my home, in La Boca, Buenos Aires, Argentina, with my high school friends and my projects after high school.
2 years became almost ten. Soon became surrounded by a capoeira school filled with great people that despite the language barrier help my brother and I fill as at home as possible. Interestingly, all of us where practicing an art form that was foreign. A Brazilian art form practiced by gringos, Argentineans, Mexicans in Albuquerque, New Mexico that doesn’t look even close to Rio de Janeiro or Bahia. But there, we were doing our very best to make any capoerista proud. Hell we trained hard and tried to learn everything about the subculture of capoeira. If you don’t know anything about it, I recommend you look it up, there are some videos online ☺
Well, that was home, going from the house to capoeira as much as possible. Trying to communicate and play birimbau at sunset on a summer afternoon right on route 66. There it was this young guy from the bottom of the continent, learning English, using his funny accent as a weapon to attract ladies (thank God for giving me a foreign accent!!), and playing capoeira while thinking of home.
Went to college. American girlfriend, Colombian, Mexican, American, Colombian, Brazilian. Mmm great times… Oh, that was the time I really learned English. First, lunch time. God I just wanted a sandwich. “I say tomato you say…” yes, it took me a really long time to get a sub. Sometimes after a few tries the guy would start talking back to me in Spanish (and I got upset and no, it is not funny). 😉
Then the parties – check back next week!
*****
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Sebastian Pais was born and raised in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He is a professional translator, musician, radio personality and actor. In April, 2014 he was named Director for Latin American & Bilingual Initiatives at Community Publishing.
Community Publishing brings local artists of all mediums together in creative collaborations for distribution as Multimedia Books while promoting literacy in our communities.
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.