Today’s Video: What Makes Ana Tijoux Tick?

We will be back on Monday to cover several news and notes from the past week in the Americas.

The Latin Alternative Music Conference (LAMC) takes place in New York City from July 11-14 and it includes concerts featuring artists from Latin America and the Caribbean. One of the most exciting performances will be tonight when Puerto Rico's Calle 13, Ana Tijoux from Chile and Ritmo Machine perform for free in Brooklyn's Prospect Park.

If you cannot make it to the concert fans worldwide can still listen to it live via NPR Music starting at 8:00 PM (ET).

Much like Calle 13, hip-hop artist Tijoux does not shy away from mixing politics into her music and she has involved herself in campaigns for immigrants' rights in the U.S.

In the following video via the Brave New Foundation, Tijoux explains how the Pincohet-era dictatorship led her to believe that she cannot separate "a political thought from a musical sensitivity":

Online Sources - NPR, Celebrate Brooklyn, News Taco

Video Source - YouTube via Brave New Foundation

De Musica Ligera: Nobel for “El Sistema”?

The latest edition of the Grammy Awards on Sunday night will most likely be remembered for Adele winning six trophies as well as the tributes to the recently deceased Whitney Houston. In terms of Latino music, one of the event’s biggest surprises was Mana beating out Calle 13 to win in the Latin Pop, Rock or Urban Album category. Yet an even greater surprise could occur later this year thanks to another Grammy winner: Venezuelan conductor Gustavo Dudamel.

Dudamel may’ve won his Grammy with the Los Angeles Philharmonic for their recording of Brahms' Fourth Symphony, but since 1999 he has served as the music director of the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra. This orchestra is an important product of El Sistema, a novel music education program run in Venezuela. Founded in 1975 by former economist José Antonio Abreu, the El Sistema network has helped teach classical music to at least 250,000 youth including children from impoverished economic backgrounds. The program has received government support since 1977 and has been critically acclaimed around the world.

In 2008 Abreu won both the Glenn Gould Prize and the Prince of Asturias Award for he Arts. He could earn a greater recognition later this year after representatives of the International Hagiography Academy nominated him for the Nobel Peace Prize. “Master Abreu has met all the conditions because he made music the language of peace and a symbol of Venezuela,” proclaimed the Academy’s president, Monsignor Rafael Febres Cordero, last month.

Should José Antonio Abreu become the first Latin American in two decades to win the Nobel Peace Prize? Perhaps the music from the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra will help you decide:

Video Source – YouTube via TEDtalksDirector

Online Sources- Los Angeles Times, The Onion A.V. Club, The Telegraph, El-Nacional.com

Daily Headlines: September 15, 2011

* Colombia: Jorge Noguera, ex-intelligence chef under the presidency of Alvaro Uribe, was convicted and sentenced to twenty-five years in prison for his ties to illegal paramilitary groups.

* Haiti: Protesters in Port-au-Prince called for the removal of U.N. troops from Haiti though President Michel Martelly is expected to seek renewal of the U.N. mission's mandate.

* Puerto Rico: Reggaeton duo Calle 13 received a record ten Latin Grammy nominations including album, record and song of the year.

* U.S.: President Barack Obama attempted to push his jobs plan to the Latino community in a speech given last night.

Image – AP via BBC News (Jorge Noguera, the former director of Colombia's secret police, has been jailed for 24 years by the country's supreme court.)

Online Sources- BBC News, USA TODAY, NPR, Boston.com

Calle 13 plan Central America prison concert

Puerto Rican reggaeton duo Calle 13 is no stranger to politically charged music whether it is denouncing police brutality or solidarity with Chilean protesters. They are working on their latest project whose goal is to call attention to the problem of urban violence throughout Latin America. As part of this project, the group announced this week that they will record the music video for the single “La bala” (The Bullet) in Mexico and also is reportedly seeking a director for a planned documentary on street violence. More ambitiously, however, the duo reportedly plans to perform at a unique venue: a Guatemalan prison.

According to one of Calle 13’s members:

“This is one of our projects: to go to a maximum security prison where the “maras” are located in order to give a concert that will also be transmitted online,” said “Visitante”, whose real name is Eduardo José Cabra. His announcement was made in Guadalajara where Calle 13 is on tour…to promote their new album "Vamos a portarnos mal" (We are going to misbehave).

During the press conference fellow group member Rene “Residente” Perez also floated the idea of having a “student concert” at the campus of the UNAM (National Autonomous University of Mexico). He claimed that this notion came about as part of the duo’s solidarity with Chilean student protesters.

It is estimated that hundreds of people each year including disenchanted youth and deportees from the U.S. with criminal records join Central American street gangs.

Image- EFE via El Informador
Online Sources- The Latin Americanist, Fox News Latino, AFP, El Informador, Milenio, impre.com

Calle 13 vs. Fortuño and HidroAysen

Note: This post was originally published on Thursday, May 12th. It was erased as a result of a Blogger outage that also prevented us from posting on Friday. Hence, we’re reposting this article today.

Puerto Rican hip-hop/reggaeton duo Calle 13 are not shy when speaking out against actions that they feel are unfair. Their politically charged music has met with its share of detractors from Colombian politicos to Puerto Rican policemen. Vocalist Rene “Residente” Perez reportedly admitted recently that he has “received threats” multiple times but he refuses to quell his outspokenness.

Calle 13 appeared on ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live” Tuesday where they performed two of their songs including “Baile de los Pobres” (“Dance of the Poor”). See if you can spot the sociopolitical messages aside from those mentioned in his song:

Printed on his shirt was the phrase “To hell with the fees”, which targeted the controversial move by Puerto Rican Gov. Luis Fortuño to obligate public university students to pay an $800 fee. Upon removing his shirt, the phrase “No pipeline” was written on his chest representing his opposition to a Fortuño-backed plan for contracting a 92-mile natural gas pipeline.

The Via Verde initiative wasn’t the only energy project Perez protested against; written on his back was the phrase “Patagonia without dams.” This message alluded to Chile’s HidroAysen plan that involves erecting five large hydroelectric dams in the southern Patagonia region. As we mentioned on Wednesday, HidroAysen is strongly backed by Chilean President Sebastián Piñera as a viable source of energy. Yet the project has run into staunch opposition including from Patagonia residents who are against the flooding of approximately 15,000 acres of land.

Even though Perez helped bring attention to the tensions caused by the HidroAysen plan, ABC allegedly cut him off as he gave an impromptu speech “alluding” to the project’s controversy. “Chile cut off my message but my back had the message,” wrote Perez via Twitter after the show.

In the meantime, tens of thousands of Chileans took to the streets on Thursday and called for the government to enact educational reforms.

Video Source - Jimmy Kimmel Live via YouTube
Online Sources- El Nuevo Dia, The Latin Americanist, Terra Chile, LAHT, noticias123.cl

Daily Headlines: May 10, 2011

* Cuba: Cubans may be permitted to travel abroad as tourists based on a set of economic guidelines published yesterday by the island’s authorities.

* Puerto Rico: Will U.S. audiences be receptive to a planned English-language album by Puerto Rico’s Calle 13?

* Ecuador: President Rafael Correa and opposition groups are in a war of words after the results of a referendum on a number of government-backed reforms appears to have been closer than initially reported.

* South America: According to the Global Integrity Report released last week Peru and Argentina are among the most improved countries in combating corruption.

Image – AP via CBS News (“An unidentified man reads a copy of the document explaining the guidelines and economic changes that were approved at last month's Communist Party Congress, in Havana, Cuba, Monday May 9, 2011.”)
Online Sources- Global Integrity Report, Xinhua, Fox News Latino, AFP

De Musica Ligera: Devlish dance unfairly burns Calle 13

Puerto Rican reggaeton duo Calle 13 is no strangers to controversy due to their political views. The group pulls no punches in letting their opinions be heard such as lead singer Rene “Residente” Perez calling Puerto Rican Gov. Luis Fortuno a “son of a massive bitch” during a performance at the 2009 edition of the Premios MTV Latin America.

On Wednesday Calle 13 helped open this year’s edition of Chile’s prestigious Viña del Mar music festival with a mix of high-tempo music and songs with a social message. Organizers tried to censor the group yet that did not stop Perez from appearing on stage with “Arriba Mapuche” written on his back. His solidarity with Chilean indigenous people extended to inviting Yatiris to perform a type of native dance called la diablada:

Oddly enough the above performance of la diablada has caused controversy in Bolivia where Minister for Culture Elizabeth Salguero said she would send a letter of complaint to Chile. Her ire is that Calle 13 neglected to acknowledge that the dance is Bolivian in origin. “We are glad when our dances and cultural expressions are spread to other countries but they need to recognize that they are from Bolivia,” said Salguero to a local daily.

Unfortunately this has not been the only time in recent years that la diablada has caused an overreaction. In 2009 Salguero’s predecessor, Pablo Groux, criticized Peru’s Miss Universe pageant representative for wearing a la diablada-related costume. Yet as blogger Midori Snyder noted at the time “both Peru and Chile claim the tradition of the Devil Dance as well -- and a former Miss Universe from Chile wore the costume way back in 1983 and 1989 during the pageant.”

Video Source - YouTube
Online Sources- La Razon, RPP, The Latin Americanist, Peru21, In the Labyrinth

Calle 13’s Cuban concert controversy

Whenever a foreign musician plays in Cuba controversy is sure to follow. (Other times it’s the other way around, but I digress). Such may be the case with Puerto Rican reggaetoneros Calle 13 who are scheduled for a free concert Tuesday in Havana.

“I think we will establish bridges with Cuba,” said the group’s lead singer René "Residente" Pérez at a Monday press conference. Perez added that he anticipates that Cuban exiles “will fall on top of me” when he and Calle 13 play at a concert later this week in Miami.

Calle 13’s politically charged music has met with its share of detractors including Colombian politicos and Puerto Rican policemen. Nonetheless, they don’t plan on shying away from future work on social awareness:

(…) the members of Calle 13 also discussed future projects including a documentary on border areas including those between Central America and Mexico as well as that country and the U.S.

Perez did not discard the possibility of traveling the same trek as undocumented immigrants – [ed. Translated text]

Aside from performing Calle 13 will also receive an award from the Cuban Institute of Music that has been previously granted to artists like Sting and Chico Buarque.

Image- El Universal
Online Sources- The Latin Americanist, Reuters Latin America, ABC News, EPA, El Universal

Daily Headlines: February 1, 2010

* Latin America: Calle 13, Luis Enrique, La Quinta Estación, and Los Tigres Del Norte each received honors at Sunday’s Grammy Awards.

* Cuba: In 2006 conservative opponents blasted then-London mayor Ken Livingstone for his visit to Cuba and Venezuela. Last week Britain’s Conservative Party was criticized when one of its senior politicians recently traveled to Cuba.

* El Salvador: A fugitive convicted three years ago for sexual assault became El Salvador’s first ever extradition to the U.S. on Friday.

* U.S.: The largest Latino culture and arts museum- The Alameda National Center in Texas- is facing serious financial difficulties.

Image – El Universal (Mexico’s Los Tigres Del Norte were among those who won at Sunday’s Grammy Awards).
Online Sources- San Antonio Express, Billboard, BBC News, LAHT, Houston Chronicle

Calle 13 under fire over MTV outburst

Paulina Rubio, Zoe, and Wisin & Yandel were all winners at last week’s Premios MTV Latin America yet it was the outspokenness of Calle 13 which has received the most attention.

Thee lead singer of the Puerto Rican group – Rene “Residente” Perez - has come under fire after making harsh remarks against the island’s governor. Perez called Gov. Luis Fortuno a “son of a massive bitch” and blasted him for breaking his campaign promise by laying off over 16,000 government workers. “Latin America is incomplete without a free Puerto Rico” added Perez who also praised a massive strike that crippled the island’s capital city of San Juan.

Less than 48 hours after Perez’ remarks, San Juan mayor Jorge A. Santini Padilla pulled the plug on a Calle 13 Halloween gig. Padilla said that the concert was canceled due to a lack for use of the city's Roberto Clemente Coliseum, yet said that Perez wouldn’t be interested in staging the event in “a facility administered by government personnel for whom he has no respect".

Calle 13 has been shutout of another concert due to a separate political gesture by Perez:

A Colombian mayor canceled a Calle 13 concert on Monday after the lead singer for the Puerto Rican rappers wore a T-shirt appearing to link President Alvaro Uribe to illegal paramilitaries…

"It is an insult to Colombians that someone of talent would use this to attack Colombians and especially our president," (Manizales Mayor Juan Manuel) Llano told local radio. "Manizales has decided under no circumstances or for any reason can this group take part."

Calle 13’s been no stranger to controversy due to the candor of their music; in 2007, the duo came under fire over an anti-police brutality song cheekily named “Tribute to the Police.”

Image- Washington Post
Online Sources- LAHT, YouTube, CNN, CBC, ABC News, The Latin Americanist

Daily Headlines: September 18, 2009

* Latin America: Puerto Rican reggaeton duo Calle 13 received a leading five Latin Grammy nominations while Caetano Veloso, Ricardo Arjona, and Babasonicos were among those with multiple nominations.

* Chile: The Chilean judge who indicted the late strongman Augusto Pinochet will run for a Senate seat against the son of an ex-president and a former presidential candidate.

* Guatemala: Mexico, Venezuela, and Brazil pledged to send aid to combat the severe food shortage in Guatemala.

* Venezuela: Could coffee become the next industry to be formally nationalized by the Chavez administration in Venezuela?

Image- The Telegraph
Online Sources- Los Angeles Times, LAHR, CBC, Bloomberg

Reggaetoneros rap for Jesus

The musical genre of reggaeton has been criticized for being misogynistic, overly vulgar, and sexually explicit. For example, one popular reggaeton dance move called perreo sometimes mimics doggy-style sex.

With such a bad rap it may seem impossible to believe that some artists have taken their sound in a different, more spiritual direction. (Note that I didn’t say “better”!) Much like Christian metal emerged from the stereotypically hedonistic heavy metal scene of the 1980s, some reggaetoneros have dedicated their music to a higher power:

"I had everything, but it was really nothing," says reggaetón star Héctor "El Father," explaining his conversion to Christ.

"Not even fame or money could fill this void I had in my heart.
Now I feel a joy I can’t even explain"...

Although he said he would retire from music, last September he released a Christian album titled "El Juicio Final" (Judgment Day).

There has been some criticism of this religious reggaeton sub-genre, however. Calle 13 poked fun at the trend in a song from their latest album with lyrics like "I know my music is profane, but when I stop selling I’ll make Christian music." There are also unique cases like that of reggaeton superstar Daddy Yankee who’s best-known for booty-shaking hits like “Gasolina” though his pastor brother released a Christian rap album last year.

Image- New York Daily News
Online Sources- New York Daily News, Urban Dictionary, Blogamole, Reuters, Wikipedia

Daily Headlines: February 11, 2008

* Congratulations to Calle 13, Pepe Aguilar, Juan Luis Guerra, and Los Tigres Del Norte (image) who were among the winners in last night’s 50th Annual Grammy Awards.

* 2007: Uruguay and Argentina argued over the construction of a paper mill being built along the border.
2008: Those two countries may clash over the construction of a new port.

* Could global warming be to blame for torrential rains and floods in Bolivia?

* Colombia’s FARC guerillas are going to release three more hostages according to Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

* Follow-up: The Brazilian government has submitted a new list of “safe” farms in order to convince the European Union to drop their ban on Brazilian beef.

Sources- Associated Press, The Latin Americanist, Mercopress, CNN, Bloomberg, Radio Netherlands Worldwide

Image- New York Times (“Jorge Hernández of the Mexican-American band Los Tigres del Norte in the PBS documentary “Al Otro Lado (To the Other Side).”)

Puerto Rican cop sings back at Calle 13

Some of Puerto Rican reggaeton group Calle 13’s songs are political in nature with one prominent example being a tune released over the summer against police brutality on the island. As a September article from the New York Daily News observed:

“Tributo a la Policía” refers to the brutality of the Aug. 10 shooting of Miguel Cáceres, which was videotaped by a bystander [ed. blog post link], but also to the killings and beatings of other unarmed civilians over the last decades.

“I wanted to leave a testimony about the killing of all these people,” Calle 13’s René (Residente) Pérez said on the phone from Puerto Rico. “I wanted the song to be part of the case files.”

Now the police are fighting back (pun unintended) against the perceived negative image from Calle 13’s music. According to an article from Voy Music, Puerto Rican radio stations are catching on to a song allegedly written and performed by a police officer against Calle 13:

“The theme by the supposed officer criticizes the way in which (Calle 13) sings against the work of the Puerto Rican police by pointing to recent cases of police brutality…

The new song insults Calle 13 lead singer Residente for “Tributo a la Policía”; Calle 13’s public relations representative said that the group “will not comment (on the song).”

Sources (English)- The Latin Americanist, New York Daily News, Voy Music

Sources (Spanish)- El Diario/La Prensa, El Vocero de Puerto Rico

Image- batanga

Juan Luis Guerra leads Latin Grammy nominees

Dominican singer Juan Luis Guerra led the nominations for this year's Latin Grammy Awards. In a ceremony this morning in Miami, Guerra was chosen five times including for album of the year and record of the year.

Not far behind him were Puerto Rican pop star Ricky Martin and hip-hop/reggaeton duo Calle 13 with four nods each. Other notables that were nominated include Miguel Bose, Zoë, Daddy Yankee, and Kinky.

Last week Guerra was announced as the winner of the Latin Grammy's Person of the Year award based on his music and charitable work.

The Awards ceremony will take place on November 8^th from Las Vegas.

Sources (English)- International Herald Tribune, The Latin Americanist, grammy.com

Sources (Spanish)- Primera Hora

Image- VivirLatino

Daily Headlines: August 20, 2007

* Follow-up #1: Puerto Rican reggaeton musicians Calle 13 (image) and Voltio released a song last week condemning the death of an unarmed man at the hands of police on the island.

* Follow-up #2: New York City mayor Mike Bloomberg refused to comment on ex-mayor Rudy Giuliani’s recent remarks to “end illegal immigration” if elected president.

* Which is the better form of ethanol: that which is derived from sugar or corn?

* Trade, sovereignty claims, and drugs are some of the main topics that will be discussed during a two-day mini-summit starting today between the heads of state of Canada, Mexico, and the U.S.

* Financial difficulties have led to the shutdown of Puerto Rico’s prestigious winter baseball league.

* Delegates at an Amnesty International conference in Mexico support changing the human rights group’s neutral stance on abortion.

* Chinese officials confirmed that a summit between business leaders from China and Latin America will take place this November in Chile.

Sources (Spanish)- El Diario/La Prensa

Sources (English)- The Latin Americanist, SI.com, BBC News, SignOnSanDiego.com, International Herald Tribune, People’s Daily Online, Newsweek

Image- Batanga