Daily Headlines: March 14, 2012

* Mexico: The members of Los Tigres Del Norte were declared persona non grata by officials in the capital of Chihuahua state due to their narcocorrido songs.

* Cuba: Reporters Without Borders named Cuba one of its “Enemies of the Internet” for several reasons including police harassment of bloggers and limited access to online resources.

* Haiti: A Pakistani military court sentenced two U.N. troops to one year in prison for the rape of a Haitian boy.

* Latin America: A Costa Rican man accused of masterminding the 2011 attack that killed Argentine singer Facundo Cabral was deported last night to Guatemala.

Video Source – YouTube via LosTigresNorteVEVO

Online Sources- CBC News, Voice of America, BBC News, NPR

Daily Headlines: February 16, 2010

* U.S.: Morrissey, Los Tigres Del Norte, and Aventura will have songs included in an album aimed at promoting Latino participation in the 2010 Census. (“Mentiras” by Los Amigos Invisibles will be on the album; hence, the above video).

* El Salvador: Authorities arrested three suspects accused in the September 2009 murder of Spanish filmmaker Christian Poveda.

* Mexico: Roman Catholic bishops have become the latest group to criticize the Mexican government’s anti-violence strategy.

* Chile: In a positive sign for Chile’s economy the country’s copper exports doubled in January.

Online Sources- NME, BBC News, LAHT, AP, Bloomberg

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

Daily Headlines: October 29, 2009

* Mexico: Famed norteño group Los Tigres Del Norte said that they cancelled an upcoming concert after organizers supposedly tried to censor one of their politically-motivated songs.

* Bolivia: Bolivia and the U.S. are reportedly close to mending the fractured political ties from the past thirteen months that included the recalling of ambassadors to both states.

* El Salvador: Crime may be a major concern in El Salvador yet San Salvador Archbishop Jose Luis Escobar Alas said that plans to add 6000 solders to the police “could lead society towards genocide.”

* U.S.: Immigration activists are peeved that President Barack Obama‘s waffled over granting Haitian migrants Temporary Protected Status.

Image- El Universal
Online Sources- AP, The Latin Americanist, Catholic News Agency, Monsters & Critics, Miami Herald

Juanes, Jaguares, “In the Heights” win Grammys

Image- MSNBC (Photo of Juanes at the 2008 Latin Grammys; Argentine producer Gustavo Santaolalla accepted Juanes’ honor tonight).

The Grammy Awards ceremony may be going on as we publish this post (we "heart" M.I.A.!), yet several awards have already been given out. Though most Latin American musicians have opted to skip the ceremony, awards in the “Latin” category have been doled out:

• Colombian Juanes beat Luis Miguel, Jorge Drexler, and others to win Best Latin Pop Album. In a message published via his publicist, Juanes dedicated his award to “those held hostage in the Colombian jungle.”
• “If Jaguares win, it will be because NARAS owes (lead singer Saúl Hernández) one (and only one),” mentioned one article ahead of today’s awards. Deserved or not, the Mexican rockers won Best Latin Rock Or Alternative Album ahead of worthy finalists like Locos Por Juana and Nortec Collective.
• In other categories, reggaeton duo Wisin y Yandel won Best Latin Urban Album while José Feliciano got top honors in Best Tropical Latin Album. In addition, Nati Cano and Mariachi Divas shared Best Regional Mexican Album honors while Los Tigres del Norte captured Best Norteño Album.
• Last but not least, “In The Heights” can add another honor to the four Tony Awards received in 2008. The musical inspired by the New York City Latino enclave of Washington Heights received Best Musical Show Album ahead of “Gypsy”, “South Pacific”, and others.
  

Online Sources- The Latin Americanist, vive.in, San Antonio Current, Prensa Libre, El Pais, grammy.com, Milenio

Today’s video: Cancion Protesta

We end this week’s slate of posts with a song from one of my all-time favorite groups – los Aterciopelados. “Cancion Protesta” (“Protest Song”) comes from their 2006 album Oye and is a tune which asks listeners not to call their song “terrorist” or as having “unpatriotic” undertones. According to Wikipedia the guitars used in the video were made out of machine guns as part of a U.N. program to “take guns off the streets of Colombia.”

(Video link):

Big thanks to Nacional Records for providing today’s and yesterday's music videos.

This week’s videos with the theme of music containing political messages:

• “Sr. Cobranza” by Bersuit Vergarabat
• “De Paisano a Paisano” by Los Tigres del Norte
• “Rainin' In Paradize” by Manu Chao

Sources- arteciopelados.com, Wikipedia, Nacional Records, The Latin Americanist

Today’s Video: Rainin' In Paradize

We continue this week’s videos series on music with political messages by featuring someone we’ve analyzed several times before - Manu Chao. The French/Spanish/Basque artist previously fronted punk rockers Mano Negra and his music tends to be politically charged. (For instance, samples of Zapatista leader Subcomandante Marcos were used in Radio Bemba Sound System).

His 2007 video for "Rainin' In Paradize” rails against actions like the invasion of Iraq and oppression in Africa. The video seen below was filmed in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

(Video link):

Previous videos shown this week were “Sr. Cobranza” by Bersuit Vergarabat and “De Paisano a Paisano” by Los Tigres del Norte.

Sources- Wikipedia, manuchao.net, YouTube, The Latin Americanist

Today’s Video: De Paisano a Paisano

Continuing this week’s video theme of music with political messages is a song from Mexican norteño group Los Tigres del Norte entitled “De Paisano a Paisano” (translation – “From Countryman to Countryman”. The tune is done in the familiar polka-like style of norteño music, and tries to emphasize the brotherhood between Mexicans and their compatriots living in the U.S.

(Video Link):

The song was released in 2001 and the band seems to be moving along very well as 2008 marks the fortieth anniversary of Los Tigres.

(Yesterday we featured “Sr. Cobranza” by Argentine rock group Bersuit Vergarabat).

Sources- lostigresdelnorte.com, Wikipedia, YouTube, lyricspot.com, Village Voice, The Latin Americanist

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).”)