Category: music

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Art, Chile, environment, Indigenous people, latin america, music, neo-liberalism, Social Justice

Chile: Forbidden to Forget…

I was first introduced to the world of Chileans in exile, in the late 1970s, as adults and children fleeing political repression, torture, kidnapping, political rape and murder, arrived in Canada. In fact, Chile had not been know for mass migration until the political banishment of left and progressive sectors under the Generals. Chile’s self-image, shaped by the Spanish conquistadores and their later allies and competitors, … Continue reading Chile: Forbidden to Forget…

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Art, Columbus Day, Indigenous people, music

Indigenous Uprising on Columbus Day

I am a strong supporter of the movement throughout the U.S. and Latin America and the Caribbean to stop celebrating Columbus Day.  Critics of the pro-Colombus status quo signal to the cruelty and harshness of Spanish empire-building and by extension, European and British colonization efforts in the Americas. Genocide of indigenous persons,  the wholesale buying and selling of afro-descended peoples through chattel slavery, the wilful … Continue reading Indigenous Uprising on Columbus Day

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Art, Autumn, fall, music, poetry

Autumn

Today’s piece is sharing some poems which have been part of our English poetry canon for centuries and decades. Some I had to study in school, and thus happily rediscovered in adulthood. My mother suggested me a beautiful poem by John Keats, Ode to Autumn. I share it below. A beautiful cadence of the English language and evocative images. Here it is Ode To Autumn, … Continue reading Autumn

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Art, music, poetry

Skintalker!

These haiku are inspired by music from the 1940s onward. I used to love listening to “latin jazz” and afro-cuban jazz. Years ago, when I had a radio spot, finding music to share was a delight, especially since it was long before the Internet! Chano Pozo revolutionized American jazz at a time when it was increasingly open to global influences, while at the same time, … Continue reading Skintalker!

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Art, music, Refugees

Deportee

The day brings so much more news about ICE, the U.S.Border Patrol, family separation, the dependency of multi-billion dollar corporations on undocumented labour and racism. The buying of citizenship (U.S.A) and the ban on migrants who receive social assistance from becoming citizens (Germany). And in the midst of these conditions, people still love and live, full of dreams, hopes, relationships, and humanity. I happened to … Continue reading Deportee

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Art, music, poetry, Social Justice

Duende!

Duende is the word flamenco practitioners and enthusiasts use to name the unnameable— the gooseflesh or shiver that you get when you experience the outpouring of passion and soul that is flamenco…But the soul of flamenco is rooted in its nomadic beginnings in India and its route through West Asia to its hold on Southern Europe, particularly Spain, and even influencing the Fado music of … Continue reading Duende!

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Art, music, poetry

Alfonsina y el Mar/Alfonsina and the Sea

I often find the combination of music and drawing irresistible. Sometimes, the visual expression has nothing to do with the music, and at other times, the song may inspire the images. My drawings are an illustrated backdrop to this powerful lament. I have been drawn to this song since I first heard it as a young person of thirteen! Getting to see the incomparable Mercedes … Continue reading Alfonsina y el Mar/Alfonsina and the Sea

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