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Portuguese colonies in Africa: Angola Cabo Verde Guinea-Bissau Mozambique. Traditional Afro-Peruvian Christmas Song Artist: Susana Baca Album: Eco de Sombras. Chutney soca: the hybrid music of Trinidad and Tobago
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Portuguese colonies in Africa: • Angola • Cabo Verde • Guinea-Bissau • Mozambique
TraditionalAfro-PeruvianChristmas Song Artist: Susana BacaAlbum:Eco de Sombras
Chutney soca: the hybrid music of Trinidad and Tobago Soca is a modern form of calypso with a fast beat. It originated as a fusion of calypso with Indian rhythms, combining the musical traditions of the two major ethnic groups of Trinidad and Tobago, descended from African slaves and indentured laborers from India. NLCB Chutney Soca Monarch finals 2004, photo by Jeffrey Chock. http://www.visittnt.com/carnival2004/fetesevents/photos/csmfinals/imagepages/image7.htm
PEYE POU PEYE (PAY UP) - Children, what shall we call this dog? - Let’s call it “Keep doing it to me” A vagabond passed by, he annoyed the dog The dog was mean, it bit him I let the dog loose so it could watch the yard Everybody has problems Haiti, look at all your problems Political problems are our problems Selfishness is our problem Ask the army Ask the people The crooks pay the Baron Politi“chiens” pay the Baron Profiteers pay the Baron Left and Right pay the Baron Yes we will overcome Aye! Let thunder strike me Pray for the children Nothing is greater than God We will overcome Pray for Haiti Pray for Haiti Pray for the Kongos Pray for Rwanda, for Sarajevo Our problem, the tribulations of others Pay! Pay! Pay! BOUKMAN EKSPERYANS This Haitian band takes its name from Boukman, a Vodou priest who helped unify slaves for the 1791 slave revolution against France. The songs are in Creole, and draw heavily on Vodou (a diasporic form of the Yoruban religion). In the aftermath of the the September 1991 army coup against the Aristide government, Boukman Eksperyans was banned by the military authorities as "too violent". In June 1994, their bassist and drummer Olicha died for lack of medication during to the US embargo on Haiti. Yoruba Haiti
Les Misérables The musical is based on a novel written by French writer Victor Hugo in 1862. Jean Valjean, a poor man, is sentenced 19 years for stealing a loaf of bread for his starving family. Saved by an act of kindness in 1815, he rebuilds his life. He becomes an industrialist, and even becomes mayor because of his good works and enterprise. He helps Fantine, a female factory worker who is struggling to support her illegitimate child Cosette. Eventually, Fantine dies of illness, and Valjean takes care of Cosette. Cosette grows older and falls in love with a law student, Marius. By this time (1832), the poor are getting restless, and there are revolts in the streets of Paris against the monarchy’s policies. Marius is injured while protesting, and does not realize that Valjean saved his life, or that he has a criminal past. Marius and Cosette marry, but Cosette’s “father” Valjean refuses to live with them, because he fears that his criminal past will become known to them and ruin their happiness. If you want to know how the story ends, read the book!
On the question of racial discrimination, the Addis Ababa Conference taught, to those who will learn, this further lesson: That until the philosophy which holds one race superior and another inferior is finally and permanently discredited and abandoned: That until there are no longer first-class and second class citizens of any nation; That until the color of a man's skin is of no more significance than the color of his eyes; That until the basic human rights are equally guaranteed to all without regard to race; That until that day, the dream of lasting peace and world citizenship and the rule of international morality will remain but a fleeting illusion, to be pursued but never attained; And until the ignoble and unhappy regimes that hold our brothers in Angola, in Mozambique and in South Africa in subhuman bondage have been toppled and destroyed; Until bigotry and prejudice and malicious and inhuman self-interest have been replaced by understanding and tolerance and good-will; Until all Africans stand and speak as free beings, equal in the eyes of all men, as they are in the eyes of Heaven; Until that day, the African continent will not know peace. We Africans will fight, if necessary, and we know that we shall win, as we are confident in the victory of good over evil. The United Nations has done much, both directly and indirectly to speed the disappearance of discrimination and oppression from the earth. Without the opportunity to focus world opinion on Africa and Asia which this Organization provides, the goal, for many, might still lie ahead, and the struggle would have taken far longer. For this, we are truly grateful. But more can be done. The basis of racial discrimination and colonialism has been economic, and it is with economic weapons that these evils have been and can be overcome. In pursuance of resolutions adopted at the Addis Ababa Summit Conference, African States have undertaken certain measures in the economic field, which, if adopted by all member states of the United Nations, would soon reduce intransigence to reason. I ask, today, for adherence to these measures by every nation represented here that is truly devoted to the principles enunciated in the Charter. I do not believe that Portugal and South Africa are prepared to commit economic or physical suicide if honorable and reasonable alternatives exist. I believe that such alternatives can be found. Excerpted from Important Utterances Of H.I.M., Imperial Ethiopian Ministry Of Information, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Cited at http://www.bobmarley.com/life/rastafari/war_speech.html Excerpt from Haile Selassie’s speech to theUNNew York City, October 4, 1963
What’s a “dreadlock rasta”? The Rastafarian religion became popular among descendants of African slaves in Jamaica in the 1930s. Among other things, they saw hope for the African diaspora in the resistance of Ethiopian emperor Ras Tafari (after coronation, His Imperial Majesty, Emperor Haile Selassie I, Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah, Elect of God, King of Kings of Ethiopia) to imperialist attacks by Mussolini’s Italy. Ras Tafari’s father had been an important military leader during Ethiopia’s previous (and successful) resistance to Italian imperialism, in 1896. Rastafarians regard Haile Selassie (pictured on the poster with Bob Marley) as a living incarnation of Jah, or God (hence the line “Almighty God is a living man”). Some Rastas identify with Judaism, others with Eastern Christianity, and yet others with Islam. This is hardly surprising, considering that Christianity and Judaism had followers in Ethiopia since ancient times, and Islam spread widely through much of Africa. http://www.postershop.com/Marley-Bob/Marley-Bob-Selassie-5001145.html
MUSIC FROM GREAT BRITAIN Apache Indian (his real name is Steven Kapur) was born and raised in Birmingham, England. This is a working-class city with a large immigrant population, especially of Jamaican and Indian origin. Birmingham is also a center of the UK reggae scene, and the place where bands like UB40, Steel Pulse, and Musical Youth got their first break. Apache Indian sings in Jamaican patois and Punjabi. His music fuses Reggae, Ragamuffin, and Dancehall with “Bollywood” (Bombay’s film music) and a popular South Asian folk dance music called Bhangra.
The legendary Fairuz and her music The Beirut-born Fairuz became extremely popular in the 1950s and ’60s in Lebanon. Her repertoire encompasses several traditions popular in the Middle East: secular Arabic and European popular and folk, as well as Christian liturgical traditions. In the decades after WW2, many Middle Eastern cities, and especially Beirut, grew into highly cosmopolitan communities. A large part of Beirut’s population was of non-Lebanese and even non-Arab background. Modern entertainment media – radio, TV, concert halls, public theatres – helped create an urban mass audience. As in many other Third World countries, early nationalistic sentiment prompted the government to promote a new folk-inspired artistic idiom. http://almashriq.hiof.no/lebanon/700/780/fairuz/ http://www.fairouz.com/ Eastern Christianity Greece, North Africa, Near East Since 1st century CE Most Lebanese Christians belong to the Maronite Church, named after the 4th century Syrian saint Maroun.
RAÏ: POPULAR MUSIC OF ALGERIA With a name that literally means "opinion”, raïbegan as wedding music in coastal Algeria in the 1960s, featuring singers crooning about partying, girls and the news of the day. With its dance-floor beats and incendiary lyrics, raï soon became the voice of rebellious North African youth culture and was eventually banned from Algerian state radio. That didn't stop the music; it developed in to a massive industry boasting superstars and cultural icons like Cheb Hasni, Cheb Mami and Khaled. KHALED The rapid development of raï mirrored Khaled's own progression from a singer who churned out rough basement-recorded tracks to the star of slick African fusion records produced by names like Don Was and Steve Hillage. His massive 1992 single, Didi, was an explosive, string-drenched funk track that turned up on Europe's hippest dance floors and featured North African elements as well as the strong influence of western club culture, jazz and reggae. http://www.nowtoronto.com/issues/2002-02-14/cover_story.php