Archive for January 4th, 2010
Lhasa de Sela: Rest In Peace
7:12 pm By la Macha · Music|Women · 3 Comments
4 Jan 2010I was so sad to read this news:
Singer Lhasa de Sela passed away on January 1st 2010, after a twenty-one month battle with breast cancer. Lhasa, as she was known, released three albums. 1997′s La Llorona, 2003′s The Living Road and her self-titled release in April of 2009. She also performed at Amoeba Hollywood in 2004 just before I started working here.
She was born on September 27, 1972, to a Mexican father and an American mother. She spent much of her childhood traveling back and forth through Mexico and the U.S. This nomadic lifestyle attributed to her creativity and by the age of thirteen, she started singing in restaurants. In 1997, her album, La Llorona gave her much praise in Canada, where she located after moving out on her own. La Llorona was sung entirely in Spanish. The Living Road, her second album, made her an international star, as she sang in Spanish, French and English, easily flowing from one language to the next.
For those of you like me, who only came to Lhasa’s music and voice after she died, here is a sample of her music.
Ai, this music did nothing to ease the sadness–when will women of color (artists) stop dying so early?
Lupita, mi amor!
4 Jan 2010Ok–the Holidays are over! I hope you had some really peaceful restful ones. Now, it’s time to get back to work!
But don’t be sad, VL has some music to get you in the mood! Take it away Los Rockin’ Devils!
Texting to Avoid Arpaio
9:25 am By Maegan La Mala · arizona|Media|Tech · Comments Off
4 Jan 2010
Adding to the ways that we think technology should be used, Lydia Guzman, director of the nonprofit immigrant advocacy group Respect/Respeto, has created a “text tree” system in Maricopa County, Arizona, to alert people of when Sheriff Joe Arpaio is conducting one of his infamous (and likely unconstitutional) street sweeps.
“Everyone is responsible for sending it out to their own networks, and that is how it spreads like wildfire,” Guzman said of the text messages.
This relative simple use of technology is more important to me than say, text lists that are being built by orgs to promote legislation. Not to knock that work but this is about the very immediate needs of communities and is something that can be replicated easily and is accessible to many. While not all Latinos are plugged into the internet, most do have cell phones and use text messaging.
Not surprisingly, Sheriff Joe and others are saying that such information sharing borders on illegal since the text messages could be construed as evading law enforcement. In fact during the RNC activists who used twitter to report on the moves of law enforcement, this was a charge levied.
I think this is something that all communities should try and replicate on some level in order to deal not just with raids and street sweeps but with other types of attacks against our community.
Via / LA Times
With the holiday and cold here in NYC, I’ve been watching lots of movies at home. This past weekend I caught another film featured on the PBS Voces series, Celia, the Queen, about Celia Cruz.
Celia the Queen by Joe Cardona
Celia the Queen is a loving look at the amazing life and legacy of a woman whose voice symbolized the soul of a nation and captured the hearts of fans worldwide. Erupting onto the Cuban music scene as the lead singer for La Sonora Matancera, Celia Cruz broke down barriers of racism and sexism. With the powerful weapon of her voice and the warm tolerance of her heart, Celia soon became all things to all people. The film shows the diversity of the people whose lives she touched, from stars like Quincy Jones, Andy Garcia, and Wyclef Jean to ordinary people all over the world who loved not only her music but her incredible spirit. A co-presentation with National Black Programming Consortium.
What I found most interesting was how Afro-Latino and Pan-Latino Celia was in terms of the kind of music she sang and with whom she worked with while remaining rooted in lo Afro-Cubano. The film features other musicians she workd with like Johnny Pacheco, Oscar De Leon, and Willie Colon. What I also found interesting was how apolitical the film attempted to be. Not once was Fidel Castro mentioned and in a clip of Celia, she herself refuses to call him by name, but rather just speaks of how she worked even harder outside of Cuba post-Revolution to make sure her sick mother could get what she needed.
Hola!
VivirLatino is a daily publication published by Mamita Mala Media, dedicated to featuring all the latest politics, culture, entertainment of interest to the diverse Latin@ diaspora.
About | Advertise with us | Contact | Twitter
blog advertising is good for you
blog advertising is good for you
- Maegan La Mala: Thank you Julio! To be honest I was a little nervous. [...]
- Ana L. Flores: I was very excited when you decided to join us. I really wanted your voice there as it would add dep [...]
- Maegan La Mala: Hola Juliana and thanks for commenting. There is a dearth in activist/critical thinking Latino blogg [...]
- Julio Ricardo Varela: Good for you for asking. I got goose bumps just reading this and yes, yes, yes, to it all. Thank you [...]
- julianabritto: The sense that I get is that you might feel a little frustrated at the dearth in activist bloggers? [...]
- LATISM/Top Bloguera Retreat Reflection II : Yes There a Place for a Latin@ Political Blog
- Top Blogueras at the White House : Beyond Puppetry and Pendejas
- Washington DC Bound
- By Land & By Sea Drawing Attention to Puerto Rican Political Prisoner Oscar Lopez Rivera
- Welcome to NY Secure Communities
- DOJ Puts Sheriff Arpaio on Notice. Who Will Put the DOJ on Notice?
- VL at the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival: Babygirl
- 45th Precinct Residents to File Complaint Against Abusive NYPD Officers
- Monday Musica : Maga Bo – Quilombo do Futuro
- NYC : Confronting Police Violence in the Courts – May 19, 1-3pm – Justice Committee Workshop
