Globalized jazz.. Some good mixes.

Well, after listening the sub-genres of Jazz in the website I can say that I found some interesting on them. The thing is that there are two sub-genres that are similar but one of them liked me but the other one not. I’m talking about Latin jazz and World fusion.

The first one, Latin one, kept my attention because that sound was very pleasant for me to listen. Other thing that kept my attention was the rhythm with which it was combined. I heard “salsa” or “son cubano” as a fusion with jazz. First of all, I think that those genres are interesting or useful to make a fusion of musical genres. I can’t imagine one fusion between jazz and “vallenato” or something like that. I think that result of music is really fun and sweet. Also, I think people who interpret jazz see Latin people and think in some Caribbean landscape such as beaches, sun, coconuts, wind and other things like that. And maybe the musicians who invented that fusion imagine Latin people like dancing with this music in the way they do, or maybe they imagine that fusion as the perfect music to play in a vacation moment in the beach.

But in the other hand, the World fusion is not interesting for me. One of the songs I heard was like an Indian music fusion with jazz. I mean I’m not saying that sounds awful but not pleasant, I think in this case that Indian music was very remarkable instead of jazz. I think the others genres in the world maybe are noted more than the jazz. Also we can think immediately in India but we are not going to pay attention to the back of the song, in this case the instruments which belong to jazz music. So the intentions of fusion those genres aren’t going to be noted or the intention was not clear enough. 

In spite of these different fusions I think that it’s very acceptable and it’s good because it’s fun to make new things and much if it is about music. We are in a globalized world and of course we must know that those things must happen because of the culture mix of the different parts of the world. But maybe the people who invented that fusion just did it because he or she thought it sounds very well and nice to the ear. 

http://www.accuradio.com/#!/home/accujazz/ 

Some color status music..

What does this image tell you? Could you imagine a story behind it?

First of all, it’s clear that the person who appears in the picture is an African American man, for the position in which his hands are I can say he is disappointed for something. Then I can see the guitar, he is carrying it. There is a hypothesis about it, it’s very probable that this person is a musician and that he is kind of sad or hopeless about music. Maybe he was going to play his guitar in a specific place but maybe the owner of that place doesn’t allow him to do; probably because his skin condition.

I think is clear that man is thinking in he is going to do about the situation, maybe he is thinking hard about the opportunities African American people have in the music industry. I can say that as this person is not a rapper, his music isn’t going to be accepted by white people. Other hypothesis is that what I can see about the background maybe he is walking for the train’s road, maybe he decided to look for another place far from the one he’s coming. Maybe trying to look for other places in which he can play his music and entertain the people.But I also can imagine another story, maybe he was kicked out from his neighborhood and the only thing he could bring with him was his guitar. Maybe the most important thing for him is music and he could think that with his guitar and nothing else he could make a better life. I mean that music is going to be his work for living. Maybe he could be thinking about he is going to do for improve the situation of African American people according to the music. Maybe he is thinking a plan or a strategy to influence other African Americans to be risky and try to change the society’s mentality. Trying to show that African Americans not only make rap or hip hop, that they also can make music as other people and to show the “swing” of African Americans’ culture. I think this vision of what we can see in the picture of course is going to make us think about African American people condition and to be racist about it. We know what their opportunities they have are low but we don’t do anything to change it. We just say: Oh! Poor guy, he was rejected. We think and know there is a story behind it but we don’t think we can do little things to change that. We always think is the worst a person can be living.

How do you feel at listening to music? Black, white or colorful...?

Is there color in music?  Well, as the people who were interviewed in the video; most of them said that music doesn’t necessarily depends on what the race of the singer is. We can’t judge just for the origins of any kind of musical genre. I mean, many people consider that rap or hip-hop is music from black people; but anyone can interpret or sing or compose lyrics in this genre. There are two different meanings; the first one is the cultural association of the genre´s birth (where musical genre comes from) and the other is relating that genre with only the race it comes from. We can’t say that white music is made by white people or in other way black music is made by black people.

I think that exists a clear relation between the music and the color it has. But my point is that the color is up to anyone’s view. It’s obvious that music produces some feelings and reactions in people, but not all the feelings are similar. For example if I listen to my favorite song, it’s probable that song makes me remember some special moments and the feelings I felt in that moment. If it was a good experience for me, maybe the color is going to be brilliant, happy and intense; I mean we associate or give a color to music according the memories and the colors we remembered.

Another hypothesis is that the color depends on the sound’s frequency and intensity. For example Metallica’s songs are characterized about having strong sounds and a high frequency, so the color which would be associated with, is the black. Also the color depends on the mood. Even though I think that cultural tendencies and customs influence in the color of music. Maybe giving a color to music is a cognitive process; it depends on the symbols environment give every day and the ones the person selects. If one musical genre isn’t known by the person’s beliefs maybe it’s going to be difficult to assign one color for something unknown. So, the person maybe is going to look for something similar and gives it one color to reduce the dissonance of that phenomenon.

Sábados Minstrel Show? Or what?

After watching the 'Minstrel Shows' presentation in the class would you consider this as an actual 'Colombian minstrel show'?

According to the Sábados Felices chapter, I consider that chapter as a Colombian Minstrel Show.  Although the programs’ chapters are not focus in producing such us those jokes about black people, I think the majority laugh about those jokes. The main difference between the Minstrel Show in the United States and Sábados Felices is that the whole topic is about the black people. About Sábados Felices those comedians make jokes about many different themes, but when some comedians play the role as an Afro descendent person they are promoting the taunt about them.

Maybe the audience in Colombia doesn’t realize what they are laughing about. Here in Colombia, people think that laughing about something is just laughing about the true or the real situation. Also, people consider that the truth is not as hurtful and offensive to say if you use the comedy. In this context, we (I say we, because I think I’m part of this) have the same level of racism than United States citizens. Well, the Americans notice that what they are doing is offensive but it is part of their culture, even black people of African American know that the majority are laughing about their skin condition and segregation. We have to take into account that the slavery era is a difficult part of the USA’s History, even the African American have now rights as the others; they are the minority and it’s easy that the rich and high society want to have fun with their History and they just don’t care about it.

Here in Colombia, the thing is different, I’m not saying that here there isn’t racism but our History’s condition was different. It’s for that reason I think Afro descendent people have more tolerance about the jokes about them. We have some examples about dark color skin actors here that play roles laughing about themselves.

In conclusion, in both countries exist the racism but not in the same level and magnitude; I reiterate the fact of the History condition in each country.

Do "N"ot say the n word...

If I were an American English literature teacher and I were teaching The adventures of Huckleberry Finn I really don´t know if I would say the n-word or not. But according to the videos, as this is an important book for the American literature maybe I would think about it carefully. First of all, I think the students need to know what the n-word means. In spite of, that word is offensive and more if in my class there are African American students I would take care at the moment of talking about it.

As the History tells us that the n-word means slavery, I would explain to my students what the n-word means because they are in their rights to know why the word isn’t correct to say in the USA. Another point I consider it´s important, is the fact of being in the other´s shoes and think about I can feel if I listen that word, taking into account that this word represents so much for my race and its History. Maybe I would make a kind of warning to the white students, of course I know they know what that word means; but even they know it I think it´s important to be respectful with the African American students. What I possibly do is to change that offensive word to another.

Another important thing is the role of myself in the class, of course I’m the teacher and I suppose that I must show respect and keep the position, I mean if I really don’t want to create a heavy environment I would say to my students: Hey, the n-word is forbidden. And there could happen two different things, the first one is that the African American students don’t care about the use of this word or that they were grateful of the forbidding of that word. But maybe the situation could be different if the students are easy-going people, I mean it depends in the context, because any group could think different and could understand what really happens with that word and maybe they couldn’t be disrespectful.

But what I really would do is leave out that word, I think even the environment of the group is relaxed and no troublemaker, is thinking the fact of the equality for everyone regardless of the skin color of the students. Though some African American people say that anyone can say that word because for them it doesn’t mean racism; I really feel more comfortable without saying it, it’s a kind of respect and ethical behavior.