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Guatemalan rappers promote Mayan language, stories to youth
http://www.saratogian.com/arts-and-entertainment/20150223/guatemalan-rappers-promote-mayan-language-stories-to-youth
Guatemalan rappers promote Mayan language, stories to youth
By SONIA PEREZ D.
Posted: 02/23/15, 1:42 PM EST
GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — A group of Guatemalan musicians is on a mission to breathe life into a pre-Columbian language and heritage through a thoroughly modern genre: hip-hop.
Calling themselves Balam Ajpu, which means Jaguar Warrior or Warrior of Light, they rap in the ancient Mayan Tz'utujil language with the goal of making it cool for kids and teaching them their ancestors' stories and ways.
Their debut album, "Tribute to the 20 Nawuales," or spirits, is set to be released to coincide with the March 20 spring equinox. The musicians rap in both Tz'utujil and Spanish, blending a hip-hop beat with marimba and natural sounds like bird songs and running water.
"Since the time of the (Spanish) invasion, the (Mayan) worldview was persecuted, even almost snuffed out, but now it's returning to life, relying on music and sustaining itself in art," said group member Rene Dionisio, who uses the stage name Tz'utu Baktun Kan. "Our commitment as artists is to rescue the ancient art."
<snip>
Guatemalan rappers promote Mayan language, stories to youth
By SONIA PEREZ D.
Posted: 02/23/15, 1:42 PM EST
GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — A group of Guatemalan musicians is on a mission to breathe life into a pre-Columbian language and heritage through a thoroughly modern genre: hip-hop.
Calling themselves Balam Ajpu, which means Jaguar Warrior or Warrior of Light, they rap in the ancient Mayan Tz'utujil language with the goal of making it cool for kids and teaching them their ancestors' stories and ways.
Their debut album, "Tribute to the 20 Nawuales," or spirits, is set to be released to coincide with the March 20 spring equinox. The musicians rap in both Tz'utujil and Spanish, blending a hip-hop beat with marimba and natural sounds like bird songs and running water.
"Since the time of the (Spanish) invasion, the (Mayan) worldview was persecuted, even almost snuffed out, but now it's returning to life, relying on music and sustaining itself in art," said group member Rene Dionisio, who uses the stage name Tz'utu Baktun Kan. "Our commitment as artists is to rescue the ancient art."
<snip>
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