Abraham’s Last Rap: Bolivian Hip-Hop Hero Dies in El Alto

[Judi Lynn]

Abraham’s Last Rap: Bolivian Hip-Hop Hero Dies in El Alto
Written by Benjamin Dangl
Monday, 25 May 2009

El Alto-based hip-hop artist Abraham Bojorquez died early in the morning on Wednesday, May 20 in El Alto, Bolivia. He was killed when a bus hit him as he walking home.

Abraham, 26 years old, was a member of the popular hip-hop group Ukamau y Ké, and in recent years had become increasingly well known within Bolivia and internationally. His music blended ancient Andean folk styles and new hip-hop beats with lyrics about revolution and social change. Through his music, he demanded justice for those killed in the 2003 Gas War, spread political consciousness, spoke of the reality of life in El Alto, and criticized the lying corporate media. He was a radio host at the cultural center Wayna Tambo in El Alto, and regularly traveled around Bolivia to prisons, rural and mining communities to offer classes on hip-hop to young rappers.

For more details on Abraham’s life and music, see this article: Rapping in Aymara: Bolivian Hip-Hop as an Instrument of Struggle

I first met Abraham in 2006 when doing research for a book on Bolivian politics and social movements, and he offered invaluable time, input, and interviews, enriching the book with his stories of growing up as an orphan in El Alto, working in a sweat shop in Brazil, joining the Bolivian military, and then entering the street barricades as an activist in the 2003 Gas War. Woven throughout this dramatic story was Abraham’s hip-hop, an art he began in poor neighborhoods in Brazil, and brought back to El Alto.

Aside from being a key character I extensively interviewed for the book, I came to know the city while walking the streets and markets of El Alto with Abraham, listening to his stories of the city, its youth, meeting members of his family who produced beautiful carnival costumes and masks. After the book was completed, I received more emails, responses and comments regarding Abraham and his hip-hop than any other person or topic in the book. When I went on tour with the book in the US, I showed a music video of a rap song he did at nearly every event. We performed a Challa (indigenous, Andean blessing) for the book together recently when it came out in Spanish in La Paz, tossing alcohol and coca leaves on its pages for good luck. So Abraham was very much present throughout the whole process of writing and getting the book out into the world, offering support, stories and inspiration.

Over this time, he became one of my closest friends in Bolivia. Countless people from around Bolivia and the globe, including many rappers, activists, journalists, photographers and documentary film makers, became friends with this generous and talented person, and I was among the many drawn to his music, ideas and life story. The extent of this network of friends and fans obviously had to do with his incredible artistic and poetic ability, but it also had to do with his humbleness, sense of humor, and commitment to remaining true to his roots, his city, his friends and his struggle as he became more and more popular as a hip-hop star.

This was very clear to me when I met with him in La Paz a few days before his death. He greeted me in the Plaza del Estudiante with a hug and his big, contagious smile. We walked over to a café where I ordered a coca tea and he ordered some juice. Over the years, the news he shared of his hip-hop career kept on getting better and better, and this time he really seemed on top of the world.

He had just performed with the Argentine rock band Bersuit Vergarabat, and showed me the cover story in an Argentine cultural magazine that showed a few photos of him onstage with the band’s lead singer. Abraham was particularly happy about the fact that the day after the show, instead of just hanging out in the lounge of an expensive La Paz hotel, the Argentine band walked around a popular El Alto market with Abraham. In previous years, Abraham and his hip-hop comrades had rapped onstage along with other star groups such as Manu Chua, Actitud Maria Marta and Dead Prez.

More:
http://towardfreedom.com/home/content/view/1591/1/

Includes link to video, "Ukamau y Ké."

http://www.elperiodico.com.nyud.net:8090/EDICION/ED070205/CAS/FOTOS/EPP_ND/CARP01/f018lh03.jpg