Reply #46: slam against Latin American music? [View All]

[tainowarrior]

Venezuelan music IS latin american music! Did you read the article? Venezuela's foremost composers and artists are joyful about this decision because it means their music will be heard again, after being pushed out by a majority of foreign American music.

The same happens in Puerto Rico. Bands like Batacumbele, or the compositions of Tite Curet Alonso, and Nueva Trova music are not played because it is imperative for the radio stations to play American hip-hop, ska, reggae, reggaeton, Dominican merengue, and rock.

There's nothing wrong with all these styles. I'm a fan of rock, funk, jazz, latin-jazz, salsa, etc. The problem is when a country's musical artforms (in Puerto Rico's case, bomba and plena, and aguinaldos, and danzas) do not get played because it's more imperative to play foreign artforms for commercial reasons.

Venezuela is not censoring any music. You may still listen to rock and to jazz, and to other styles on your own. And yes, even the poor people of Venezuela have tape players and CD players. If they don't, they'll have to join the remainder of the poor of the world who can't even listen to the radio, let alone have a choice in what they listen to. That's not Chavez' fault, that's the fault of poverty, something Chavez has to deal with.

In Puerto Rico, there is great consternation among cultural artists that their music is not being played on the radios, traditions are being lost, the younger generations are awash in reggaeton and hip-hop and have no knowledge of their cultural artforms. Most of the major salsa artists continue to be 40-60 year old men (the salsa artists of the 60s-70s), because the traditions of being a good sonero (single soloist) or being a good latin percussionist or latin piano player, or bass player, etc. are not being followed by the younger generations. here in the United States, our youth are exposed to classical music and jazz in the schools. If we were not to mandate such curriculums in our schools, our kids would know nothing more than Britney Spears and whatever hip-hop artist was the most popular at a time. Is that what we want, from a cultural perspective? At what point do our cultural authorities intervene to develop a curriculum in schools and society to allow for the people to be exposed to higher quality music? Don't get me wrong...I can enjoy a slam poet fest, or listen to hip-hop and see the cultural art value in that, and defend that intellectually. But, if our kids listen to snoop dogg all day, and don't know who Coltrane is, who Miles Davis or Dizzy Gillespie, or Duke Ellington, Tito Puente, we are failing them.

Our youth wouldn't be exposed to these other artforms. What Chavez is doing is assuring that the cultural artforms of Venezuela are preserved and promoted and mandating that time be given to them. IF we'd leave it to the cold market, the market would support whatever crap sold more, and damn the cultural artforms of Venezuela if need be. That's not how a President of a country can think. If he genuinely cares about his people's culture, he has to take measure to protect those artforms and promote them. He must open up venues so that the younger generations of Venezuela are exposed to this music, when they would not be if the measures were not taken. In Puerto Rico, the Puerto Rican tourism company allies itself with San Juan's bar establishments to pay for the fees of local musicians to promote Puerto Rico's music and promote its artforms to visiting tourists. THAT's how a goverment promotes its culture, by setting aside resources and a VENUE for the music to be exposed. The bars get music to attract patrons (business), and the music is exposed to the people and tourists. PERFECT.

With all due respect, those that don't come from Latin America don't know what they speak of here. This is a cultural program that has been debated for decades, regarding the influx of foreign cultural values and the decline of native cultural artforms as part of the "market's" preference for foreign cultural artforms. I am one of the Latin Americans that believe that our governments must do better to, at least, expose our children to their past. My father exposed me to my past, and I decided that I loved its value, and I decided to make it my own. However, if he wouldn't have exposed me, I would have never known of it, and i'd be another automaton listen to hip-hop and reggae out there. I thank my dad for exposing me to something new. This is what Chavez is doing for his people.