We posted the first of many rough mixes of the work we're doing here. It called "La Madera", and it was written by Kali and Martha.
Martha- cajon, quijada, chekere, campana, tarima, voz, coro
Kali - tarima, voz, coro
Violeta - voz, coro
The song began as an impromptu conversation between the cajon/martha, and the tarima/kali . They were simply improvising, and we somehow managed a song around it, a la Greg Landau.
The lyrics are both original and an adaptation of verses from Alosno, Palabra Cantada; Fondo de Cultura Economica 1992.

Work has been going really well. Last week was jam packed with people coming in and out of our house. Djahel, who studied classical indian dance came in to lay some rhythm down on the tarima. It was something in 13/4(kinda)....right up our alley. Martha rocked the cajon with it and it sounds something like an elephant strolling patiently through the savanna. You'll eventually hear it.
Martha also worked with Sylvia Santos from Hikuri on a song about global immigrant movements. The music is more along the lines of son jarocho, but still different.
Kali, Alec, and Violeta came over for round two and wrote some shit that sounds like AFRICA. It seems that Kali is coming into her own. She's in the zone. Hungry, ready to let the Santiago de Tuxtla out. RAAAAAAARRRRRRR!!!!
On Saturday, the 1st of December, there was a concert around the corner from our pad at a place called Centro Cultural de Los Lagos. Quemayama, Son De Tarima, and Baakan performed. It was a great concert. I enjoyed seeing the twins, Sael and Saul(formerly with los cojolites) perform with Son de Tarima.
Sunday was pozole at Wendy and Tacho's house. The pozole was good, but what we witnessed was ridiculous. Zenen Zeferino, Patricio Hidalgo, and Samuel Aguilar engaged in a couple of hours worth of improvising decimas and verse. Magical is the closest i can get to describing the vibe in that living room. These guys are masters in the purest sense. (see photos) You'll also see Violeta, Tacho, Rodricello, Tere, Alec, Kike, Vicki, and many others....

Finally feeling like were settled in. We found a one bedroom apartment in Zona Centro de Xalapa. We're living really close to the Art School of the Universidad de Veracruz. The mercados all around downtown make it easy to cook delicious fresh food. We didn't bring our car so we've been walking everywhere. It reminds me of my Junior High days when i'd walk home from El Sereno Jr High to Baldwin St. x Mission Rd. in Lincoln Heights. The weather has been amazing. 75-80 and mostly sunny. Last weekend we went to the Encuentro De Jovenes Jaraneros in Coatepec. We witnessed everything from from over the top cheesy dance groups that gave "Jarocho" the stage show competition to groups that were excellent.

This past week Martha, Wendy Cao Romero, Kali Niño Mendoza, and Alec Dempster finished the first composition of the project. Wendy came over yesterday to track jarana and vocals. Los Utrera left this morning for a 5 week tour of the Mid Western US. When they come back Tacho Utrera will track some requinto jarocho/guitarra de son.

We've also been composing with Ramon Gutierrez Hernandez(Son De Madera) for a quartet project(maybe quintet???) based in folk, blues, and rock. You'll hear the result before too long.

Friday Night was off the hook. Kiko Cornejo and Sofia Ivanov had a beautiful ceremony in San Juan Capistrano. They walked down the isle to the Isley Brothers. The party was crazy. So many musicians from San Diego, Los Angeles, SF and elsewhere. Domingosiete performed and rocked the house. Martha and Gabriel did a version of "Como Fue" for the first dance. Kiko Jr. and Sr. performed a solo together. That was a tear jerking moment for me.
The food was banging......and i only had the rice and beans due to my dietary restrictions (by choice). I can imagine that the beef and chicken were just as yummy.
Love, Family, Music, Dancing, Food...........Life.
peace,
q

We just returned from Japan. It was an interesting trip filled with conflicted emotions. We performed at something they called a "Chicano/Japones Cultural Meeting".
Prelude:
For many years now there has been a growing subculture in Japan that mimics/appopriates the "Low Rider" culture. There are many car clubs and Japanese men and women dressed like "Homeboys" and "Homegirls". The appropriation of stereotypes is always disturbing. Especially in Japan where things seem to be appropriated with the ultimate capitalist filter. Appropriation is typically done with(at best) a shallow and pretentious understanding of the culture. The Wannabees, a car club based in Chiba, a small farm town 2 hours outside of Tokyo, was one of the sponsors of our events.
The performances:
Due to a limited budget, only Martha and myself(Quetzal)went on this trip. Also travelling with us was Dave Gomez (Monte Carlo 76), author Luis Rodriguez (Always Running, Republic of East LA), and harmonica player Tetsuya Nakomura (War, Monte Carlo 76).
When we first arrived at the club in Chiba, i was drawn to a sticker that said "Chiba Power". There was also a mural on the wall that said "Organize and Revolutionize". This was quite a different concept/conclusion from the one i had unfairly drawn prior to hanging with these homies. It was a group of farm boys and girls who found themselves drawn to something that is/was entirely rebellious. This lent itself for some good dialogue and many possibilities for the future. Would the japanese car clubs be interested in developing a transnational dialogue about culture, community, human rights?
How is hearing Luis Rodriguez read poetry, watching Quetzal perform, and listening to the music and photos of DJ DGomez going to impact their perception of Chicano Culture in East LA today? What does their experience/struggle have to do with ours?
Who am I? What the hell is a Chicano?
peace,
q